Jon Hamm Biography

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Jonathan Daniel "Jon" Hamm (born March 10, 1971) is an American actor, director, and television producer best known for playing advertising executive Don Draper for the AMC television drama series, Mad Men (2007-2015).

For much of the mid-1990s, he lived in Los Angeles, making appearances in television series Providence, The Division, What About Brian, and Related. During 2000, he made his feature movie debut in the space adventure movie Space Cowboys. The next year, he had a minor role in the independent comedy, Kissing Jessica Stein (2001). He gained wide recognition when Mad Men began broadcast during July 2007. His performance earned him the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Television Series - Drama during 2008 and 2016 and the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series during 2015. He directed two episodes of the show.

During 2008, Hamm appeared in a remake of the science fiction movie The Day The Earth Stood Still. His first leading movie role was in the 2010 independent thriller Stolen. He also had supporting roles in the movies The Town (2010), Sucker Punch (2011), and Bridesmaids (2011). Hamm has received 16 Primetime Emmy Award nominations for his performances in Mad Men, 30 Rock (2006-2013), and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (2015-present).

His other television credits include featuring in the Sky Arts series A Young Doctor's Notebook and guest roles in Parks and Recreation and Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp. He provided his voice to the animated movie Shrek Forever After during 2010, and during 2015, he featured in the animated movie Minions.

Early life

Hamm was born in St. Louis, Missouri, the son of Deborah and Daniel Hamm. His father managed a family trucking company, and his mother was a secretary.

He is of German, English, and Irish descent; his surname originates with German immigrants. Hamm's parents divorced when he was two years old, and he lived in Missouri in Creve Coeur with his mother until her death from colon cancer, when he was 10 years old. Hamm then lived with his father.

His first acting role was as Winnie the Pooh for first grade. At 16, he was cast as Judas for the play Godspell, and enjoyed the experience, though he did not take acting seriously. He attended John Burroughs School, a private school in Ladue, where he was a member of the football, baseball, and swim teams. During this time, he dated future actress Sarah Clarke. His father died when Jon was 20.

After graduation during 1989, Hamm enrolled at the University of Texas, where he was a member of the Upsilon Chapter of Sigma Nu fraternity. There, Hamm was arrested for participating with a violent hazing incident that occurred during November 1990, involving another student, Mark Sanders. Sanders was beaten with a paddle and a broom, while Hamm was leading him around the fraternity house, and Sanders' clothes were set afire. The incident resulted in the fraternity being ended on campus. Hamm completed the terms of a deferred adjudication, and the charges were dismissed during August 1995.</ref>}}

Hamm then enrolled at the University of Missouri. At Missouri he answered an advertisement from a theater company seeking players for a production of A Midsummer Night's Dream, auditioned, and was cast in the production. Other roles followed, such as Leon Czolgosz in Assassins.

Acting career

After graduating during 1993 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English, Hamm returned to his high school to teach eighth-grade acting. One of his students was Ellie Kemper, who later became an actress and would feature in the Netflix original television series, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, in which Hamm has a recurring role; another was Beau Willimon, who became a screenwriter.

Early work

}} Hamm has known actor Paul Rudd for many years. Not wishing to stay in a "normal career", Hamm relocated to Los Angeles permanently during 1995 with an automobile and $150. He relocated into a house with four other aspiring actors and began working as a waiter while attending auditions. He acted in theatre, including as Flavius in a production of Shakespeare's Timon of Athens with the Sacred Fools Theater Company.

Finding employment as an actor was difficult, despite representation by the William Morris Agency, because, unlike other actors his age, he could not be cast in youth-oriented productions like Dawson's Creek, due to his older appearance. During 1998, having failed to obtain any acting jobs after three years, his case was terminated by William Morris. Hamm continued working as a waiter and, briefly, as a set designer for a softcore pornography movie. After repeatedly failing to obtain promising roles, he set his 30th birthday as a deadline to succeed in Hollywood, stating:

During 2000, Hamm obtained the role of romantic firefighter Burt Ridley on NBC's drama series Providence. His one-episode contract grew to 19, and enabled him to quit waiting tables. Hamm made his feature movie debut with one line in Clint Eastwood's space adventure Space Cowboys (2000); more substantial roles followed in the independent comedy movie Kissing Jessica Stein (2001) and the war film We Were Soldiers (2002), during filming of which he turned 30. His career was further bolstered when he played the recurring role of police inspector Nate Basso on Lifetime's television series The Division, from 2002 to 2004. Other minor roles followed on the television series What About Brian, CSI: Miami, Related, Numb3rs, The Unit, and The Sarah Silverman Program. Hamm's Mad Men castmate Eric Ladin had said that one of the reasons he admires Jon is that while he "made it" later than most actors, Hamm never gave up on acting.

International recognition

Hamm landed his breakthrough role during 2007, when he was cast from more than 80 candidates as the protagonist character Don Draper, in AMC's drama series Mad Men. In the series, set in a fictional 1960s advertising agency, he plays a suave advertising executive with an obscure past.

He recalled, "I read the script for Mad Men and I loved it. [...] I never thought they'd cast me"?- I mean, I thought they'd go with one of the five guys who look like me but are movie stars", and that an actor with a "proven track record" would likely have been chosen if another network had broadcast the show. He went through numerous auditions and explained each time to the casting directors what he could bring to the character, if given the part. Alan Taylor and Mad Men creator Matthew Weiner initially thought Hamm was too handsome for the role but ultimately decided, "it was perfect to cast sort of the perfect male in this part"; Weiner also sensed that the actor had not been raised by his parents, similar to Draper's backstory.

Hamm used memories of his father to portray Draper, a well-dressed, influential man of business and society hiding great inner turmoil and experiencing changes in the world beyond his control.

Mad Men debuted on July 19, 2007, with almost 1.4 million viewers. It quickly developed a loyal audience, with Hamm receiving strong reviews. Robert Bianco of USA Today was complimentary of Hamm's performance, terming the actor's interpretation of Draper was a "starmaking performance". The Boston Globe's Matthew Gilbert termed Hamm a "brilliant lead".

For his work, Hamm won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Television Series - Drama during 2008. Also during 2008, he was nominated for both the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor and the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series. During 2009, Hamm was again nominated for the Golden Globe Award and Screen Actors Guild Award in the same category, and received another Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series. During 2010, Hamm received his third Golden Globe Award nomination. Mad Men concluded its seven-season run on May 17, 2015. Hamm received his first Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series on September 20, 2015 after receiving 12 Emmy nominations for acting for and producing the series.

Hamm's next movie role was for the 2008 science fiction movie The Day the Earth Stood Still, a remake of the 1951 film of the same name. Although the movie received mixed reviews, it was successful financially, earning $230 million worldwide.

Hamm hosted Saturday Night Live, season 34, episode 6, on October 25, 2008, and played various roles, including Don Draper in two sketches. He returned as host again on January 30 and October 30, 2010.

During 2009, Hamm guest featured in three episodes of the NBC television situation comedy show 30 Rock, as Drew Baird, a doctor who is a neighbor and love interest of Liz Lemon's (Tina Fey). For these performances, he received three nominations for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series.

Hamm's movie projects post-2009 include the independent mystery thriller Stolen (2009).

Hamm had a minor voice role in the animated feature Shrek Forever After (released during May 2010), as an ogre leader named Brogan. Also that year, he appeared as an FBI agent in the movie The Town (2010), with Ben Affleck; after receiving "about 40 scripts that were all set in the 60s, or had me playing advertising guys", Hamm was pleased that the movie offered a role "the opposite to Don Draper". The feature received generally favorable reviews and earned $144 million worldwide.

His next acting role was as defense attorney Jake Ehrlich in the independent movie Howl, based on Allen Ginsberg's eponymous 1956 poem. On December 12, 2010, Hamm made a guest appearance as an FBI supervisor on Fox's animated series The Simpsons.

He featured in Zack Snyder's action-fantasy movie Sucker Punch (2011), as the character High Roller, and the doctor. He also had a supporting role in the comedy Bridesmaids as Kristen Wiig's "rude and arrogant sex buddy". Hamm was next seen in the independent feature Friends with Kids (2011), which he produced alongside his then-partner Jennifer Westfeldt; the story concerns a group of friends whose lives are changed as the couples in the group begin to have children.

He has a recurring role in the situation comedy The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret, as the servant of sociopathic billionaire Dave Mountford (Blake Harrison).

Hamm hosted the 21st ESPYS Awards on July 17, 2013 and played sports agent J.B. Bernstein in Disney's sports drama Million Dollar Arm the next year.

He co-featured with Daniel Radcliffe in A Young Doctor's Notebook, playing an older version of Radcliffe's character, from December 2012 to December 2013. He had a number of roles during 2015, in the comedy shows Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt and Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp, as well as the animated comedy Minions, as the voice of Herb Overkill. Minions was a major box office success; despite mixed reviews, it grossed a total of over $1 billion worldwide.

Hamm featured in the comedy Keeping Up with the Joneses, alongside Zach Galifianakis and Gal Gadot; the movie was filmed during the spring of 2015, and was released during October 2016 after being delayed seven months. He featured in the science fiction movie Marjorie Prime, which premiered at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival, and Edgar Wright's comedy crime movie Baby Driver, which premiered at the 2017 South by Southwest Festival. His upcoming movie roles include the drama Aardvark, political thriller High Wire Act, and the drama Nostalgia. Hamm appeared in the SpongeBob SquarePants episode "Factory Fresh".

Personal life

During 1997, Hamm began a relationship with actress and screenwriter Jennifer Westfeldt.

In an interview discussion about his relationship with Westfeldt, Hamm said: "We may not have a piece of paper that says we're husband and wife, but after 10 years, Jennifer is more than just a girlfriend. What we have is much deeper and we both know that. To me, people get married when they're ready to have kids, which I'm not ruling out." Along with Westfeldt, Hamm has appeared in Gap-related campaign advertisements. During April 2009, Hamm and Westfeldt formed their own production company, Points West Pictures. Hamm and Westfeldt are advocates of animal rescue and have adopted a mixed breed dog named Cora from the Much Love Animal Shelter in California.

During September 2015, Hamm and Westfeldt announced they were ending their relationship.

Although his role as Don Draper required Hamm to smoke, he stopped smoking when he was 24 years old. On set he did not smoke actual cigarettes, but rather herbal cigarettes that do not contain tobacco or nicotine.

During March 2015, Hamm's representative confirmed that Hamm had recently completed inpatient treatment for alcoholism. Additionally, Hamm reported developing vitiligo throughout the filming of Mad Men.

Hamm identifies as a Democrat.

Sports and related endorsements

Hamm is an avid golfer and tennis player, and a devoted fan of the National Hockey League (NHL) team, the St. Louis Blues; he's even appeared in two television spots advertising for the team. He is a fan of the Major League Baseball (MLB) team the St. Louis Cardinals', and narrated the official highlight movie for the 2011 World Series, won by the Cardinals.

Other product endorsements

During March 2010, Mercedes-Benz hired Hamm (replacing actor Richard Thomas) as their new voice actor for the S400 Hybrid campaign. During 2013, American Airlines debuted a television commercial titled "Change is in the Air", featuring Hamm's voice-over. Hamm is an American Airlines frequent flier, and his Mad Men character Don Draper often spoke of aspiring to win such accounts as American Airlines.

Reception

Internationally considered as a sex symbol, Hamm was named one of Salon.coms Sexiest Man Living in 2007 and one of People magazine's Sexiest Men Alive in 2008. In November 2008, Entertainment Weekly named him one of their Entertainers of the Year. He again was named one of the magazine's Entertainers of the Year during 2010. Hamm also won GQs "International Man" award during September 2010.

Filmography

Movies

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2000	Space Cowboys	Young Pilot No. 2
2001	Kissing Jessica Stein	Charles
2002	We Were Soldiers	Capt. Matt Dillon
2006	Ira and Abby	Ronnie
2007	The Ten	Chris Knarl
2008	The Day the Earth Stood Still	Dr. Michael Granier
2009	A Single Man	Hank Ackerley (voice)	Uncredited
2009	Stolen	Tom Adkins Sr.
2010	Shrek Forever After	Brogan (voice)
2010	The A-Team	Agent Lynch	Uncredited
2010	The Town	Adam Frawley
2010	Howl	Jake Ehrlich
2011	Sucker Punch	High Roller / Doctor
2011	Bridesmaids	Ted	Uncredited
2012	Friends with Kids	Ben	Also producer
2013	The Congress	Dylan Truliner (voice)
2014	Million Dollar Arm	J.B. Bernstein
2015	Minions	Herb Overkill (voice)
2016	Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie	Himself	Cameo
2016	Keeping Up with the Joneses	Tim Jones
2017	Marjorie Prime	Walter
2017	Baby Driver	Buddy
2017	Aardvark	Craig Norman
2017	High Wire Act	Mason Skiles	Post-production
2017	Nostalgia		Post-production

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1996	The Big Date	Himself	Contestant
1997	Ally McBeal	That Guy	Episode: "Compromising Positions"
2000	The Trouble with Normal	Jackson	Episode: "Pilot"
2000	The Hughleys	Buzz	Episode: "Lies My Valentine Told Me"
2000-01	Providence	Burt Ridley	18 episodes
2001	Early Bird Special	Red-Headed Cop	Episode: "Pilot"
2002	Gilmore Girls	Peyton Sanders	Episode: "Eight O'Clock at the Oasis"
2002-04	The Division	Inspector Nate Basso	16 episodes
2005	CSI: Miami	Dr. Brent Kessler	2 episodes
2005	Point Pleasant	Dr. George Forrester	2 episodes
2005	Charmed	Jack Brody	Episode: "Ordinary Witches"
2006	Numb3rs	Richard Clast	Episode: "Hardball"
2006	Related	Danny	Episode: "Related"
2006-07	The Unit	Wilson James	5 episodes
2006-07	What About Brian	Richard Povich	6 episodes
2007	The Sarah Silverman Program	Cable Guy	Episode: "Muffin' Man"
2007-15	Mad Men	Don Draper	92 episodes; also producer, director
2008-15	Saturday Night Live	Himself / Various roles	10 episodes
2009-12	30 Rock	Dr. Drew Baird / Abner / David Brinkley	7 episodes
2010	The Simpsons	FBI Investigator (voice)	Episode: "Donnie Fatso"
2010, 2012	Conan	Don Draper	2 episodes
2010-16	Childrens Hospital	Derrick Childrens / Arthur Childrens	6 episodes
2011	Robot Chicken	Various voices	2 episodes
2012	The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret	Himself / Dave's Employee	4 episodes
2012	Comedy Bang! Bang!	Himself	Episode: "Jon Hamm Wears A Light Blue Shirt & Silver Watch"
2012	Martha Speaks	Ham Johnson (voice)	Episode: "Cora! Cora! Cora!/Cora Encore!"
2012	Metalocalypse	Sultan Jamawa (voice)	Episode: "Writersklok"
2012	American Dad!	Himself (voice)	Episode: "Can I Be Frank (With You)"
2012	Family Guy	Himself (voice)	Episode: "Ratings Guy"
2012, 2013	The Greatest Event in Television History	Rick Simon / Ghost of Jon Hamm	2 episodes
2012-13	A Young Doctor's Notebook	Older Dr. Vladimir Bomgard	8 episodes; also executive producer
2013	Bob's Burgers	O.T. (voice)	Episode: "O.T.: The Outside Toilet"
2013	Archer	Captain Murphy (voice)	2 episodes
2013	2013 ESPY Awards	Himself (host)	Television special
2013	Clear History	Will Haney	Television film
2014	Web Therapy	Jeb Masters	2 episodes
2014	Black Mirror	Matt Trent	Episode: "White Christmas"
2014, 2015	Parks and Recreation	Ed	2 episodes
2015-16	Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt	Reverend Richard Wayne Gary Wayne	7 episodes
2015	7 Days in Hell	Narrator	Television film
2015	Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp	Falcon	4 episodes
2015	Toast of London	Himself	Episode: "Hamm on Toast"
2016	Wander Over Yonder	Cartoon Lord Hater (voice)	Episode: "The Cartoon"
2016	Angie Tribeca	McCormick	Episode: "Fleas Don't Kill Me"
2016	All or Nothing: A Season with the Arizona Cardinals	Narrator	8 episodes
2016	The Last Man on Earth	Darrell	Episode: "General Breast Theme with Cobras"
2017	SpongeBob SquarePants	Don Grouper (voice)	Episode: "Factory Fresh"

Music videos

Year	Artist	Song	Role
2011	The Lonely Island (ft. Rihanna)	"Shy Ronnie 2: Ronnie & Clyde"	Bank Hostage
2011	Herman Dne	"Tell Me Something I Don't Know"
2012	Aimee Mann	"Labrador"	Tom Scharpling

Awards and nominations

Year	Association	Category	Nominated work	Result
2007	Satellite Award	Best Cast - Television Series	Mad Men
2008	Golden Globe Award	Best Actor - Television Series Drama
	Primetime Emmy Award	Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series
	Satellite Award	Best Actor - Television Series Drama
	Screen Actors Guild Award	Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series
		Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series
	Television Critics Association Award	Individual Achievement in Drama
2009	Golden Globe Award	Best Actor - Television Series Drama
	Primetime Emmy Award	Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series	30 Rock
		Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series	Mad Men
	Satellite Award	Best Actor - Television Series Drama
	Screen Actors Guild Award	Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series
		Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series
	Television Critics Association Award	Individual Achievement in Drama
2010	Golden Globe Award	Best Actor - Television Series Drama
	Primetime Emmy Award	Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series	30 Rock
		Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series	Mad Men
	National Board of Review	Best Cast	The Town
	Satellite Award	Best Actor - Television Series Drama	Mad Men
	Screen Actors Guild Award	Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series
		Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series
2011	Broadcast Film Critics Association Award	Best Cast	The Town
	Critics' Choice Television Award	Best Actor in a Drama Series	Mad Men
	Golden Globe Award	Best Actor - Television Series Drama
	Primetime Emmy Award	Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series
	Screen Actors Guild Award	Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series
		Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series
	Television Critics Association Award	Individual Achievement in Drama
2012	Critics' Choice Television Award	Best Actor in a Drama Series
	MTV Movie Award	Best On-Screen Dirtbag	Bridesmaids
	Primetime Emmy Award	Outstanding Drama Series	Mad Men
		Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series	30 Rock
		Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series	Mad Men
	Satellite Award	Best Actor - Television Series Drama
	Television Critics Association Award	Individual Achievement in Drama
2013	Golden Globe Award	Best Actor - Television Series Drama
	Primetime Emmy Award	Outstanding Drama Series
		Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series
	Screen Actors Guild Award	Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series
		Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series
2014	Teen Choice Award	Choice Movie Actor: Drama	Million Dollar Arm
	Primetime Emmy Award	Outstanding Drama Series	Mad Men
		Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series
2015	Television Critics Association Award	Individual Achievement in Drama
	Primetime Emmy Award	Outstanding Drama Series
		Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series
		Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series	Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
2016	Golden Globe Award	Best Actor - Television Series Drama	Mad Men
	Screen Actors Guild Award	Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series
		Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series
	Annie Award	Voice Acting in a Feature Production	Minions