LA Noire Developer Considered Mad Men Star Jon Hamm for the Role of Cole Phelps, but Had a Very Good Reason for Going With Aaron Staton Instead

The originative squad down LA Noire considered Mad Men prima Jon Hamm for the relation of Cole Phelps.

I precocious interviewed Daniel McMahon, a writer who worked connected the Rockstar-published LA Noire, for a YouTube video astir the 2011 detective crippled and its cancelled successor, Whore of the Orient. Our speech was wide-spanning, but I was funny astir 1 thing: was Jon Hamm ever considered for a portion successful the game?

For those that don't know, LA Noire features a fig of actors from the TV bid Mad Men, including Aaron Staton, the antheral who plays the game's protagonist, Cole Phelps. Hamm's breakout relation came from playing the pb of Don Draper successful Mad Men, truthful I figured helium must've been connected developer Team Bondi's radar.

McMahon noted that Mad Men and LA Noire shared the aforesaid casting director, which is apt wherefore the 2 projects stock truthful galore faces. He besides confirmed to maine that yes, Hamm was discussed arsenic a anticipation for the relation of Cole Phelps. McMahon shared images of Hamm wearing a suit and chapeau from Mad Men with the squad connected the game, showing that helium perfectly acceptable the vibe and code of LA Noire. However, it didn't happen.

"It was ne'er said astatine the time, but now, I recognize the imaginativeness which was Jon Hamm is simply a fantastic actor, but he's not Cole Phelps," McMahon said. "Jon Hamm would've been a overmuch amended Jack Kelso due to the fact that he's a quality of large power, he's a quality of control. Jon Hamm knows what he's doing and gets s**t done.

"Aaron Staton was overmuch amended astatine portraying Cole's fragility. A batch of the time, Cole's flapping astir having nary thought what he's doing. He's precise smart, but he's besides young, not precise experienced, and he's conscionable trying his best. So, I deliberation Jon Hamm would've been incredible, but expensive, and probably, successful the end, not arsenic bully casting for that quality arsenic Aaron Staton was."

Cole Phelps and Don Draper bash stock akin stories, but are portrayed wholly differently. Both men are World War II veterans trying desperately to tally distant from their failures overseas to debar being consumed by guilt. They besides some cheat connected their wives, starring to the implosion of their families. Draper and Phelps are besides consumed by their jobs and each vocation triumph inflates their ego, creating an unstainable arc. Their stories yet instrumentality antithetic paths successful the end, but it would've been absorbing to spot Hamm play Phelps oregon the game's 2nd protagonist, Jack Kelso, arsenic McMahon suggested.

Ever since LA Noire's release, fans of the crippled person called connected Rockstar to greenish airy a sequel. Earlier this year, Strauss Zelnick, brag of Rockstar genitor institution Take-Two, gave fans a sliver of anticipation that LA Noire 2 mightiness hap 1 day.

“Broadly, we’re looking astatine doing thing successful the aboriginal with each of our intelligence property,” helium said. “There’s thing to denote connected LA Noire specifically, and if determination were, it would beryllium Rockstar announcing it, not me. But successful immoderate case, with respect to our bequest IP, the teams are ever looking astatine what we person and we’re ever reasoning astir it. The question is, astatine immoderate fixed time, bash we person a squad that’s passionate astir moving connected that?”

Photo by: Peter Kramer/NBC/NBC Newswire/NBCUniversal via Getty Images.

Cade Onder is simply a freelancer for IGN's quality team. He covers each things entertainment, including gaming, film, and more. You tin find him connected Twitter @Cade_Onder.