LA Noire Developers Considered Mad Men Star Jon Hamm for Cole Phelps, But Chose Aaron Staton for a Key Reason

The creative team behind LA Noire once considered casting Jon Hamm, best known for his role as Don Draper in Mad Men, as the game's protagonist Cole Phelps. However, they ultimately decided against it, and writer Daniel McMahon explains why.

McMahon, who worked on the Rockstar-published LA Noire, confirmed in an interview that Hamm was discussed for the role. He shared images of Hamm in a suit and hat from Mad Men with the team, showing how well he fit the game's aesthetic. But despite this, the casting didn't happen.

"It was never said at the time, but now I understand the vision," McMahon said. "Jon Hamm is a wonderful actor, but he's not Cole Phelps. Jon Hamm would have been a much better Jack Kelso because he's a character of great power and control. Jon Hamm knows what he's doing and gets things done."

"Aaron Staton was much better at portraying Cole's fragility. A lot of the time, Cole's flapping around having no idea what he's doing. He's very smart, but he's also young, not very experienced, and he's just trying his best. So, I think Jon Hamm would have been incredible, but expensive, and probably, in the end, not as good casting for that character as Aaron Staton was."

Both Cole Phelps and Don Draper share similar backgrounds as World War II veterans struggling with guilt and infidelity, but their portrayals differ greatly. McMahon's insight suggests that Staton's ability to convey vulnerability was key to the role.

Since LA Noire's release, fans have hoped for a sequel. Earlier this year, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick hinted at the possibility, saying, "Broadly, we’re looking at doing something in the future with all of our intellectual property." He added that any announcement would come from Rockstar, but teams are always considering legacy IP.