Upon its release in 2014, there was a ton of acclaim thrown at the feet of David Fincher’s twisty thriller, “Gone Girl.” While a ton of recognition, including an Oscar nomination, was given to Rosamund Pike’s lead performance, there were many who saw Ben Affleck as one of the best parts of the film, playing the husband on the search for his missing wife. But, as famous and talented as Affleck is, he wasn’t the first choice for the co-lead of the Fincher film.
In a recent interview on Andy Cohen’s “Watch What Happens Live,” Jon Hamm was asked if the rumors of him being offered one of the leads in “Gone Girl” was true. The actor, who worked with Ben Affleck on 2010’s “The Town,” confirmed the rumors and said it was his commitment to “Mad Men” that screwed everything up.
“Yeah. I was down to the very end of that. It was meant to be me. But we had to film the continuing adventures of Mr. Draper,” Hamm said. “The main character in ‘Gone Girl’ is from St. Louis. So, they were excited. But poor Ben [Affleck], a Boston guy, had to wear a Cardinal hat. He was not very happy about it.”
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It’s not difficult to imagine Jon Hamm in the role of the husband in “Gone Girl.” He has the same sort of handsome, middle-aged guy look as Affleck. Not only that, he’s a really great actor, as well. So, you have to assume the film wouldn’t really have missed a beat with Hamm in the lead role, especially if Pike is able to have chemistry with him. Alas, it’s another one of those casting “what-if” situations that we can only imagine.
That said, it would be fun to see Jon Hamm find his way into a David Fincher film in the future. Until then, you can see Hamm in his newest film, “Maggie Moore(s),” which is on VOD now.