Before Aaron Stanton was cast and selected for the role of Cole Phelps in L.A. Noire, the protagonist was originally posed to be played by Jon Hamm of all people. This information has been revealed by writer Daniel McMahon, who appeared in a Cade Onder interview to share some behind-the-scenes glimpses of the production of Rockstar's beloved detective adventure.
For reference, McMahon was brought in to help director and writer Brendan McNamara see the production of L.A. Noire through to the end, which is why he has a wealth of stories and titbits about the development of the game.
Speaking about the role of Phelps, as noticed by VGC, McMahon stated: "I remember sharing pictures of Jon Hamm in his suit wearing a hat, [and] being like: "Look at this guy. Like, look at this guy."
He then continued by adding: "It was never said at the time, but now I understand the vision, which was Jon Hamm is a wonderful actor, but he's not Cole Phelps. Jon Hamm would have been a much better Jack Kelso, honestly, because he's a character of great power, he's a character of control. Like Jon Hamm, [he] knows what he's doing and gets shit done. And Aaron Staton was much better at portraying Cole's fragility. A lot of the time Cole's flapping around, having no idea what he's doing. He's very, very smart, but he's also young, not very experienced, and he's just trying his best. So, I think Jon Hamm would have been incredible, but expensive, and - probably in the end - not as good casting for that character as Aaron Staton was."
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As we're seeing more and more big names make appearances in video games in key roles, perhaps there's still a chance Hamm will play a role in a game, even if a sequel to L.A. Noire seems less and less likely each day.