Vincent Kartheiser is particularly good at playing men whose confidence depends on somebody else's approval. As Pete Campbell in Mad Men, he makes an unpleasant man painfully recognisable without asking us to forgive him.
Fi1m perspective
Pete Campbell wants to look as though he belongs, and Vincent Kartheiser lets us see how much effort that takes. In Mad Men (2007), his confidence never quite conceals his need for somebody else to confirm it. We found Pete painfully recognisable because that hunger for approval survives even when his behaviour makes him hard to like. Kartheiser does not soften the unpleasantness to make the insecurity easier to notice. He trusts us to recognise both, and the performance gives us good reason to keep watching a man we might otherwise avoid.
His early work moved from the family adventure of Alaska (1996) to the independent drama Another Day in Paradise (1998), opposite James Woods. Playing Connor in Angel from 2002 to 2004 brought that intensity into a substantial television role. The troubled young man was already becoming familiar territory. It is a useful preparation for Pete, though Mad Men gives his uncertainty longer to develop and more room to become funny.
Matthew Weiner's series remains the clearest reason to seek Kartheiser out. Across seven seasons, Pete's combination of ambition and vulnerability benefits from the patient storytelling we value in Mad Men. An actor playing someone so often odious can make the need to be liked too obvious; Kartheiser lets it explain Pete without excusing him. The series can be smug about the past, and we would not mistake all of its judgements for insight. His performance keeps our attention on a particular person's failings rather than allowing an easy laugh at people from another decade.
There are limits to our enthusiasm. His Billy Wilder in Billy & Ray (2014) lacked presence, and an interesting part alone is no guarantee that his particular strengths will come through. Later appearances include Dr Jonathan Crane in Titans (2021); we would still make Mad Men the first stop. Give Pete time, especially if the early impression makes that seem an uninviting prospect.
Biography
Vincent Kartheiser is an American actor born on 5 May 1979 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He began performing as a child in stage productions at the Children's Theatre Company in Minneapolis and made his screen debut in the 1993 film Untamed Heart.
He is known for portraying Pete Campbell in the AMC series Mad Men (2007–2015). He also played Connor in the series Angel (2002–2004) and has appeared in films including Alaska (1996), Another Day in Paradise (1998) and In Time (2011). Kartheiser and the Mad Men ensemble cast won Screen Actors Guild Awards for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series in 2009 and 2010.
