'Mad Men' Execs Didn't Think Jon Hamm Was Sexy Enough for Don Draper

In the five seasons that "Mad Men" has been a show, Jon Hamm has been the driving force behind the show, giving emotional honesty and good looks to our antihero, Don Draper. But Hamm almost didn't get the part in the first place.

In an interview with James Lipton on an upcoming episode of "Inside the Actor's Studio," Hamm answered questions about the audition process for "Mad Men." When Lipton asked him how many times he auditioned for the show, Hamm replied, "seven or eight." It's not uncommon for the star of a new show, especially a relative unknown, to audition a number of times for a lead role, but that many times is a bit unusual.

Creator Matthew Weiner offered an explanation: "One of those auditions, of the seven," he recalled, "somebody said he wasn't sexy enough." This was met with a smirk from Hamm, and the trademark Lipton look of shock.

Can you imagine what "Mad Men" would have been like without Hamm as Don Draper/Dick Whitman? We certainly can't. And it's pretty tough to understand how execs at AMC would have considered Hamm to not be sexy enough for TV!

Check out a video clip of the interview below, for Hamm's reaction and a couple more questions from Lipton: