Time has a funny way of softening the edges of memory, but some things about “Mad Men” remain crystal clear — like the peculiar taste of pearl onion-infused water at 9 a.m. At least, that’s what Jon Hamm and John Slattery revealed during their recent reunion at Austin’s ATX TV Festival, where the Paramount Theatre buzzed with anticipation nearly a decade after Don Draper’s meditation-inspired Coca-Cola revelation marked the series finale.
The glamour of 1960s Madison Avenue, it turns out, came with some rather unglamorous behind-the-scenes realities. Those perfectly framed shots of Don Draper pensively smoking while nursing a martini? Well, they required some creative stagecraft that would make any method actor think twice.
“Pop another pearl onion in your glass of water, and then you’d smoke 26 more fake cigarettes, and it was 9:30 in the morning,” Slattery shared, his trademark dry wit intact despite the years since Roger Sterling last graced our screens. “It was disgusting.”
Some of the younger cast members learned this lesson the hard way. Hamm — who would eventually win an Emmy for his portrayal of the enigmatic Don Draper — recalled how a few ambitious actors initially insisted on using real cigarettes for authenticity. The results? “Within three days, they were yellow and sallow and like, ‘This is a terrible idea.’” Seems method acting has its limits, even in the pursuit of period accuracy.
The conversation shifted toward weightier territory when addressing the show’s more controversial elements. Take the Season 3 episode featuring Slattery’s character performing in blackface — a scene that now streams with a content warning addressing the show’s commitment to exposing historical injustices. Slattery’s candid reflection on his uncertainty about the scene revealed the complex negotiations between historical accuracy and contemporary sensibilities that still challenge creators today.
For Hamm, “Mad Men” wasn’t just another role — it was a decade-long journey that parallel-tracked his own life from 35 to 45. “Our real lives happen,” he mused, reflecting on how the cast’s personal milestones — marriages, divorces, births — unfolded alongside their characters’ arcs. In today’s landscape of limited series and quick-turnaround streaming shows, such extended creative partnerships feel increasingly rare.
The series finale — with Don finding inspiration for Coca-Cola’s “I’d Like to Buy the World a Coke” commercial during a spiritual retreat — wasn’t just a clever twist. It was, apparently, creator Matthew Weiner’s vision from the start. Hamm’s take on Don’s journey cuts straight to the heart of it: “He reached the end of land as far away as he could from his life and realized that his life was creating advertising. That was his revelation, that this is what he is and what he does.”
Looking back now, as streaming platforms reshape how we consume television and AI threatens to transform creative processes (though nothing quite matches the human touch of those “Mad Men” performances), the show’s commitment to authenticity — however uncomfortable — stands out even more. Behind every perfectly tailored suit and meticulously designed set lay countless small sacrifices that created what Slattery aptly called a “parallel life” for its cast.
Perhaps that’s the real legacy of “Mad Men” — not just its pitch-perfect recreation of an era, but its reminder that true authenticity often comes at a price. Sometimes that price is just a mouthful of onion-water before breakfast.