Here's a combination no one could possibly see coming: Empire and Mad Men. Yet amazingly, it's a combination that's all too real. Or at least, it almost was, according to Mad Men star John Slattery.
Slattery, who plays the sarcastic, alcohol-soaked Roger Sterling on the hit AMC series, recently divulged that he was almost cast in a part on the Fox megahit series, Empire. He wouldn't say what the role was, but his description of it is pretty hysterical.
"That's Danny Strong who punches me in the balls!" Sterling explained to the Daily Beast. "That guy is on top of the world right now with Empire. If he reads this, 'Danny, I need a job!' He actually asked me if I wanted to be on Empire, and I think I let that ship sail. I don't know who I would've played... some white dude."
The Danny Strong Slattery's referencing happens to be a director on Empire... could this have led to some kind of sneak crossover? It's insanely unlikely (for one, Empire and Mad Men are on entirely different channels, and don't even take place in the same decade), but it's a fun concept to think about. And besides, both shows involve big business, plenty of liquor and high-stakes drama.
Strong is also an actor on Mad Men, who played the character of Danny Siegel, a man looking for a job at the same ad firm as Don Draper, only to be fired shortly after he gets the job.
Empire's just finished up its first season, while Mad Men's final season is about to begin. Perhaps we'll get a cameo from an Empire actor or two on one of the last Mad Men episodes, as a quick gag. Or (more likely), the shows will just continue to exist in their own little universes.
Mad Men's final season premieres on April 5, 2015.
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