Los Angeles

A MAN is measured by his automobile in this city. But Vincent Kartheiser, the actor who plays the slick ad salesman Pete Campbell on “Mad Men,” is among the 10 percent of Angelenos who rely on public transportation. So on a Thursday night he and a reporter got around using his preferred, and for now, only, method of transportation: mass transit.

“I guess I’ve been shopping for cars for three and a half years,” said Mr. Kartheiser, whose last car was damaged by street flooding. “I have some commitment issues. I’m the guy who stands in the soap aisle for like 40 minutes. Old Spice! Speed Stick! Old Spice!”

Before heading out to a favorite restaurant in Thai Town, Mr. Kartheiser got ready in his single-room Hollywood apartment  which has a bed that can be airlifted to the ceiling and sliding doors that hide his bathroom. He emerged, wearing a faded green T-shirt imprinted with a mosaic of Edie Sedgwick images  a sharp contrast to Pete Campbell, who dons suits starched to perfection. On hiatus from shooting “Mad Men,” he sported a beard.

“In New York all the guys have satchels,” he said, as he slung a tattered black bag bearing the logo of his fictional workplace, Sterling Cooper, over his shoulders. “Here, you just have ... Porsches,” he said with a tinge of sarcasm.