We know that Jon Hamm once had to go on a dating game to get a date, but we have learned this week that the Mad Men star also had to play Trivial Pursuit once over a girl. The opponent was Anchorman actor Paul Rudd.
Vanity Fair spoke with Preston Clarke, a friend of Hamm’s, for a profile of the Million Dollar Arm actor. Clarke recalled how Hamm and Rudd played Trivial Pursuit for the affections of his sister, Sarah Clarke (who would go on to appear in 24).
Hamm knew Sarah before, as the two were high school prom dates and Sarah met Rudd at the University of Nebraska, where Rudd and Preston were roommates. Rudd took a trip to St. Louis, where he met Preston, Sarah and Hamm.
“I thought he was coming to visit me, but obviously he was coming to visit my sister. Hamm was there because he was always at my house,” Preston told Vanity Fair. “And Paul knew that Jon had taken Sarah to prom. He was slightly intimidated. And then we started playing Trivial Pursuit.”
“He seemed like he was a good-looking, athletic guy who possessed qualities I did not possess,” Rudd said about Hamm.
Rudd played the game with Sarah on his team, while Preston and Hamm were paired up. The This is 40 star recalled being impressed by Hamm’s knowledge of history and geography.
Today.com notes that Vanity Fair didn’t report who actually won the game. It probably wasn’t Hamm though, as he would later go on a TV dating game (although he lost on that, too). Clarke is also currently married to Xander Berkeley.
Hamm currently stars on AMC’s Mad Men and also revealed in Vanity Fair that he did porn for Cinemax. Don’t tell Disney, which is releasing Million Dollar Arm next week.