Ben Feldman played Michael Ginsberg, the copywriter introduced in Mad Men’s fifth season.
Ginsberg first appears in “Tea Leaves,” where Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce hires him as a part-time copywriter to work on the Mohawk Airlines account. His theatrical pitching style, rapid ideas, and blunt manner quickly distinguish him from the agency’s more restrained writers.
The character becomes an important part of the creative department and eventually works alongside Peggy Olson and Stan Rizzo. His talent is genuine, but his competitiveness and social awkwardness repeatedly create friction with Don Draper and other colleagues.
Viewers sometimes confuse Feldman with Rich Sommer, who played Harry Crane, or with Jay R. Ferguson, who played Stan Rizzo. Ginsberg’s later storyline becomes much darker: after the agency installs an IBM computer, his increasingly erratic behavior culminates in a severe psychological breakdown during season 6.