Mad Men star Rich Sommer reflects on incredible acting career

American actor Rich Sommer always wanted to be an actor since childhood.

Sommer, who was born in 1978 in Ohio and majored in fine arts, recently made an impact with his Harry Crane role in AMC drama series, Mad Men.

Sommer’s popular show, which run between 2007 and 2015, earned him two Screen Actors Guild Awards along with the ensemble cast.

Rich Sommer's journey to acting

Sommer was into acting since his school days. After graduating from Stillwater Area High School in 1996, he went on to study theatre at Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota.

Sommer later studied improvisation at the Brave New Workshop in Minneapolis, and started an improv group, the Slush Puppies. He then earned an MFA degree in acting from Case Western Reserve University in 2004.

He then moved to New York and studied improv at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre before eventually moving to Los Angeles for Mad Men.

Rich Sommer’s role in Mad Men

Reflecting on Harry role in Mad Men, Sommer previously told GQ magazine, “The character has gone through quite a transformation: personality-wise, and physically, certainly, up and down in weight.”

Sommer explained, “I think I have been playing this character for seven years, and I've never, ever played a character for more than the run of a play, which is two hours.”

“So, getting the chance to see this guy through different stages of life, and victories and failures, seeing how success allows him to be more fully himself... that's an opportunity I can't ever repay them for,” said the actor.

Rich Sommer’s movies and television shows

After Mad Men, there was no looking back for Sommer as he had worked in more than 40 projects as an actor.

Sommer also made memorable appearances on The Office, Law & Order and Elementary show. He was also made a guest appearance on Ugly Betty in 2010.

Not only that, Sommer also started performances of the Roundabout Theatre Company's production of Harvey on Broadway in May 2012.

Rich Sommer movies

Sommer also got the opportunity to play Anne Hathaway’s friend Doug role in the 2006 hit movie, The Devil Wears Prada.

Then in 2012, Sommer starred in Fairhaven and The Giant Mechanical Man, whi was also premiered at Tribeca Film Festival the same year.

Speaking to Backstage, Sommer revealed, “Mechanical Man is sort of how I am when I'm goofing around and trying to be light.”

“And Fairhaven is a darker movie with a darker spin on things. But they both feel very close to me,” he stated.

Sommer was also featured in the 2018 horror mystery movie, Summer of 84.

Other movie credits included King Richard (2021), Fair Play and BlackBerry (2023).

Rich Sommer's contributions to video games 

Sommer is an avid gamer who loves board games. He also disclosed that he had a bookshelf full of WWII board games during his appearance on The Indoor Kids podcast back in 2014.

Meanwhile, Sommer is a voice actor known for voicing Henry and Shesthaal Forgnar.