“Mad Men” star Jon Hamm seeks creative fulfillment in more places than the alpha-male, womanizing life of Don Draper. Whether he’s in budget giants like the upcoming “Top Gun: Maverick” or festival titles like “Lucy in the Sky,” he gravitates toward projects he’s passionate about. In the world of television, too, he prioritizes creative alignment over adherence to a consistent personal brand, landing recurring roles in shows like “30 Rock,” “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt,” and “Saturday Night Live.” As the distinction between TV and film has grown more and more blurred, Hamm’s versatility has been an important asset.
“Like 20, 25 years ago was a different world,” said Hamm, “because then you’re before ‘The Sopranos,’ you’re before ‘The Wire,’ you’re before the HBO imprimatur, and you’re more into the network model. That’s what [George] Clooney came out of in the 90s. He, Jennifer Aniston, there were people that made the jump from TV to film, but it was much rarer … I think that now we’re in a world where the storytelling is way more of a feature narrative. You have a longer arc, you have a less episodic way to tell stories. That’s enabled, I think, studios and directors and people to look at the actors in there and say, ‘Oh yeah, that guy could do this thing. He’s not only, Sergeant McCoy or whatever. He could be this other person.'”
The new landscape of entertainment has freed Hamm to pursue a variety of roles. More importantly, however, it has freed him to work with people he admires, like John Patrick Shanley, director of Hamm’s latest film, “Wild Mountain Thyme.”
“I had known his name from back in the 80s,” Hamm said of Shanley. “I think ‘Moonstruck‘ was the first thing that I knew his name from. I just kind of kept seeing his name popping up in things that I liked.”
Of his and Shanley’s creation, Hamm says: “It’s got all of the elements that make Shanley, Shanley. It’s got this beautiful, magical realism. Ireland is a fanciful place. It takes place out of time. It doesn’t need to be in the ’60s, or the ’40s, or the ’20s. It has no cynicism. It has no snark. It’s the perfect antidote to 2020.”
In addition to exploring rural Ireland’s natural romanticism in Hamm’s newest film, our conversation ranged from being the unofficial mascot of the St. Louis Blues, to the exciting “volleyball scene 2.0” in “Top Gun: Maverick,” and more. Have a listen to hear from the Mad Man himself, Jon Hamm.
“Wild Mountain Thyme” is now available on VOD.
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