Chris Wallace Affirms Jon Hamm’s Decision to Turn Down Film Role as CNN Host’s Father: ‘Script Is Bulls–t’ | Video
Chris Wallace learned that Jon Hamm could have performed as his father Mike Wallace in a film.
Hamm appeared on this week’s edition of Wallace’s Max series, “Who’s Talking to Chris Wallace,” where Wallace broached the subject of Hamm getting typecast in roles like his Emmy-winning performance of Don Draper in the show “Mad Men.”
In a video preview of the show provided to TheWrap, which you can watch above, Hamm revealed that he was offered the similar role of portraying Mike Wallace, who was known for his tough interviewing.
“You know, after Don Draper sort of made an impact in the zeitgeist, I was…every script I was offered had a cigarette and a hat and a skinny tie. In fact, I was offered to play your father at one point,” Hamm said. “In a movie. It was it was an original script that someone had written about your dad’s life.”
Wallace revealed that he knew about that specific script.
“They sent it to me. And I said, this script is total bullshit,” he said.
Hamm explained why he turned down the role.
“Part of that is why I did not do the part. The other part is that I consciously kind of went away from, from parts like that because that was my day job,” he said. “The greatest part of being an actor is that you get to do other things. You don’t have to do the same thing every day, and so I very fortunately got to do and I give all the credit in the world to Lorne Michaels — of Saturday Night Live — honestly who said I wonder if this guy’s funny? And I got to host SNL in 2009 I believe it was and that kind of gave me a little credibility on the other side of the aisle so to speak. I got a whole other side of my career to explore.”
Hamm’s resurgence of late includes roles like Paul Marks in “The Morning Show” Season 3 and that of Coach Carr in the new “Mean Girls” (2024).
He is also set to star in and adapt the “American Hostage” podcast into a live-action television series with Shawn Murphy, and he will executive produce and star in “Your Friends and Neighbors” from Jonathan Tropper for Apple TV+.
“Who’s Talking to Chris Wallace?” returns for Season 5 with new episodes available Fridays on Max, beginning Jan. 19.
The post Chris Wallace Affirms Jon Hamm’s Decision to Turn Down Film Role as CNN Host’s Father: ‘Script Is Bulls–t’ | Video appeared first on TheWrap.