It was meant to be me: Jon Hamm on 'Gone Girl'

NEW DELHI: Actor Jon Hamm has said he missed out on David Fincher's acclaimed film ''Gone Girl'' as he was shooting for his cult classic series ''Mad Men''.

Based on Gillian Flynn's 2012 bestselling book of the same name, the psychological thriller revolves around Nick, a man, whose wife Amy disappears, leaving him as the prime suspect.

Hamm was originally pegged to play Nick, a role which was eventually essayed by Ben Affleck. Rosamund Pike starred as Amy in the 2014 film.

The Emmy-winning actor made the revelation on the celebrity talk show ''Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen'' where he made an appearance with his ''Mad Men'' co-star John Slattery as he answered a fan's question about whether he was slated to star in ''Gone Girl''.

''Yeah,'' he responded. ''I was down to the very end of that. It was meant to be me, but we had to film the continuing adventures of Mr Draper,'' Hamm said in a reference to his role of advertising genius Donald Draper on ''Mad Men'', which aired on AMC from 2007 to 2015.

While Hamm didn't divulge the details of why he had to turn down the role, a 2015 report from entertainment website Page Six claimed ''Mad Men'' creator Matthew Weiner wouldn't release him from the actor from his contract.

Hamm said he wasn't able to take up the film set in his native St Louis.

''Poor Ben, a Boston guy, had to wear a Cardinals hat. He was not very happy about it,'' he quipped.