Quote:
Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud
Yeah, I just don't see it that way. I think that Don Draper is a great character but I just don't see any type of huge departure when I see Hamm in other roles.
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One distinction - every character that Hamm plays
outside of Don Draper could be just as easily played by Craig Kilborn.
Don Draper couldn't be.
I know, it's a lousy way to actually explain the difference in Hamm the actor and Hamm as Don Draper, but it's the best real world example I can come up with. Kilborn had no real acting career to speak of but he played that preening, pretty boy wise-ass to great effect. It's who he was on the Daily Show, it's who he was on Sportscenter, it's who he was on his talk show and his bit parts.
That tends to be the roles that Hamm's getting and ultimately, Kilborn can do all those. He does not, however, have the gravitas to pull off Draper.
I don't think Hamm's a particularly skilled actor or a legitimate possibility as a movie star. There's just not much of a role for a 'heavy' in todays cinema and I think that's where he ultimately fits. But being versatile isn't the same as having a perfect 'character' for your personality. He's not a versatile actor, but he can play that brooding heavy as well as anyone out there, IMO. In baseball parlance, he's not a 5-tool superstar but he may be a 30 HR slugger with holes in his swing.
If he could get his hands on a role like Tom Hanks had in Road to Perdition, I think he could be outstanding in it. Maybe something like Phoenix's role in The Master. I feel like he could pull off a couple of Bale's easier jobs, but maybe not.
Maybe you're right - maybe he can't carry a film and I'm sure people smarter than I have not given him a chance to carry a good one for that precise reason; the scouting report is out there, so to speak. I just feel like he's not quite as one-trick as you think he is and that perhaps he just hasn't had the right role yet.