Jon Hamm has built an impressive resume with several high-profile and critically acclaimed projects over the years, and the Mad Men star came very close to starring in a GTA-style detective game as well. In a recent interview, Daniel McMahon, who contributed to the story of 2011’s LA Noire, revealed that the team originally considered Hamm for the protagonist’s role but ultimately decided against the idea for several reasons.

Jon Hamm nearly landed the lead role in Rockstar Games’ LA Noire

While speaking with Cade Onder, McMahon said the LA Noire team initially wanted Hamm to play LAPD detective Cole Phelps.

“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,’” the writer said.

However, McMahon later realized that, despite Jon Hamm’s acting talent, he was not the right fit for the role. “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 s— done,” he said.

In the end, Hamm’s Mad Men co-star Aaron Staton landed the role in the acclaimed Rockstar Games title. “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,” McMahon said.

Another factor that convinced McMahon and the team not to cast the Primetime Emmy winner was the cost. “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,” he said.