Jon Hamm Biography
Summary
"Jonathan Daniel 'Jon' Hamm" (born March 10, 1971) is an American actor whose work has been primarily in television roles. For much of the mid-1990s, he lived in Los Angeles as a struggling, unemployed actor. He appeared in multiple television series roles, including "Providence", "The Division", "What About Brian", and "Related". In 2000 he made his feature film debut in Clint Eastwood's space adventure "Space Cowboys". The following year, Hamm appeared in the independent comedy "Kissing Jessica Stein" (2001) in a supporting role.
Hamm gained worldwide recognition for playing advertising executive Don Draper in AMC's drama series "Mad Men", which premiered in July 2007. His performance earned him a Golden Globe Award in the category for Best Actor in a Drama Series in 2008. Aside from appearing in "Mad Men", he starred in the 2008 science fiction remake "The Day the Earth Stood Still" and has completed work in the independent thriller "Stolen Lives" set for a release in 2009.
Early life
Hamm was born on March 10, 1971 in St. Louis, Missouri to Deborah and Dan Hamm. His parents divorced when he was two years old, and he lived with his mother until she was diagnosed with advanced cancer when he was 10. Although doctors removed two-thirds of her colon, she died soon after and Hamm moved in with his father, but after a few years his father fell ill and died when Hamm was 20. He said that teachers and friends' parents filled in as parental figures.
Hamm attended John Burroughs School in Ladue, Missouri, a private prep academy, where he was a member of the football, baseball, and swim teams. When Hamm was 16, he was cast in a play, and enjoyed the experience. Following graduation in 1989, he enrolled at the University of Texas, but dropped out during his sophomore year, following the passing of his father. Hamm moved back home to attend the University of Missouri, where he studied English. Hamm answered an advertisement from a theater company looking for players in a production of "A Midsummer Night's Dream", auditioned, and was cast in the production.
After graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English, Hamm returned to teach at his high school as a gesture of repayment for the school's support during his adolescent years. He worked at the school as a faculty drama teacher.
Career
Early work
Hamm moved to Los Angeles and struggled as an unemployed actor in the mid-1990s. He was represented by the Hollywood talent agency William Morris. Hamm settled into a house with four other struggling actors, received work as a waiter and started going to auditions. In 1998 William Morris dropped him as a client and Hamm continued working as a waiter. While discussing being dropped by the agency, Hamm said:
In 2000, after being cast in several unsuccessful television pilots, Hamm landed a role as romantic firefighter Burt Ridley on NBC's drama series "Providence", that led to a nineteen episode stint. His role in the series led him to quit his job waiting tables. That same year he made his feature film debut in Clint Eastwood's space adventure "Space Cowboys". The film received favorable reviews, and was a box office success, earning $128 million worldwide. The following year, Hamm appeared in a supporting role in the independent comedy "Kissing Jessica Stein" (2001). He played Nate Basso, a Police Inspector, on Lifetime's television series "The Division", in a recurring role that went from 2002 to 2004. Hamm went on to feature in minor roles on the television series "What About Brian", "CSI: Miami", "Related", "Numb3rs", "The Unit" and "The Sarah Silverman Program".
Worldwide recognition
Hamm received his break-through role in 2007 when he was cast as the protagonist character Don Draper in AMC's drama series "Mad Men". In the series, set in the 1960s fictional Sterling Cooper advertising agency, he plays a suave advertising executive with a shadowy past. When Hamm read the script, he knew it would be good for his career. He ultimately thought he would not receive the part, admitting, '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.' He also noted that he went through numerous auditions, and explained each time to the casting directors what he could bring to the character, if given the part. Though, in another interview, he said: 'I picked it up the script and thought, This title stinks, and it's on some cable channel that's never done anything'. But after reading it, he admitted it was the best script he had ever read. The show debuted on July 19, 2007 and was watched by almost 1.4 million viewers. "Mad Men" quickly developed a loyal audience, with the show and Hamm receiving strong reviews. Robert Bianco of "USA Today" was complimentary of Hamm, noting that his interpretation of Draper was a 'starmaking performance'. "The Boston Globe" acknowledged that Hamm is a 'brilliant lead'. For his work, he won a Golden Globe Award in the category of Best Actor in a Television Series Drama in 2008. Also in 2008 he was nominated for both a Screen Actors Guild for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor and an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor. In 2009, Hamm was again nominated for a Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Award in the same categories. On July 16, 2009, he received an Emmy nomination for Best Actor.
Hamm's next film role was in the 2008 science fiction film "The Day the Earth Stood Still", a remake of the 1951 film of the same name. In the film he plays Dr. Michael Granier, a NASA official who investigates an alien messenger that appears in human form. When shooting began, Hamm revealed that he had found his technical dialogue difficult and had to film his lines repeatedly. Although the film received negative reviews, it was financially successful, earning $230 million worldwide at the box office. Hamm hosted the sixth episode of the 34th season of "Saturday Night Live" ("SNL") on October 25, 2008. In the episode, he played various characters, including his "Mad Men" character in two sketches. He also impersonated US President John F. Kennedy, as well as late British actor James Mason. In 2009, Hamm guest starred for three episodes on the situation comedy show "30 Rock", playing a doctor who is a neighbor of Liz Lemon's (Tina Fey) and a new love interest for her. For these performances, he received an Emmy nomination in the category of Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series.
Hamm's film projects after 2008 include the independent mystery thriller "Stolen Lives", a film about a small-town police chief who works to uncover the truth behind the mummified remains of a boy found in a box, and a supporting role as defense attorney Jake Ehrlich in the independent drama "Howl", based on Allen Ginsberg's 1956 poem, "Howl". Hamm has signed on to appear as an FBI agent in the film "The Town" and will appear alongside Ben Affleck and Rebecca Hall. The film is an adaptation of Chuck Hogan's novel "Prince of Thieves".
Personal life
Hamm with partner at the , 2008
Since 1997, Hamm has been in a long-term relationship with actress and screenwriter, Jennifer Westfeldt. They own a home in Los Angeles and the Upper West Side in New York. 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 should get married when they're ready to have kids, which I'm not ruling out.' Hamm, along with Westfeldt, have appeared in Gap related campaign advertisements. In April 2009, Hamm and Westfeldt formed their own production company, Points West Pictures.
Although his role as Don Draper requires him to smoke, Hamm gave up smoking when he was 24. He admitted in an interview that while on set he does not smoke actual cigarettes, but herbal cigarettes that do not contain any tobacco or nicotine.
Internationally viewed as a sex symbol, Hamm was named one of Salon.com's Sexiest Man Living in 2007, and was named one of "People" magazines Sexiest Men Alive in 2008. In November 2008, "Entertainment Weekly" named him one of their Entertainers of the Year. Hamm is an avid golfer and tennis player. He is a fan of the Major League Baseball (MLB) team, the St. Louis Cardinals.
Further reading
Smiley, Tavis. " (Jon Hamm) ". "PBS". "The Tavis Smiley Show". August 29, 2007. Accessed February 12, 2009.
Rochlin, Margy. " (Those Were the Good Old Days? Hardly) ". "The New York Times". September 30, 2007. Accessed February 12, 2009.
Alston, Joshua. " (Bryan Cranston and Jon Hamm: Get 'Bad,' Get 'Mad,' And You'll Get Glad) ". "Newsweek". December 31, 2007. Accessed June 4, 2009.
Hainey, Michael. " (The Man In The Gray (Indestructible) Suit) ". "GQ". January 1, 2008. Accessed June 18, 2009.
Wilson, Benji. " (Jon Hamm: Why Mad Men was an instant star) ". "The Daily Telegraph". March 14, 2008. Accessed February 12, 2009.
Seltzer, Ian. " (Jon Hamm: Suave, Successful, Mad Man) ". "ABC News". July 14, 2008. Accessed April 28, 2009.
Ryan, Maureen. " ('Mad Men' Calvacade of Stars, Part 2: Jon Hamm) ". "Chicago Tribue". July 15, 2008. Accessed February 12, 2009.
Guest, Jocelyn. " (Jon Hamm of 'Mad Men' on the Future of Don Draper) ". "New York Magazine". July 24, 2008. Accessed February 12, 2009.
Smiley, Tavis. " (Jon Hamm) ". "PBS". "The Tavis Smiley Show". August 8, 2008. Accessed February 12, 2009.
Neuman, Clayton. " (Q&A - Jon Hamm) ". "AMC". October 26, 2008. Accessed February 12, 2009.
Wolf, Jeanne. " (Jon Hamm's Sudden Fame) ". "Parade Magazine". Accessed April 27, 2009.
Rorke, Robert. " (Jon Hamm Goes 'Mad' For Tina Fey) ". "New York Post". February 1, 2009. Accessed June 9, 2009.
Credit
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article about Jon Hamm.
