John Slattery Remembers Meeting Colin Hanks on "Mad Men" Before Starring Together in "Nuremberg" (Exclusive)

John Slattery recently reminisced about briefly encountering his former Mad Men co-star Colin Hanks while discussing their upcoming movie Nuremberg with PEOPLE. Although Slattery never shared screen time with Hanks on the show, the two actors crossed paths on set during the series.

The 2025 historical drama reunites Slattery, 63, with Hanks, 48, who appeared in three episodes of the Jon Hamm-led series as Father Gill in its second season. Slattery, known for his role as Roger Sterling on Mad Men across all seven seasons and for directing three episodes, recalled, "We did meet briefly back then. I didn't have anything to do with him story-wise on the show, but we had met and chatted."

Slattery described Hanks as "a great guy" and shared that they spent significant time together during the filming of Nuremberg. The movie, directed by James Vanderbilt, centers on U.S. Army psychiatrist Douglas Kelley (Rami Malek), who is tasked with assessing the mental state of Adolf Hitlers second-in-command, Hermann Gring (Russell Crowe), and other Nazi officials after the Holocaust. Slattery portrays U.S. Colonel Andrus, who consults Hanks' character, psychologist Gustave Gilbert, for a second opinion on Kelleys findings.

Based on the nonfiction book The Nazi and the Psychiatrist by Jack El-Hai, the film also features Michael Shannon, Leo Woodall, and Richard E. Grant. Slattery noted that he was initially drawn to the project because of its ensemble cast and compelling script. "Its a great story to be involved with and had great people to work with. [Vanderbilt] had the money to produce it with some size and some scale, which doesn't happen a lot," he said. "They don't make movies like this anymore at this price point."

Reflecting on the on-set camaraderie, Slattery commented, "It was a great group of people. We all got along well. Michael Shannon is a very funny guy. I've known Rami [Malek] for a while. We had a good time. It was grave during the day and it was heavy, but it was easy to let off steam after." The cast stayed together in the same hotel and spent time socializing after shooting. "I think we felt like the material was good and it was worth everybody's time. So we had a really good time," he added.

Author: Sophia Brooks