Jon Hamm Gets Back in the Driver’s Seat

It’s sound business reasoning. But what about the love of the game? Why, after a decade of not chasing another TV lead role, was now the right time to lock in again?

Hamm’s career after Mad Men has been a colorful one. He flexed his considerable comedy chops (proof that sometimes God does indeed give with both hands) in some exceedingly silly roles—as the goofy cult-leader antagonist on Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, as an assassin known as The Falcon in Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp, and as “Jon Hamm,” asshole Method actor, on Curb Your Enthusiasm. He played heavies with varying charm-to-menace ratios in high-profile films like Baby Driver, Bad Times at the El Royale, and No Sudden Move. It was consistent, albeit a tad directionless.

“I just wanted to work,” Hamm reflects. “I knew it would be unlikely to have another experience like Mad Men. Because it was culturally defining, it was a moment in time. Everything kind of lined up for that show to be what it was at the time it was. And I was okay with that. Some people don’t even get the one. So I got one. I got all the awards I needed. [After it ended] I was like, ‘I’m good.’ I just want to work with people I find compelling. And I hope that I get to do stuff that other people like. But the only real barometer is that I like it. People were like, You should do this. You should do that. Why don’t you do this one? Because it doesn’t do it for me. I’ll go do a dumb comedy, or I’ll do three episodes of this show, or that show, or whatever.”

Still, the idea that a man of Hamm’s immense talent—who’d led what is arguably (read: unquestionably) the greatest show of all time—was seemingly so unconcerned about chasing another championship ring started to become a bit distracting. For example: As great a look as it was for Hamm to be in Top Gun: Maverick, the second-highest-grossing movie of 2022, was it also a waste, or at least a misuse, of the Hamm Effect to cast him as the joyless, authoritative boss?

“Well, that was an interesting one, because there’s no mistaking who’s the star of that movie,” Hamm says with a laugh. “I saw the original film when I was 14 years old. So I would’ve fucking made coffee on that set. My agents were like, ‘I don’t know—it’s not a very big part. Do you really want to do this?’ And I go, ‘Dude, it’s Top Gun 2. Like, what?’ That movie meant a lot to me personally. I told them, If you guys fuck this deal, you’re all fired.”

There were higher-profile roles that got away; one of the few that really stings is Gone Girl, and that was Mad Men’s fault. Hamm confirms that David Fincher reached out to him to play the part that eventually went to Ben Affleck. “I had gone in and met with Fox,” Hamm says, “and they said ‘We really want you for this. But David won’t engage unless he knows that you’re available.’ And I said, ‘Okay, let me work on that.’ Called Lionsgate, said, Hey, can we move some things around? I have this opportunity. They’re like, Absolutely. It sounds amazing. Called AMC: Yeah, for sure. Then I called the guy that ran the show, Matthew [Weiner], and he said, ‘We can’t really shoot around you.’ I was like, Yeah, I know. I’m aware. But can we maybe.… And for whatever reason, they couldn’t make it work. So it was a missed opportunity. I was very happy for [Ben]. He was amazing in the film. But yeah, that was one of those things where I’m like, I wish that would’ve worked out.”