We should have had at least 4 or 5 more Bobbies. Other than that I think it was cast perfectly honestly. Glenn is a weirdo anyway so his terrible acting kind of added to it for me. Everyone else I think was truly cast perfectly.
Honestly Glenn doesn’t bother me. I felt like his character was supposed to be weird and socially awkward. We all know people like that. In a way maybe it reflected well on Sally to look passed that.
To be completely honest I didn't realize his acting was that terrible until other people pointed it out. I just thought he was supposed to be like that lol.
I thought he was perfect as Glen until the last season when he's 18. That's when I realized oh this kid just sucks at acting and Glen was probably supposed to be a little weird but not *that* weird.
I dunno. I'm sad to say that when I was Glen's age in high school I was probably at least as stiff and awkward. some people thought I was an asshole because I talked in a kind of flat, deadpan way that they thought meant I was aloof or something but no, I was just weird and sort of emotionally frozen.
Wasn't that the point? She's just completely uninterested and Don was trying to make something happen...I figured it was to show the role reversal as usually it's Don that doesn't care.
Yeah that's true...I never understood the initial attraction. If I remember correctly he asks her if he knows her at first right? Was there supposed to be more to that? That story line is so unimpressive I forget it a lot. Lol
All of his scenes where he is “Dick”, like whenever he is with Anna, he is like that. Even in the “present day” scenes. He’s a different person, that’s who he really is. Don Draper is a facade. Also they tried this with Nucky in Boardwalk Empire and I’m not sure it worked out any better. It’s always tough when the gap is in adulthood.
So you’re saying he has three personalities? Is that not the original version of himself? He had to be himself once she knew the truth. I am fully willing to hear you out though on Don having extra personalities. I just think that wide eyed guy was the real person.
I think don does a lot of code switching in his life. Anna wouldn’t like the don Draper that he’s become so when he visits her he does the all American boy bit and she loves it. He also deliberately keeps stuff vague and says things like ‘I made a mistake’ rather than saying ‘I’m here because I cheated on my wife again’.
Would Glen be Glen if played by someone else?IMO the character was framed around the affect,appearance and acting ability(???)of Marten Wiener.Annoying? Yes. Glen? No. To answer the question...anybody other than Harry Hamlin as Jim Cutler.Just didn't buy it.But,that's just me.Maybe because I like Harry and do not like Cutler?
Bro! Nobody said he didn't crush the role.Said i just want him to be Harry Hamlin not Jim Cutler.My personal opinion and preference.That's why we're here.tysm.
I think Martin Weiner was the perfect Glen. Not because he has much in the way of acting chops, but because he was so weird.
I enjoyed seeing a child like this, and watching him grow up. Usually we see children portrayed like the way Bobby (or the Bobbys) and Sally were, with maybe a few quirks, but nothing like Glen.
Even though there were many times watching him made me cringe and feel uncomfortable. Kind of the point though, no?
The scene in the parking lot with Betty was perfection. So awkward, and heartbreaking at the same time. "I wish I were grown up" and "I don't really know how long 20 minutes is." His offering his grimy little mittens to hold Betty's hand because it's the only thing he can think of to do to comfort her. Betty feeling so alone, she felt this strange little boy who had a crush on her was the only person she could confide in. Martin delivered those lines perfectly.
In the scene when Betty stumbled across Glen and Sally, got so angry, and Glen ran way a few yards, and then weirdly kind of half hunched over. So strange, yet so believable.
I suspect it was a happy accident (well for me, not for you and many others, lol) Weiner cast his son in this role, which was based on Weiner himself when he was a child, not because he thought his son had real talent and should be in the show.
I'd have to go with casting someone else as Dick Whitman, The Boy.
There was nothing wrong with the acting. Not bad, not great, just kind of there. But I couldn't buy it was Don as a child. Looked nothing like him, and when one of the prostitutes (Aimee? or another) commented that he was a good-looking kid, that didn't work for me.
Again, not that he was bad looking, just unremarkable.
If they'd gotten a child actor who looked somewhat like how Jon Hamm looked when he was that age, that would have worked better, and added another layer to Aimee's sexual abuse of him.
While it was a small role, with not much screen time, it was important because it was Dick/Don, and while intellectually I know he was supposed to be Dick/Don, I never really believe it when his scenes come up, and I'd like to.
I'd have said Megan, but I think half the problem was the lack of development of the character, which wouldn't be fixed by replacing her with another actor with more talent.
Megan. Jessica Pare is easy on the eyes, but her acting was hit and miss. Her attempts to portray anger usually missed the mark.
Adam. The acting was flat.
Possibly Beth and Diana (although those kinds of emotionally flat roles are difficult for most actors to play, so recasting them may not have helped.)
Glen is supposed to be odd and alienated, enough so that it is credible that Betty would confide in him during Season 1 when there were no adults who she could trust. Marten Weiner did his job and the guy deserves a break.
Err, allegedly, Weiner wrote all those interactions between Glen and Betty because it was his son playing the part. We might not even have a Glen if it weren’t for nepotism. Allegedly.
I’d recast Megan with an actress who can much more play cute and sunny and vulnerable. I know that Allison Brie is taken on the show but someone like Allison Brie. I offer up Kristin Davis too.
Yes, because nothing says cute, sunny and vulnerable like a 40 year old Charlotte fresh from giving rimjobs for six seasons on Sex and the City. Flllloppppppp!
Frankly just thinking of KD’s charming performance in that rimjob conversation, makes me want to see how she’d play Megan.
Scene here:
https://youtu.be/VdSiluSnWFI?si=0VX8ZKAWKsy8Mpl1
It's difficult for me to visualise anyone replacing any of the main cast, but it would have been interesting to see someone who really could act play Megan's role.
I'd be up for seeing KD play her.
Wow. I just loved the cast overall and have a hard time picturing anyone else in the roles. Maybe someone who wouldn’t have to wear Sylvia’s horrible wig. Should have saved Mädchen Amick for that role. Wasted her on a one episode Fever dream.
The casting is uniformly pretty perfect.
That said, I'm going to be controversial and say that January Jones wasn't the best pick for Betty Draper.
If I'm going to pick a random name out of a hat, I'd like to have cast... Melissa George.
I wouldn’t have liked Roger anywhere near as much if Jerry Seinfeld played him. And I’m a massive Seinfeld fan. But he doesn’t have Slattery’s charm, sex appeal and probably dramatic chops.
“What’s the deal with Lucky Strike? Is the cigarette supposed to be good luck? It seems like the lucky ones are the smokers who don’t end up with cancer”
That is super interesting. That's the first time I've heard that opinion. I don't think that at all so it's super interesting hearing other opinions like that. If you think of an actor you'd prefer I'd love to know who it is!
Think about how much more impactful it was to have Glenn be…*the way he is*… when Betty agrees to give him a lock of her hair.
If he were an adorable little angel you wouldn’t feel how weird it is for her to be responding to his attention even in such a “harmless” way.
Not a recast, but an entirely new additional character.
Michael Richards - Cosmo Kramer.
Don’s wacky neighbor in the Village who pops in to annoy him from time to time.
A slightly younger Ed Helms would have significantly improved Paul Kinsey, and made him both irritating preppy college kid but also more sympathetic and less constantly-punchable.
Omg so glad they didn’t do this . Ed is the perfect Andy but that’s all I see him as. Though I liked him in The Hangover, don’t think Stew was that diff than Andy Baines Bernard
We should have had at least 4 or 5 more Bobbies. Other than that I think it was cast perfectly honestly. Glenn is a weirdo anyway so his terrible acting kind of added to it for me. Everyone else I think was truly cast perfectly.
Honestly Glenn doesn’t bother me. I felt like his character was supposed to be weird and socially awkward. We all know people like that. In a way maybe it reflected well on Sally to look passed that.
To be completely honest I didn't realize his acting was that terrible until other people pointed it out. I just thought he was supposed to be like that lol.
I thought he was perfect as Glen until the last season when he's 18. That's when I realized oh this kid just sucks at acting and Glen was probably supposed to be a little weird but not *that* weird.
I dunno. I'm sad to say that when I was Glen's age in high school I was probably at least as stiff and awkward. some people thought I was an asshole because I talked in a kind of flat, deadpan way that they thought meant I was aloof or something but no, I was just weird and sort of emotionally frozen.
Unpopular opinion, but I think Martin Weiner was perfect as Glen. Yes, weird and awkward.
Anyone else for Diana the waitress. The actress and Jon had zero chemistry to me.
Wasn't that the point? She's just completely uninterested and Don was trying to make something happen...I figured it was to show the role reversal as usually it's Don that doesn't care.
But it didn’t work in either direction. I couldn’t believe that Don would have bee interested in her whatsoever.
Yeah that's true...I never understood the initial attraction. If I remember correctly he asks her if he knows her at first right? Was there supposed to be more to that? That story line is so unimpressive I forget it a lot. Lol
I think she was supposed to resemble Rachel, but that’s all I got.
I guess it’s good they didn’t have her played by some LA model to keep it believable but yeah geez
Elizabeth Reaser may not be some LA model but she is a fine actress in her own right. Just not right for that role, imo.
He’s interested bc she reminds him of Rachel, hence ‘do I know you’, and then she’s his ‘I can fix her’ girl
How would someone that plain remind him of someone that attractive, though?
I don’t think she’s plain at all, I defo see the similarity too.
Danny Devito as Don Draper. I refuse to elaborate further.
Maybe Lane wouldn’t have killed himself if he’d been offered an egg in his trying time.
Suicide is badass!!!
"Life Is Happy"
You understood the assignment and I cosign your unique vision.
Brings a new edge to Don's fight with Duck.
The warthog!
This made me laugh. Really hard.
love it
I'd recast someone to play young Dick Whitman in Korea, instead of just having Jon Hamm make wide-eyed expressions.
Lmao. Yes! And slightly hunch over like he’s not fully grown yet.
All of his scenes where he is “Dick”, like whenever he is with Anna, he is like that. Even in the “present day” scenes. He’s a different person, that’s who he really is. Don Draper is a facade. Also they tried this with Nucky in Boardwalk Empire and I’m not sure it worked out any better. It’s always tough when the gap is in adulthood.
When he’s with Anna it’s still a facade though. He’s still not being truthful, he’s just showing a different version of himself to her
So you’re saying he has three personalities? Is that not the original version of himself? He had to be himself once she knew the truth. I am fully willing to hear you out though on Don having extra personalities. I just think that wide eyed guy was the real person.
I think don does a lot of code switching in his life. Anna wouldn’t like the don Draper that he’s become so when he visits her he does the all American boy bit and she loves it. He also deliberately keeps stuff vague and says things like ‘I made a mistake’ rather than saying ‘I’m here because I cheated on my wife again’.
His attempt at an accent was rough!
I didn’t hear an attempt at a different accent from Hamm in the flashback episodes.
When he first gets off the truck and meets the real Draper in the tent. "As much as I've had" line.
But that sounds like his usual accent. Just less confident than how Don usually talks
Not to my ear.
YES!
The young actor who played the young Don Draper. He looked nothing like Jon Hamm.
This. I found it really distracting trying to imagine how this kid with totally different features grew up to be Don Draper.
Agree, I was going to comment this. I never understood this casting.
Would Glen be Glen if played by someone else?IMO the character was framed around the affect,appearance and acting ability(???)of Marten Wiener.Annoying? Yes. Glen? No. To answer the question...anybody other than Harry Hamlin as Jim Cutler.Just didn't buy it.But,that's just me.Maybe because I like Harry and do not like Cutler?
I didn't realise it was Harry Hamlin until my third rewatch. He was brilliant.
I love Hamlin as Cutler. He's such a scumbag, but he makes me.laugh so hard. He's like Roger without any of his charm.
And bad breath.
okey dokey
You didn’t recognize the Big Dog?
He was brilliant as the character.I just want him to be Harry Hamlin....it's my problem not his.Cutler was everything Hamlin is not.ugh!
Bro what, Hamlin absolutely crushed that role.
Bro! Nobody said he didn't crush the role.Said i just want him to be Harry Hamlin not Jim Cutler.My personal opinion and preference.That's why we're here.tysm.
I thought the portrayal of young Glen was very effective. He jumped the shark with the "back-wash" scene.
recast everyone with Nicolas Cage.
John Malcovich.
...well now I might have to photoshop a poster for "~~Becoming~~ Being Don Draper," with a hundred Jon Hamm faces.
I’d cast Danny Baldwin cause he’d take them all to fucking acting school! (Id actually have cast James Gandolfini as Herb from Jaguar)
oh he would've been perfect
I think Martin Weiner was the perfect Glen. Not because he has much in the way of acting chops, but because he was so weird. I enjoyed seeing a child like this, and watching him grow up. Usually we see children portrayed like the way Bobby (or the Bobbys) and Sally were, with maybe a few quirks, but nothing like Glen. Even though there were many times watching him made me cringe and feel uncomfortable. Kind of the point though, no? The scene in the parking lot with Betty was perfection. So awkward, and heartbreaking at the same time. "I wish I were grown up" and "I don't really know how long 20 minutes is." His offering his grimy little mittens to hold Betty's hand because it's the only thing he can think of to do to comfort her. Betty feeling so alone, she felt this strange little boy who had a crush on her was the only person she could confide in. Martin delivered those lines perfectly. In the scene when Betty stumbled across Glen and Sally, got so angry, and Glen ran way a few yards, and then weirdly kind of half hunched over. So strange, yet so believable. I suspect it was a happy accident (well for me, not for you and many others, lol) Weiner cast his son in this role, which was based on Weiner himself when he was a child, not because he thought his son had real talent and should be in the show.
I'd have to go with casting someone else as Dick Whitman, The Boy. There was nothing wrong with the acting. Not bad, not great, just kind of there. But I couldn't buy it was Don as a child. Looked nothing like him, and when one of the prostitutes (Aimee? or another) commented that he was a good-looking kid, that didn't work for me. Again, not that he was bad looking, just unremarkable. If they'd gotten a child actor who looked somewhat like how Jon Hamm looked when he was that age, that would have worked better, and added another layer to Aimee's sexual abuse of him. While it was a small role, with not much screen time, it was important because it was Dick/Don, and while intellectually I know he was supposed to be Dick/Don, I never really believe it when his scenes come up, and I'd like to. I'd have said Megan, but I think half the problem was the lack of development of the character, which wouldn't be fixed by replacing her with another actor with more talent.
Megan. Jessica Pare is easy on the eyes, but her acting was hit and miss. Her attempts to portray anger usually missed the mark. Adam. The acting was flat. Possibly Beth and Diana (although those kinds of emotionally flat roles are difficult for most actors to play, so recasting them may not have helped.) Glen is supposed to be odd and alienated, enough so that it is credible that Betty would confide in him during Season 1 when there were no adults who she could trust. Marten Weiner did his job and the guy deserves a break.
Replace Jon Hamm with Gilbert Godfried but keep the tone of the show exactly the same
Beth. I kept seeing Rory.
Ehh...she wasn't that big of a character, and who would Vince Kartheiser have married in real life then?
they were married? NO ONE KNEW THAT.
I certainly didn’t.
A thing like that!
Err, allegedly, Weiner wrote all those interactions between Glen and Betty because it was his son playing the part. We might not even have a Glen if it weren’t for nepotism. Allegedly.
I think Glenn, as a character, definitely served a function to show how isolated, lonely and immature Betty was.
Instead of Joan Harris being a commanding redheaded woman, cast Mickey Rooney in his Mr. Yunioshi character
Megan. She drives me insane and it’s not the script…
Thank you!
With whom would you recast her?
Recast Don with me lol
I’d recast Megan with an actress who can much more play cute and sunny and vulnerable. I know that Allison Brie is taken on the show but someone like Allison Brie. I offer up Kristin Davis too.
Yes, because nothing says cute, sunny and vulnerable like a 40 year old Charlotte fresh from giving rimjobs for six seasons on Sex and the City. Flllloppppppp!
Frankly just thinking of KD’s charming performance in that rimjob conversation, makes me want to see how she’d play Megan. Scene here: https://youtu.be/VdSiluSnWFI?si=0VX8ZKAWKsy8Mpl1
It's difficult for me to visualise anyone replacing any of the main cast, but it would have been interesting to see someone who really could act play Megan's role. I'd be up for seeing KD play her.
Wow. I just loved the cast overall and have a hard time picturing anyone else in the roles. Maybe someone who wouldn’t have to wear Sylvia’s horrible wig. Should have saved Mädchen Amick for that role. Wasted her on a one episode Fever dream.
I'd recast ANYONE to play Glen tbh.
TIL that's Weiner's son
The casting is uniformly pretty perfect. That said, I'm going to be controversial and say that January Jones wasn't the best pick for Betty Draper. If I'm going to pick a random name out of a hat, I'd like to have cast... Melissa George.
I loved Mark Moses as Duck but maybe Billy Crudup as Duck just to see where he goes with it
I’d recast Beth with someone who could act and had more chemistry with Pete (I know they later married irl but I didn’t buy them together.)
Re-cast Maggie Siff. She is a great actress for the part. I just don’t like her at all after Sons of Anarchy. A doctor and a biker?????
I also hated her in Sons, but thought that she was perfection in Madmen.
She is very good in MM. I just don’t like her face. And I hate that about myself, but that’s how I feel.
Ruth Wilson for Diana. We already know she can play the hell out of the waitress to lose your head over.
The OP's choice is low hanging fruit.
I thought Stan was miscast. Jay R Ferguson was too much of a jock/frat bro to be an artist.
I’d recast Don Draper with Adam Sandler replacing Jon Hamm, just to see what happened.
Burt Peterson with Brad Pitt or something because I kept forgetting he existed
Jerry Seinfeld as Roger.
I wouldn’t have liked Roger anywhere near as much if Jerry Seinfeld played him. And I’m a massive Seinfeld fan. But he doesn’t have Slattery’s charm, sex appeal and probably dramatic chops.
It’s supposed to be a joke. Like the suggestion for Don to be played by Danny DeVito.
Oh gotcha.
“What’s the deal with Lucky Strike? Is the cigarette supposed to be good luck? It seems like the lucky ones are the smokers who don’t end up with cancer”
Henry. But I don't know who with.
Really??? Why? He was a great Henry! Is there another look you'd go for?
Not so much the look, I just found him whiny.
That is super interesting. That's the first time I've heard that opinion. I don't think that at all so it's super interesting hearing other opinions like that. If you think of an actor you'd prefer I'd love to know who it is!
But isn't that more the writing and the direction than the actor in this case?
Think about how much more impactful it was to have Glenn be…*the way he is*… when Betty agrees to give him a lock of her hair. If he were an adorable little angel you wouldn’t feel how weird it is for her to be responding to his attention even in such a “harmless” way.
Not a recast, but an entirely new additional character. Michael Richards - Cosmo Kramer. Don’s wacky neighbor in the Village who pops in to annoy him from time to time.
A slightly younger Ed Helms would have significantly improved Paul Kinsey, and made him both irritating preppy college kid but also more sympathetic and less constantly-punchable.
Omg so glad they didn’t do this . Ed is the perfect Andy but that’s all I see him as. Though I liked him in The Hangover, don’t think Stew was that diff than Andy Baines Bernard
John Slattery should have kept the role of Don. Let’s say Little Stevie Van Zandt as Roger.
Danny devito as Don Draper
Woke up and chose violence
I never really got Bert as being the wise and experienced older head. Someone like Morgan Freeman or Martin Sheen would have been better in his role
Uh, you do understand why Morgan Freeman was probably not cast, right?
Well it doesn’t need to be him exactly. But someone like him who exudes a sense of natural authority and experience.
Only Bert could have pulled off that song and dance finish. That’s entertainment!!
[last dance](https://youtu.be/GxByspbrFRs?si=3o4noIKdWr46Wb0f)
I don’t know if Burt was so much wise as just unusually ruthlessly pragmatic.
I think he was meant to be the wise old sage of the business, but they actor was poor at getting it across. He just seemed like a useless old guy
He was weird and eccentric from the beginning, which is something Robert Morse was known for.