Twitter wonders why the Mad Men cast never really took off

[just444]

Absolute Titan in Mad Men. Should have blown up. Should have been a contender.
- Alyssa Marylee Heflin (@SlayerofCis) December 15, 2020
Yesterday twitter had a spirited debate on why the critically acclaimed Mad Men cast (with one notable exception) never really went anywhere after the show. Most of the talk was about Christina Hendricks, but it

Comments

[rhapsodeeinblue]

Jon Hamm has the career he deserves tho

[ellyrianna]

IA. He was perfect as Don Draper. I've never seen him do a good job in another role (aside from the asshole in Bridesmaids lol).

[vintage_boom]

He's doing commercials for Skip The Dishes rn and he a charisma vacuum in them.

[poisonapple73]

I thought he was good as Gabriel in Good Omens...also playing a pompous asshole. 🤷‍♀️

[franklotion]

i think quite a few took off considering the show having a relatively large ensemble cast? the days of jennifer aniston type blow ups are behind us, now that we have the internet and streaming imo

[hypermuseic9]

seriously. there's no real "movie" star anymore besides the ones that were already huge stars before streaming took off (cruise, pitt, kidman etc). Even now, a lot of huge A list movie actors have moved to also being in tv (kidman, streep)

[strangelittlex]

I feel like most of the Mad Men cast had been on TV shows or movies already, not necessarily as leads but recurring at least or working steadily. The Friends cast, for example, had like no experience whatsoever.

[deeohaytch]

True that; even the stars of the biggest franchise of all time (Avengers) have a hard time launching solo projects; Downey, Hemsworth, Pratt etc.

[deformschool]

I really don’t think Jon Hamm is that good of an actor. He truly does not have the range.

[spoil]

He was good at Don but like all Don did was disassociate lol Tony Soprano and Bojack Horseman are basically the same character yet have more range.

[sailormood]

He showed definite range on Mad Men and then some.
I just dont think Jon wants to try anymore lol he knows he peaked as Dok Draper and wants to have fun with his costar friends.

[hypermuseic9]

no offense but i don't think jon hamm or christina hendricks have the range that elisabeth moss has. either way, most of the mad men cast is doing just fine.

[franklotion]

i just marathoned the first two seasons of the handmaid's tale a monthish ago, and wow lol she really did the book justice tbh (both in acting and production)

[soinnocuous]

Elizabeth has starred in some excellent AF indie films. My top three are "The One I Love", "Queen of Earth" and "Shirley".

[urfvrtweapon]

I'm still mad Elisabeth didn't get an Oscar nod for Her Smell. Her performance was mindblowingly great. She's been working for a long time and is finally getting the respect she deserves. She's a really great actress.

[laminy]

But...John Slattery is in so many things? All the time. Before and after Mad Men, he's great.

Also, I don't know their personal business, but maybe they don't want to be "movie stars." Not everybody aspires to that. Like, TV is not just a stepping stone to film, it's its own thing, it's a career of its own. They say this as if Christina Hendricks has not been starring on Good Girls for however many seasons now.

I absolutely will not agree that Elisabeth Moss is a better actor than any of them.

[eomir]

This is what I always think when I see discussions like this. How do we know they want a bigger career or to be doing other things? Maybe they are all doing what they want. I'd love to work in film or tv enough to make a nice living but still have my private time and not be so famous I was hounded. Not everyone wants to be a 'movie star'. TV is a nice consistent job if you can get on something that runs for a number of seasons.

[urfvrtweapon]

Working in movies is hard. I know some others don't like doing film because they have to travel all the time and TV is more like a regular job. They can film in their neighborhood and still see their families/friends/live a normal life.

[kamikashi]

yeah idk about jon hamm, but he started to do more comedy and then we all learned how many comedic connections he has. i feel like thats an intentional choice on his end not doing more drama movies.