Jon Hamm talks Mad Men, Don v. Dick, Hamm's Ham, and more!

He has piqued our curiosity since first sauntering into the offices of Sterling-Cooper in 1961 (our 2007). Eight Emmy nominations later, the actor sat with the Archive for a two-hour interivew about all things Mad Men, Draper, and of course, “Hamm’s Ham.” Starting with his childhood in St. Louis, Hamm talked about what made him pursue acting, and his struggles breaking into the industry. He chronicles his early appearances on Providence, The Division, and how he came to audition for Mad Men. He talks in great detail about the series, the character, working with series creator Matthew Weiner, and gives his take on the show’s finale. Hamm also talks about playing comedic roles on 30 Rock, Web Therapy, Saturday Night Live, and another show that garnered him an Emmy nom - The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. (Fun fact— that show’s star, Ellie Kemper, is a former acting student of Jon’s!) You can watch the entire interview here.

Here are a few highlights from the interview:

On how he would prepare for a Mad Men table read:

On the challenges of filming the Mad Men finale without his fellow castmates:

On Don Draper’s darker side and the genius use of the Coca-Cola ad in the finale to sum up the theme of the series: