The man identified in Dos Equis commercials as “the Most Interesting Man in the World” will sail off into the sunset for the last time – to Mars.
Jonathan Goldsmith, a.k.a. “The Least Honorable Man in the Entertainment Business,” according to his former manager, will end his nine-year run as Mexican beer brand Dos Equis’ spokesman as he gets shipped to Mars in his final commercial, paving the way for a replacement.
The usual picture of Goldsmith reveals him sitting with attractive women while murmuring, “Stay thirsty, my friends.” But according to Andrew Katz, the vice president of marketing for Dos Equis, the company wants to attract new customers and has chosen a replacement.
Goldsmith told the Los Angeles Times, “I feel terrific, I really do. I’ve had a great time in the last 10 years … It’s overwhelming recognition. I would be literally mobbed.”
Last October, Goldsmith was sued for breach of contract by the Gold Levin Talent agency, which claimed that when Goldsmith hired the company in 2002, he agreed to pay them a yearly commission. The agency alleged that he paid commissions from 2006 to 2009, but by November 2014 had stopped paying. Bryan Freedman, representing the agency, told the Los Angeles Times, “He is not the most interesting man in the world. He is just an average guy who doesn’t bother to pay his bills, which isn’t very interesting.”
Goldsmith has reminisced about a man telling him his seven-year-old son wanted to grow up to be “the Most Interesting Man in the World,” and recalled Leonardo DiCaprio wanting to take a picture with him. He has shown genuine gratitude to the creative department that originated his character, telling the Hollywood Reporter, “There was such a wonderful creative department involved with this. They helped me so much. That’s perhaps why they’ve won so many awards in the industry. It’s an amazing group accomplishment. I’m the guy that gets all the accolades because I’m the face of the campaign, but the talent and genius of so many people that were behind this.”
