JON HAMM: Madly, Deeply
Mad Men Star Returns in the drama Nostalgia
Emmy and two-time Golden Globe winner Jon Hamm is pretty much cemented in our minds as Don Draper, the complicated lead character in the seminal series, Mad Men (RIP, best show ever). A Midwestern boy—born, raised and mostly educated in Missouri—Hamm also started his career there…as a high school drama teacher. Not for nothing, one of his young students was Ellie Kemper (The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt).
After to moving to Hollywood to give stardom a shot, he fell into waiting tables rather than acting. It took him five years of slinging hash before he got his break. And still another five before he became the role he’s most associated with, the despicable but devastatingly charming Draper.
Since that series ended in 2015—teaching the world to sing was utterly brilliant—Hamm has done whatever he damn well pleases. A natural comic with lots of friends in positions to hire him, he’s a regular guest performer on TV shows like Saturday Night Live, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, SpongeBob SquarePants, and in one of the best episodes in Black Mirror, White Christmas. His film career has been a mish-mash of hits and misses but he was the object of the best punch line ever in last year’s excellent movie Baby Driver.
Next month Hamm stars in the drama, Nostalgia along with a cast of great actors including Ellen Burstyn, Catherine Keener, Patton Oswald, and Amber Tamblyn. Helmed by popular music video director, Mark Pellington, Nostalgia is about love, loss, and the memories that shape our lives. Concepts Don Draper would probably understand all too well.
Nostalgia opens February 16th.
