The Untold Truth Of Jon Hamm

The following article includes brief mentions of mental health struggles and alcoholism.

In "Mad Men," the career of quintessential '60s adman Don Draper peaks as one era ends and another begins. After a decade of hiding his inner turmoil behind a shiny veneer, he finally finds some peace of mind with a group of hippies, which helps him create his magnum opus: the famed "I'd Like to Buy the World a Coke" ad. After getting his foot in the door in Hollywood, it would also take a decade for the man behind Draper's mask, actor Jon Hamm, to land the role that would define his entire career.

Much like Draper's elusive Coca-Cola account, Hamm's prestige TV role was hard-won. "There were a couple of years when I was living on $5,000 a year," he once told People. On "Conan" in 2012, the St. Louis, Missouri native also recalled receiving so many parking tickets during his early days living in Los Angeles that the city took possession of his car. He ended up having to rollerblade to some of his auditions. (You'd think this particular skill would have made him a shoo-in to play Ken in Greta Gerwig's "Barbie" movie.)

Hamm's first television role came in a 1997 episode of "Ally McBeal" as "Gorgeous Guy at Bar," and he'd spend a lot more time with a drink in his hand on the small screen when he began playing Draper 10 years later. While Jon Hamm can't seem to escape that brooding character's well-tailored shadow, many of the most fascinating details about his life are unrelated to "Mad Men."

While growing up in St. Louis, Jon Hamm attended prom with another future actor: "24" star Sarah Clarke. Per Vanity Fair, Clarke later caught the eye of "Clueless" actor Paul Rudd, who was college roommates with her brother, Preston. Hamm was also pals with Preston, and all aforementioned parties once found themselves under the same roof when Rudd came to visit the Clarkes. The foursome decided to play a rather intense game of Trivial Pursuit. "I was not so crazy about Jon," Rudd confessed to E! News decades later, explaining that the initial cause of his dislike was their romantic rivalry. Their board game showdown did little to raise Hamm's esteem in Rudd's eyes, but only because Hamm was no dunce. "It was the most emasculating, because every time he'd get a question he'd get it right every time. And I actually felt so lame that I'd start reading atlases," Rudd recalled.

When Hamm moved to Hollywood years later, they put their rivalry behind them, and Rudd even helped Hamm get his first agent. Rudd also invited Hamm and another pal, sportscaster Joe Buck, to crash one of the gigs he used to DJ before he became one of the most recognizable men on the planet. "There's some 13 — well now, whatever, 47-year-old woman ... who had at her bat mitzvah Paul Rudd, Joe Buck, and Jon Hamm, and was blissfully unaware of all of it," Hamm said on "The Howard Stern Show" in 2022.

When he was 10 years old, Jon Hamm's devout mother died of colon cancer. The first inkling he had that something was seriously wrong was when she was in the restroom at the St. Louis Art Museum for so long that he had to ask someone to make sure she was alright. Hamm, who was raised Catholic, quit going to church after her death, and going to therapy was not an option. "This was the Midwest, my friend," he told GQ. "I think they gave me a book: 'How to Deal with the Death of a Parent.'" Ten years later, his dad died from diabetes. "That was pretty much it for me. I don't get the mystery of faith. I'm too much of a math guy. The numbers didn't add up so I was like, 'OK, moving on.' I don't need an afterlife; I don't need a second act," Hamm told Independent.ie.

Instead of turning to faith, Hamm started going to therapy, and he's become to mental health professionals what Don Draper was to Lucky Strike cigarettes — but what Hamm enthusiastically touts is actually beneficial (and he's not getting paid to sell it). "If you can, do it. It's like a mental gym," he told Mr Porter.

While Hamm might not be a church guy, he has hinted that he hasn't completely ruled out the existence of some form of powerful and unseen protector, once telling People, "I think someone's watching out for me."

If you or someone you know needs help with mental health, please contact the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741, call the National Alliance on Mental Illness helpline at 1-800-950-NAMI (6264), or visit the National Institute of Mental Health website.

After graduating from high school, Jon Hamm attended college at the University of Texas and joined the Sigma Nu fraternity. In 2015, the Daily Mail obtained court documents detailing the alleged abuse one of the fraternity's pledges, Mark Allen Sanders, suffered at the hands of Hamm and others during a violent hazing incident in 1990. Sanders accused Hamm of grabbing his underwear and hoisting him up in the air with help from another frat member, setting his pants on fire, and dragging him around by his genitals with a hammer claw. He also claimed that Hamm and others used a paddle to viciously beat him. "I'm hurting bad, I mean being hit right where the kidney is," Sanders said in his statement about the horrific ordeal. Among the injuries he reportedly suffered were a fractured spine and nerve damage.

When Esquire questioned Hamm about the incident in 2018, he didn't apologize for his alleged behavior or seem to express much sympathy for Sanders. "Everything about that is sensationalized," he said. "I don't want to give it any more breath. It was a bummer of a thing that happened. ... I wasn't convicted of anything." He was, however, placed on probation after receiving deferred adjudication. This kept his criminal record clean. "I've gotten away with a lot in my life," Hamm later told The Guardian in 2008. "The older you get the more you realize you're not getting away with it, it's taking its toll somewhere."

Jon Hamm attended John Burroughs High School at the behest of his late mother, and he told Independent.ie that one of his teachers there convinced him to consider acting as a viable career. But it was teaching a daycare class that helped him pay the bills while he was a student at the University of Missouri. "I loved it. I got a lot out of it," Hamm told Parade of the job.

After college, Hamm decided to return to his former high school as a drama teacher. "That school saved my life after my mom died and my dad died. It gave me a purpose, it gave me a place to go," he said. One of his students there left an impression on him: a 14-year-old Ellie Kemper. "When she would get on stage, she was just fearless. I could tell she enjoyed it," Hamm recalled. He reunited with Kemper years later when she invited him to watch her perform at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in NYC. Afterward, Kemper told him that she was going to audition for "The Office," and Hamm accurately predicted that she would get cast on the show.

Hamm later played the cult leader who keeps Kemper's character captive on "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt." During a TCA panel, Kemper said of working with her former teacher (via People), "Acting with him was a little bit nerve-racking just because I felt like he was still grading me on some level."

Jon Hamm's acting career didn't start taking off until he was in his late 20s. "I waited on my last table when I was 29," he told the Daily Mail. But he didn't just work as a waiter while waiting to get his big break. On "The Howard Stern Show," he recalled how a college friend offered to let him have her job when he was once desperate for any source of income. The gig? Working as a set dresser for softcore adult films. On "Fly on the Wall," Hamm described the movies thusly: "It was some dude in a sock and a lady with patches on her whatevers." He was responsible for making sure there was continuity between scenes and tidying up the sets. "It seemed like a wonderful way to spend 12 hours a day five days a week for $150 a day ... nonunion, no benefits, just a s***ty job with a lot of boobs and sad people," Hamm told Men's Health.

Stern naturally wanted to know whether Hamm ever got an offer to appear in any of the films he worked on, and he answered in the negative. Not that he was around to field any such offer. "I would carry my little bucket around and move what needed to be moved, but I would be terrible at it. I would fall asleep in a corner and they could never find me," he told The Guardian.

When Jon Hamm was given the opportunity to pitch himself to an eligible bachelorette on "The Big Date" in 1996, he was no Don Draper. He suffered from a severe lack of adjectives while describing the date he would take contestant Mary Carter on, saying, "Start off with some fabulous food, a little fabulous conversation ... end it with a fabulous foot massage for an evening of total fabulosity." Carter picked a flexible stuntman over Hamm.

In 2018, Hamm explained to ET that an ex-girlfriend was the casting director for "The Big Date" and told him that he would be paid $250 for his time if he agreed to appear on the show. That had to be a lot to a struggling actor who told Elle that he only had $150 to his name when he moved to Los Angeles. Salon actually tracked down Carter in 2014, and she said that she'd never watched "Mad Men" and had no clue that she'd turned down Hamm until TMZ reached out to her. She later married a musician and doesn't regret missing out on that foot massage. "I wouldn't trade my husband for a thousand Jon Hamms," she said.

An actual clip of Hamm on "The Big Date" was later used as part of his character's backstory on "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt." It helped show viewers that Reverend Richard Wayne Gary Wayne was always someone women needed to avoid at all costs.

Jon Hamm first crossed paths with actor-filmmaker Jennifer Westfeldt at a birthday party. "We didn't really hit it off immediately. She thought I was a cocky a**hole," Hamm told The Guardian. Westfeldt confirmed this in a separate interview with The Guardian. However, when she needed a male actor to read lines with ahead of an audition for the 1998 movie "Zero Effect," she reluctantly reached out to Hamm on the recommendation of a mutual friend. Her opinion soon changed. "Jon was so sweet," she recalled. "I was like, 'God, this guy is so talented ... and so handsome!'"

Westfeldt didn't get the role, but she eventually got the guy. And Hamm has Westfeldt to thank for giving him an excellent reason to quit working long hours as a set dresser for erotic films: She asked him to star in her off-Broadway play. Hamm later recalled to The Guardian in 2010, "I was so exhausted and depressed and bone tired that I called her back immediately: 'Yes! I don't care what it is!'" A year later, a love connection that lasted 18 years was made, and the play wound up being the prototype for Westfeldt's 2001 movie "Kissing Jessica Stein." Westfeldt told Broadway Buzz that she'd wanted Hamm to play the film's lead, but he was finally getting work and was busy filming the series "Providence." Said Westfeldt, "Maybe if that had worked out, it wouldn't have taken people so long to discover his great talent."

Jon Hamm's first "Saturday Night Live" hosting gig came in 2008. It provided him with a perfect opportunity to prove that he could do more than stylishly sulk, swill liquor, and execute the perfect sales pitch. And even though Amy Poehler was expected to give birth at any moment, Hamm got the opportunity to rehearse a "Mad Men" sketch with the comedic genius. 

Hamm was with Poehler when she called her doctor's office during rehearsals and received some upsetting news: her OB-GYN had died. The stunned comedian burst into tears. "Nothing is more horrifying than a giant pregnant lady sobbing. Everyone got very quiet," Poehler recalled in her memoir "Yes Please" (via Vulture). She then explained to Hamm and everyone else witnessing her weeping why she was so distraught. "Jon Hamm held me by the shoulders and looked at me and said, 'I know this is very sad, but this is a really important show for me, so I'm going to need you to get your s*** together,'" she wrote. "This made me laugh so hard I think I peed."

Poehler ended up giving birth that Saturday, which threw the entire planned show into chaos. But producer Lorne Michaels told Tina Fey he was impressed with Hamm's performance, so she cast him as one of her character's boyfriends on "30 Rock." Fey recalled to Variety, "We kept making the character weirder, because Jon was so great at selling weird jokes."

In 2010, the National Enquirer spawned one of those celeb stories that will not die, no matter how often the subject denies them. The tabloid claimed that Jon Hamm's insistence on going commando was causing issues on the "Mad Men" set. "There have been so many close calls on the set that someone finally had to tell him to secure his goods," a source alleged. The Daily News published a similar story in 2013, claiming that promotional pics for "Mad Men" even had to be digitally altered to make it less obvious that Hamm wasn't wearing underwear. In response to that rumor and other quotes about the actor's anatomy, a rep for Hamm said, "It is ridiculous and not really funny at all."

Hamm addressed the topic himself during a Rolling Stone interview. "Most of it's tongue-in-cheek, but it is a little rude," he said (via Us Weekly). "They're called 'privates' for a reason. I'm wearing pants, for f***'s sake. Lay off." But even after he assured everyone that his drawers' drawer was fully stocked, Jockey offered to send him enough of its undies to keep him covered for the rest of his life, per E! News. Luckily for the brand, during an appearance on "The Howard Stern Show," Hamm described his ideal pair of underwear. "I've worn underwear every single day of my life," he said. "... I love a comfy boxer brief, thank you very much. ... I like a breathable cotton. Come on, man, who doesn't?"

There's long been speculation that Donald Trump decided to run for president because he couldn't stand being the butt of some of Barack Obama's jokes at the 2011 White House Correspondents' Dinner. Per The Washington Post, Trump has denied this. After all, he'd been pushing the lie that Obama was not born in America ahead of the event, so he had to be prepared to get roasted, right? Well, according to Jon Hamm, Trump had a much harder time taking it than dishing it.

On "Conan," Hamm revealed that he received an invite to the event that year — and Trump sat right in front of him. "He didn't take it very well," Hamm recalled. "... I was actually sitting right next to Zach Galifianakis, and we were laughing very loudly to the point where I kind of checked in with him and I was like, 'Can we kind of tone it down? These are funny jokes, but he is right there.' He was not having any of it."

We don't know whether Trump remembered Hamm's laughter years later when he ran into the actor at a "Saturday Night Live" afterparty, but Hamm says that Trump made a failed attempt to intimidate him. "He did the thing! ... Where he shakes your hand and pulls you to try to get you off-balance," he recalled on "The Late Show." "... I was like, 'I'm 6'2", 220 on a good day. You're not gonna get me off my pins."

In 2013, the National Enquirer reported that two polyps on Jon Hamm's vocal cords were making his smooth salesman's voice a bit raspy. The tabloid also spoke to a doctor who said that it's possible for polyps to be cancerous. "Jon regrets not taking care of this problem before it got to this point," a source claimed. "He's hoping for the best and preparing for the worst."

In an appearance on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" (via The Hollywood Reporter), Hamm said that his sister had seen the National Enquirer story and called him to make sure that he wasn't actually at death's door. "We don't know how our lives are going to end. I, apparently, will die of cancer, according to The National Enquirer — soon," he joked. The actor only had a single polyp, not two, and he further downplayed the seriousness of its presence on his vocal cords during an AP News interview. Hamm explained that he likely got it from talking too much and quipped, "Other than that, believe it or not, I'm healthy as a horse. Hoarse, get it?'"

Overusing his vocal cords isn't the only occupational hazard that has sent Hamm to the hospital. On "Conan," he said that he had to have his head stitched up after a piece of wall fell on him while shooting Season 1 of "Mad Men." The following season, he broke his hand while rehearsing one of the show's war scenes.

In a June 2023 appearance on "Watch What Happens Live," Jon Hamm confirmed a 2015 Page Six report that his "Mad Men" filming schedule was the only thing standing between him and the "Gone Girl" role that ultimately went to Ben Affleck. "It was meant to be me, but we had to film the continuing adventures of Mr. Draper," he said.

Over the years, Hamm has revealed a few other major roles that he pursued and failed to get. In 2016, he told News.com.au that one of the roles that got away for him was that of Sam Seaborn on "The West Wing," which ended up going to Rob Lowe. Hamm also said that Bradley Cooper beat him out for a role on "Lost," but he seemingly meant to say "Alias." According to Esquire, he also auditioned for Alec Baldwin's role on "30 Rock."

Hamm has also turned down roles. "They came after me pretty hard for 'Green Lantern.' But I was like, meh, that's not what I want to do," he told British GQ in 2015. That role ended up going to Ryan Reynolds, who is now a massive MCU success story, thanks to "Deadpool." While Hamm once had no interest in pursuing superhero roles, in a 2018 appearance on "In Depth with Graham Bensinger," he said that he's open to the idea of following in Affleck's footsteps by playing the Dark Knight. So, maybe we'll get the Bat-Hamm someday.

Comedian Kathy Griffin dedicated a few paragraphs of her tell-all, "Kathy Griffin's Celebrity Run-Ins," to explaining why she's no fan of Jon Hamm. She considered it a privilege and an honor to be invited to the same intimate Hollywood soiree as Jack Nicholson, and she was even more thrilled when she got the opportunity to talk to the actor. However, according to Griffin, Hamm apparently spoiled the moment with his whispered insults. "First it was, 'You know your Emmy isn't a real Emmy.' I let that one go, but then he whispered, 'You're so o-o-o-old,'" she wrote. Hamm hadn't yet won an Emmy himself, so could this be why Griffin's award was on his mind? In a 2015 interview with Variety, he tried to downplay the gold statuette's importance by saying, "I'm in a very good group of people who haven't won. I'll live."

For Griffin, it wasn't Hamm's alleged insults that bothered her the most during that dinner. "I will never forgive him for stealing my moment with Jack from me," she vowed. She mentioned that Hamm was inebriated at the time, and he went to rehab for alcoholism in 2015. Griffin seemed to express support for this decision, even though she didn't believe it would improve his attitude. "Hopefully done with the drink, but probably still Don Draper-y," she wrote. Also, while Hamm does have experience with comedic roles, Griffin doesn't find him funny. "He's not a comedian, folks," she reminded her readers.

If you or anyone you know needs help with addiction issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).

In a 2010 Details interview, Jon Hamm didn't hold back when sharing his feelings about reality TV and the people who pursue fame through that particular entertainment genre. "It doesn't take much for them to put you on TV. If that's all you want, you can be on 'The Bachelor' or 'The Real Housewives' or whatever show just wants oversized personalities, ridiculous behavior, and zero dignity," he said. He also took aim at Kim Kardashian and "The Simple Life" star Paris Hilton in a 2012 Elle UK interview. "Whether it's Paris Hilton or Kim Kardashian or whoever, stupidity is certainly celebrated," he stated. "Being a f***ing idiot is a valuable commodity in this culture."

But by 2022, Hamm had considerably warmed to the world of reality television. On "The Howard Stern Show," he revealed that he had started watching "The Real Housewives of New Jersey" with his then-girlfriend, Anna Osceola. "I'm fascinated by it, I really am," he confessed. "I resisted it for decades." Before he knew it, he was also keeping up with "The Real Housewives of New York City" and "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills." Hamm even weighed in on Erika Jayne's earring debacle, saying, "You just want to shake her and go, 'Honey, they were never yours. Give them back.'" As for the Kardashians, well, if Hamm ever gets cast alongside "Real Housewives" superfan Jennifer Lawrence in anything, maybe she can turn him on to her other reality obsession.

In 2010, Jon Hamm told Parade, "I don't have the marriage chip." He was dating Jennifer Westfeldt at the time, and they remained together throughout the entirety of Hamm's "Mad Men" career. But months after the series finale, they called it quits. "It's hard to be single after being together for a long time. It's really hard. It sucks," Hamm told InStyle in 2017. He started dating actor Anna Osceola three years later.

The couple first met in 2015. On "Mad Men," Osceola played the pigtailed receptionist working at the hippie retreat where Don Draper comes up with the idea for the Coca-Cola "Hilltop" ad, which, incidentally, features a woman with similar pigtails. When Hamm and Osceola tied the knot in June 2023, they chose to return to the location where Draper either started a totally new chapter of his life or found temporary peace and used it to advance his career: Big Sur, California's Anderson Canyon. Per Page Six, some of the celebs in attendance were Tina Fey, Paul Rudd, and John Slattery.

Ahead of starting a new chapter of his own life, Hamm shared his updated views on marriage. "It's exciting because it's all potential, it's all possibility, and it's all positive," he said on the "Table for Two" podcast around this time, adding, "It gives you and your partner a sense of stability and comfort and an identifying capacity that is better, deeper, richer, than 'it's my girlfriend' or 'my boyfriend' or what have you."