Tag Archives: bryan batt

Frisky Q&A: Bryan Batt, AKA Salvatore Romano On “Mad Men”

Jessica WakemanSeptember 15, 2010 //
Bryan Batt photo

It would be easy to hate Bryan Batt.

He breathes the same air as Jon Hamm, playing the closeted gay art director Salvatore Romano on “Mad Men.” He counts Christina Hendricks and Jane Krakowski from “30 Rock” among his besties. And you wouldn’t know it from “Mad Men,” but this Louisiana native has the dreamiest thick Southern accent.

But how could you hate someone who is just so darn nice? Bryan profusely apologized for playing phone tag with me because he was busy taking care of his elderly mom (aww!) and then generously chatted from the back room of the home furnishings store, Hazelnut, he owns in uptown New Orleans with his partner of 20+ years, Tom Cianichi. Can you say “down-to-earth”?

After the jump, find out if Bryan thinks Sal will ever return to “Mad Men,” what it was like playing Lumiere the candlestick on Broadway’s “Beauty & The Beast,” and how he felt seeing Jon Hamm’s handsome mug for the first time. (Answer: amazing.) Keep reading »

Quotable: Sal From “Mad Men” Says “The Masses Can Be Asses”

Wendy AtterberryMarch 17, 2010 //

“If you are openly gay, the masses can be asses and sometimes can’t get past the fact that that’s how someone lives their private life. Some actors have to make a choice. If they have the opportunity to become these huge megastars, making millions and millions of dollars and have to live a lie, that’s a choice they have to make. Not that I would ever be a big star, but I just had to live my life the way I saw fit.”

— Bryan Batt, an openly gay actor whose “Mad Men” character, Sal, lost his job as art director on season three of the hit show due to politics around his (closeted) homosexuality. [via Huffington Post] Keep reading »

“Mad Men” Loses Sal For Good

Wendy AtterberryJanuary 29, 2010 //

As any fan of “Mad Men” who followed the third season on AMC knows, the character of Sal, a gay art director for the ad agency played brilliantly by Bryan Batt, was let go towards the end of the season when a spurned gay client outed him. Most of us held out hope the character would return next season, but it’s now been confirmed that Batt’s contract was not renewed for season four. Creator Matthew Weiner told TV Guide that making the decision to Batt/Sal go “was a tough moment for the show, but that’s where we are. I know how people felt about Bryan. I obviously love working with him, and he has been an indelible character since the pilot. I felt it was an expression of the times that he couldn’t work there anymore. It’s the ultimate case of sexual harassment.” Keep reading »