The Advocate writes:

Advocate: How would you create a Mad Men ad campaign geared specifically to the gay community?
Jon Hamm: Well, it's a very high-drama show, and it's very stylish. Three things that the gay community responds to are attitude, sexiness, and style. We're a prime property for a big gay following - I love it.

A:  We're an easy sell, Jon -- just show us some skin.
JH: [Laughs] I don't know about that. I don't know if you want me anywhere near any kind of skin thing -- that's a nightmare.

A:  You could enlist the help of Bryan Batt, who plays Salvatore, the closeted ad man.
JH: Yeah, what an amazing and complex role, and it gets even better and deeper in season 2. It's not a joke, a stereotype, or a sort of queeny, campy whatever. He’s just a real guy. He's actually based on a real guy who was closeted throughout the '60s and worked in the advertising industry. As a gay man, Bryan does a wonderful job with it, but I’d take that part in a heartbeat—gay, straight, or indifferent.

A:  Who's your man crush?
JH: Man, Matt Weiner, who wrote this goddamn thing… [John] Slattery, who's fuckin' genius on it… I have tons of men who have inspired me in my life.

A:  What about Keanu Reeves, whom you worked with on the upcoming remake of The Day the Earth Stood Still?
JH: You look at Keanu Reeves and you think, You gotta be kidding me. I think I'm a pretty good-looking guy, but c'mon, man, that's not fair! And he couldn't be nicer or more laid-back or more of a regular cat. It's like, Wow, you've got the whole package? Really?

A:  Have you ever played a gay role?
JH: I played Cliff Bradshaw in Cabaret in college, and there's very clearly at least a bisexual side to that cat. Talk about the swinging years -- the Weimar Republic back in Berlin in the '30s, which gets back to my point that with sexuality it’s not one or the other.

A:  So are you itching to play a gay role on-screen?
JH: Well, c'mon, if I want to win awards, let's talk gay. [Laughs] Now, if I were a mentally disabled gay man, I'd hit all the boxes. If there's a great part out there, sure. For me, it's much more about being a part of telling a great story. After the first audition for Mad Men, I said, "I will do any part in this script." I just wanted to be a part of telling this story.

Well, congratulation on promoting your show to the gay community, Jon. Talking about your man crushes and taking off your shirt usually gets OUR attention pretty fast, at least...

Last update: 01-29-2009 19:07