Jon Hamm Vs. Jensen Ackles

Welcome to “Jon Hamm Versus,” where we will take a look at possible contenders for the lead role of Steve Rogers/Captain America in the upcoming film “The First Avenger: Captain America,” slated for release on July 22, 2011. For round two, Jon Hamm faces off against a very tough opponent: Jensen Ackles.

I was happy that I came up with Ackles as a possible casting choice on my own, but apparently other folks have thought about this too. I know what some of you people are thinking… “Jensen Who?” “Ackles Whatnow?” But the rest of you are probably vaguely familiar with this fellow. His acting résumé puts him as the WB/CW’s go-to guy, having appeared on “Dawson’s Creek” and “Smallville” in strong supporting roles, and a brief appearance as presumably douchey Halloween Kid #9 on “7th Heaven” in its first season. That doesn’t seem like much when you consider his 4 seasons on the network’s current hit show “Supernatural,” playing demon-hunter badass, Dean Winchester. But don’t count our guy out; Jon Hamm does have guest shots on “Charmed,” “Gilmore Girls,” and “The Hughleys,” so he at least have some WB cred.

So how could Jon Hamm stand up to Jensen Ackles? Ackles sort of naturally looks the part, and as the fellow across The Pond in the link above mentions, he’s basically the right age. But he’s untested in the mainstream film department. He does have a number of recent genre items on his plate, like “My Bloody Valentine” and possibly next year’s “Resident Evil 4.” He had a stint on the FOX TV show “Dark Angel,” the springboard career-maker for Jessica Alba. But young WB stars typically have difficulty gaining huge mainstream appeal while they’re still on the WB, and he’ll be on “Supernatural” for one more season. And sure, Alexis Bledel and Michelle Williams have done some very interesting and award-winning projects, but they were always overshadowed by their male co-stars or the subject matter. The guy who plays Steve Rogers needs to carry the movie, part of Marvel’s billion-dollar gamble to put The Avengers on the big screen, and Ackle’s WB-ness may get in the way. Cap/Rogers is a classic leading man role (think Cary Grant, with a touch more badass) and Jon-Hamm-as-Don-Draper comes closer to that. And anyway, someone with even an extremely loose James Van Der Beek association is going to lose points. Sorry, Jensen.

Jon Hamm has been buzzy for the last two years and it makes perfect sense to capitalize on his momentum. The timing is just not on Ackles’s side. To be honest, if Jon Hamm was never born, though, there might have been a blog called JensenAcklesShouldPlayCaptainAmerica, because I sense some great things from this guy in the action and/or comedy departments.

Jon Hamm wins!

P.S…. coincidentally, look for James Van Der Beek and Jon Hamm to show up in the (indie?) “The Boy In The Box” next year! Yikes…. This might end up being a close one! Good thing the poll will decide it all….!