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Don Draper vs. Walter White (3 Viewers)

Which ACTOR is better?

  • Jon Hamm

    Votes: 28 19.7%

  • Bryan Cranston

    Votes: 114 80.3%
  • Total voters
    142
Apple Juice

Apple Juice

Footballguy
With the current season of Mad Men nearing its end and the start of Breaking Bad coming up, both threads have been on the front page often. There has been plenty of discussion about which show is better, and with Hamm and Cranston competing for Emmys, which character/actor is better. "Better" can mean a lot of things: more important to the success of the show, more complex, more engaging, more iconic.

Does it matter which is "better"? Not really, they're both phenomenal in their own ways, but I find it fun to compare the two and find out how others view the comparison. It goes without saying that Mad Men and Breaking Bad feature radically different premises, and as such demand different types of performances--but of the two, which leading actor carries their show the best in your opinion? Will either be remembered as the most iconic character of this golden age of television?

 
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Draper is the better character.

Cranston is the slightly better actor. Part of that has to do with them giving him more stuff to do. Have we ever seen Draper running or fighting for his life?

 
Hamm/Draper's Kodak Carousel moment was the finest thing I've ever seen on tv.

The character may not always be as emotionally deep, but when Hamm dials it up it's amazing.

 
I actually think Draper's character is more complex with a richer back-story. He's a suave, confident genius only because he acts like one, constantly running from his poor childhood and shameful origins. He has clearly defined ethics while acting selfishly and self-destructively. He's an ad man constantly searching for something that most likely doesn't exist.

Hamm and Cranston both depict their characters flawlessly. While Cranston gets a wider range of situations to display his emotions in, I actually think Hamm has the tougher chore of emitting what's going on in his head during silent moments. I give both Draper and Hamm the slight edge.

 
I think Cranston's the better actor in his role by a decent margin....but that could be b/c he's had to portray such a range within that role. Hamm has done that to an extent, but I just think Cranston's done it a lot better.

Really a toss up with the characters, but I went with WW

 
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I will note vore in this poll. As of right now, I'll take Hamm/ Draper. But once MM ends and BB starts, my vote will change. Honestly.

I cannot decide which of these two shows is my current favorite. Both are sublime, incredibly written and acted, with leading men which are peerless other than each other. The supporting casts are great, with MM being deeper, but no one on MM can compare with Aaron Paul as top supporting actor/ character.

By the time these 2 shows are done, they might be 1 and 1a on my list of GOAT series. They've both already overtaken MASH, and The Wire is looking over it's shoulder...

 
Walter White is the most fascinating TV character I can think of. Ever.

He started as a weak and feeble man with no ambition or direction other than to make it through the day. Only we know from his back story that he once upon a time had ambition and talent but he walked away from it. That's improtant, because as time passes we see that he is a weak and feeble man deeply devoted to his family and taking care of them. Only his efforts blow everything to hell with not only his family but most everyone that comes in contact with him. He's like the human embodiment of everyone's bad day. Only when given the chance to get out of being a destructive force, he goes in to it even deeper and now appears not only capable but EAGER to leave the earth scorched in his wake. And why? So he can be right. So he can win. So he can be the one who knocks.

To recap, we are introduced to a chemistry teacher who no one respects. Not his students or friends or family or bosses. 4 seasons later we have a man capable of indiscriminately killing anyone and everyone, manipulating anyone and everyone, and putting everyone in harm's way to protect himself and his own selfish interests.

Best character EVER.

 
Draper acts too mopey and emo for a grown man. I watched a few episodes, and while I get why chicks like it, I couldn't sit through an entire season of this.

 
Cranston can act circles around Hamm.

And that's really not said with the intent of disrespecting Hamm. He is a fine actor. Cranston is simply on another planet.

 
I don't necessarily think Hamm is a great actor or anything, but he was well-cast as DD. Cranston has much more of a flashy role. It's not without it's opportunities for subtlety, but by and large, it's above ground work. Hamm's job is more of a slow burn and a lot less obvious. It's not really fair to compare the actors considering how different the roles are.

 
'Apple Jack said:
I don't necessarily think Hamm is a great actor or anything, but he was well-cast as DD. Cranston has much more of a flashy role. It's not without it's opportunities for subtlety, but by and large, it's above ground work. Hamm's job is more of a slow burn and a lot less obvious. It's not really fair to compare the actors considering how different the roles are.
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I picked Walter/Cranston but I agree with the bolded.
 
'Apple Jack said:
I don't necessarily think Hamm is a great actor or anything, but he was well-cast as DD. Cranston has much more of a flashy role. It's not without it's opportunities for subtlety, but by and large, it's above ground work. Hamm's job is more of a slow burn and a lot less obvious. It's not really fair to compare the actors considering how different the roles are.
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I understand your point, but I think cranston makes the role with how he does subtle things. Cleaning the piZza off the roof, noticing the mustard on the doctors shirt, how he clinches his hands the same when he's angry and when he's scared, how his eyes are more closed when he's heisenberg and more open when he's Walt...
 
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I'll make a few points.

1. Hamm's character started as a weak and feeble man as well. One with no money and born of a whore. He transformed himself into the cool, collected, confident, successful, wealthy, lady-killing Don Draper. You just don't see that transformation linearly, but Hamm does have to act both parts through the course of the series.

2. Seeing Hamm on talk shows or SNL, he couldn't be more different than Draper. He's really a goofball. Cranston is as well, but I think in character traits Hamm is less like Draper than Cranston is like Walt.

3. I love both actors, roles and shows. It won't be fair if Cranston (currently 3 Emmy's) walks away with a handful of best-actor statues while Hamm has none. Hamm deserves one.

 
I don't think either of them could play the other role, but both are just about perfectly cast and do a great job.

This is too close to call for me but I think I leaned slightly towards Cranston/White when I voted initially.

Hamm is very talented. Can do drama or comedy equally well. Cranston has obviously done both as well and is putting on a clinic with his work in Breaking Bad.

 
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'Aaron Rudnicki said:
I don't think either of them could play the other role, but both are just about perfectly cast and do a great job.This is too close to call for me but I think I leaned slightly towards Cranston/White when I voted initially.Hamm is very talented. Can do drama or comedy equally well. Cranston has obviously done both as well and is putting on a clinic with his work in Breaking Bad.
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:goodposting:I also have a problem with the comparison Cranston is given a lot more to work with. We've seen Walter White in just about every kind of situation possible. The world Draper lives in requires him to be much more sedate and stoic.
 
I also think Hamm's smoothness and confidence are taken for granted. Don Draper is supposed to be the ultimate cool guy that owns every room and can sleep with any woman in the world--since he's supposed to be that way, when we watch him we don't think about how difficult it is to portray a character like that.

Hamm pulls it off with ease, and when he's alone (switching gears roaring down an open road in a Jaguar, standing in a hallway watching an old man asking his wife if she got pears, browsing through Ginsberg's notebook after hours), he's able to hit every note of a man contemplating his past and his future and the balancing act he goes through every day. To be able to convey as much as he does without overacting is extremely difficult, especially to be as completely compelling as he is every week.

Cranston gets to bite into heavily dramatized scenarios week after week. Yes he never fails to pull it off, but his role provides a much easier platform to show off.

Both are flawless for the characters they play, but Hamm's degree of difficulty is higher IMO.

 
I've watched every episode of both shows. For me Walter White is more predictable, which makes me like Don Draper better. Both are perfect at the character they portray, no sense comparing.

 
Hamm does not get enough credit for his subtlety.

His scenes with Conrad Hilton are some of the best in the series.

Hilton is everything Don wishes he was: rich, powerful, influential.

Yet, he is also petty, shallow, temperamental, mean-spirited.

Hamm's body language and facial expressions convey all of these conflicting emotions.

I think Hamm just kills it acting-wise in these scenes.

 
'Encyclopedia Brown said:
Hamm does not get enough credit for his subtlety. His scenes with Conrad Hilton are some of the best in the series.Hilton is everything Don wishes he was: rich, powerful, influential.Yet, he is also petty, shallow, temperamental, mean-spirited.Hamm's body language and facial expressions convey all of these conflicting emotions. I think Hamm just kills it acting-wise in these scenes.
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This is me agreeing.
 
'Encyclopedia Brown said:
Hamm does not get enough credit for his subtlety. His scenes with Conrad Hilton are some of the best in the series.Hilton is everything Don wishes he was: rich, powerful, influential.Yet, he is also petty, shallow, temperamental, mean-spirited.Hamm's body language and facial expressions convey all of these conflicting emotions. I think Hamm just kills it acting-wise in these scenes.
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Just finished watching Season 3 again. Good take here. Also really liked the show where he reveals stuff in his box to Bets.
 
Big fan of Breaking Bad, have watched every episode at least twice. Probably my favorite TV show of all time. Lately I've been catching up on Mad Men and I'm currently on Season 5.

I think Draper is a better character than White, even though Cranston does a better acting job and BB is a better show.

Draper is an amazingly complex character, where White has more of a straightforward dichotomy about him. I also feel Draper is a more central character to MM than White is in BB if that makes sense. The lives of every other character in MM revolve around him. White went through a transformation to operate within (and eventually control) a world that was foreign to him and he basically replaced Gus. Draper defines the world in MM - without him everything falls apart and no other character could replace him.

 
17seconds said:
Big fan of Breaking Bad, have watched every episode at least twice. Probably my favorite TV show of all time. Lately I've been catching up on Mad Men and I'm currently on Season 5.

I think Draper is a better character than White, even though Cranston does a better acting job and BB is a better show.

Draper is an amazingly complex character, where White has more of a straightforward dichotomy about him. I also feel Draper is a more central character to MM than White is in BB if that makes sense. The lives of every other character in MM revolve around him. White went through a transformation to operate within (and eventually control) a world that was foreign to him and he basically replaced Gus. Draper defines the world in MM - without him everything falls apart and no other character could replace him.
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Disagree. Draper is replaceable. Is he great at what he does? Yes. But the show is as much about the times as it is about draper. Without Walter white, there is no breaking bad. Without draper, that firm keeps chugging along. In fact, ww has a much greater impact on the lives if the other characters. Draper is a boss, not family. Having said that; I love don draper.

 
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Leeroy Jenkins said:
17seconds said:
Big fan of Breaking Bad, have watched every episode at least twice. Probably my favorite TV show of all time. Lately I've been catching up on Mad Men and I'm currently on Season 5.

I think Draper is a better character than White, even though Cranston does a better acting job and BB is a better show.

Draper is an amazingly complex character, where White has more of a straightforward dichotomy about him. I also feel Draper is a more central character to MM than White is in BB if that makes sense. The lives of every other character in MM revolve around him. White went through a transformation to operate within (and eventually control) a world that was foreign to him and he basically replaced Gus. Draper defines the world in MM - without him everything falls apart and no other character could replace him.
Click to expand...
Disagree. Draper is replaceable. Is he great at what he does? Yes. But the show is as much about the times as it is about draper. Without Walter white, there is no breaking bad. Without draper, that firm keeps chugging along. In fact, ww has a much greater impact on the lives if the other characters. Draper is a boss, not family.Having said that; I love don draper.
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Yes White is the show but Draper is a more interesting character

 
I'm two seasons behind on mad men, but walter white is way ahead of draper for me. Draper is an interesting character, but we've seen flawed heroes before. There's never been a character like walter white. He's like clark kent but he turns into tony soprano instead of superman.

If we are talking about who is the more fun character, its definitely draper. The bigger transformation is obviously walter white. Better overall for me has to be white

 
Barry said:
Leeroy Jenkins said:
17seconds said:
Big fan of Breaking Bad, have watched every episode at least twice. Probably my favorite TV show of all time. Lately I've been catching up on Mad Men and I'm currently on Season 5.

I think Draper is a better character than White, even though Cranston does a better acting job and BB is a better show.

Draper is an amazingly complex character, where White has more of a straightforward dichotomy about him. I also feel Draper is a more central character to MM than White is in BB if that makes sense. The lives of every other character in MM revolve around him. White went through a transformation to operate within (and eventually control) a world that was foreign to him and he basically replaced Gus. Draper defines the world in MM - without him everything falls apart and no other character could replace him.
Click to expand...
Disagree. Draper is replaceable. Is he great at what he does? Yes. But the show is as much about the times as it is about draper. Without Walter white, there is no breaking bad. Without draper, that firm keeps chugging along. In fact, ww has a much greater impact on the lives if the other characters. Draper is a boss, not family.Having said that; I love don draper.
Click to expand...
Yes White is the show but Draper is a more interesting character
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You're delusional.

I stopped watching Mad Men in the middle of Season 3 because of the repetitive woodenness of Draper and the storylines. Draper is "cool", and not much else. It's gotten stale.

Meanwhile, I couldn't take my eyes off of Breaking Bad and the depth to which Cranston explored the incredibly complex and conflicted anti-hero he played, and I hated that the series ended.

 
T Bell said:
Barry said:
Leeroy Jenkins said:
17seconds said:
Big fan of Breaking Bad, have watched every episode at least twice. Probably my favorite TV show of all time. Lately I've been catching up on Mad Men and I'm currently on Season 5.

I think Draper is a better character than White, even though Cranston does a better acting job and BB is a better show.

Draper is an amazingly complex character, where White has more of a straightforward dichotomy about him. I also feel Draper is a more central character to MM than White is in BB if that makes sense. The lives of every other character in MM revolve around him. White went through a transformation to operate within (and eventually control) a world that was foreign to him and he basically replaced Gus. Draper defines the world in MM - without him everything falls apart and no other character could replace him.
Click to expand...
Disagree. Draper is replaceable. Is he great at what he does? Yes. But the show is as much about the times as it is about draper. Without Walter white, there is no breaking bad. Without draper, that firm keeps chugging along. In fact, ww has a much greater impact on the lives if the other characters. Draper is a boss, not family.Having said that; I love don draper.
Click to expand...
Yes White is the show but Draper is a more interesting character
Click to expand...
You're delusional.

I stopped watching Mad Men in the middle of Season 3 because of the repetitive woodenness of Draper and the storylines. Draper is "cool", and not much else. It's gotten stale.

Meanwhile, I couldn't take my eyes off of Breaking Bad and the depth to which Cranston explored the incredibly complex and conflicted anti-hero he played, and I hated that the series ended.
Click to expand...
Keep watching Mad Men. It's a great show. Draper is a great and complex character, played brilliantly by Jon Hamm. I just think Walter White is more interesting and more integral to the show. Don Draper and his weird back-story is important for his character's journey, and obviously it's driven him and made him great at what he does and that has impacted people's careers, but you can remove Draper or that complexity and still have a great show about Madison Avenue and that era. Sometimes the whole Draper vs **** Whitman thing takes away from the show honestly, whereas the Walter White vs. Heisenberg thing IS the show and is way more interesting and dynamic.

 
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Does mad men get better? I don't remember what was going on when I stopped watching, it just seemed to have gotten old.

 
Leeroy Jenkins said:
T Bell said:
Barry said:
Leeroy Jenkins said:
17seconds said:
Big fan of Breaking Bad, have watched every episode at least twice. Probably my favorite TV show of all time. Lately I've been catching up on Mad Men and I'm currently on Season 5.

I think Draper is a better character than White, even though Cranston does a better acting job and BB is a better show.

Draper is an amazingly complex character, where White has more of a straightforward dichotomy about him. I also feel Draper is a more central character to MM than White is in BB if that makes sense. The lives of every other character in MM revolve around him. White went through a transformation to operate within (and eventually control) a world that was foreign to him and he basically replaced Gus. Draper defines the world in MM - without him everything falls apart and no other character could replace him.
Click to expand...
Disagree. Draper is replaceable. Is he great at what he does? Yes. But the show is as much about the times as it is about draper. Without Walter white, there is no breaking bad. Without draper, that firm keeps chugging along. In fact, ww has a much greater impact on the lives if the other characters. Draper is a boss, not family.Having said that; I love don draper.
Click to expand...
Yes White is the show but Draper is a more interesting character
Click to expand...
You're delusional.

I stopped watching Mad Men in the middle of Season 3 because of the repetitive woodenness of Draper and the storylines. Draper is "cool", and not much else. It's gotten stale.

Meanwhile, I couldn't take my eyes off of Breaking Bad and the depth to which Cranston explored the incredibly complex and conflicted anti-hero he played, and I hated that the series ended.
Click to expand...
Keep watching Mad Men. It's a great show. Draper is a great and complex character, played brilliantly by Jon Hamm. I just think Walter White is more interesting and more integral to the show. Don Draper and his weird back-story is important for his character's journey, and obviously it's driven him and made him great at what he does and that has impacted people's careers, but you can remove Draper or that complexity and still have a great show about Madison Avenue and that era. Sometimes the whole Draper vs **** Whitman thing takes away from the show honestly, whereas the Walter White vs. Heisenberg thing IS the show and is way more interesting and dynamic.
Click to expand...
I never thought of Heisenberg as a different person or alter-ego, just a code name. Draper is really 2 people.

Want to reiterate that I think Cranston is better and BB is a better show. We're arguing minutia here between the shows. But I came to this thread because I think the only thing MM has over BB is the Draper character.

 
bostonfred said:
Does mad men get better? I don't remember what was going on when I stopped watching, it just seemed to have gotten old.
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I almost gave up on it at the end of season 1 thinking it was becoming a soap opera where everybody bangs everybody else. But then it got better again mid season 2. In general it still does have too much of that though. I think they are trying to appeal broadly to men and women.

 
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