Our favorite public defender could’ve looked very different.

“I was probably 31 or 32,” Hamm toldRolling Stone.

“I think it was me and Harry Hamlin [auditioning].”

The O.C.

Mark Sagliocco/Getty Images; Warner Bros.

But he also wasn’t old enough to be Seth’s father.

(Adam Brodywho played Seth Cohen is just 8 years younger than Hamm.)

I had to wait around a long time."

Of course, the role of Sandy Cohen landed inPeter Gallagher’s very capable hands.

As Hamm put it, “I remember walking in and going, ‘Is that Peter Gallagher?

Why am I here?’

I love Peter Gallagher, but I was just like, ‘Dang!'”