Sure, he played Don Draper for seven seasons on “Mad Men” from 2007-2015. And during that period of time, he was also nominated for a total of 16 Emmys (finally winning at the end of “Mad Men”’s run). He’s appeared on “30 Rock” & “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt”. He’s starred in movies such as “Million Dollar Arm”, “Tag”, “Baby Driver” & “Beirut”. And he’s lent his voice to “Minions” and a “MM”-themed “SpongeBob” episode.
But RIGHT NOW is The Golden Age of Jon Hamm.
Last Fall, Hamm had key supporting roles in three big studio dramas. The first was as astronaut Mark Goodwin in Fox Searchlight’s under-seen “Lucy in the Sky”, also starring Natalie Portman. Hamm showed a more restrained side on screen, beginning the transition from good actor to an even more interesting one.
Next came Hamm’s work opposite Adam Driver and Annette Bening in another mostly overlooked movie, Amazon’s “The Report”. Here Hamm played former White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough. It was a small role, but it provided Hamm with some juicy moments.
And then… in yet another film that most people didn’t see… Hamm was among the cast of one of the strongest ensembles of 2019 in Clint Eastwood’s “Richard Jewell”. As FBI Agent Tom Shaw, Hamm once again displayed restraint yet a firm punch with his performance.
Most recently, Hamm proved he’s got some strong comedic skills as well, playing himself on HBO’s “Curb Your Enthusiasm”. Throughout the episode, as Hamm shadows Larry David for a film role, Hamm’s mimicking and full-on impersonation of David grows and becomes more and more entertaining to watch. As I wrote on Twitter (@LCJReviews), if there is a Primetime Emmy Awards this year, I hope Hamm is on the Guest Actor in a Comedy Series ballot.
And now I’m really looking forward to his performance (along with Tom Cruise’s) in the highly-anticipated “Top Gun: Maverick”. Paramount currently has the U.S. release date set for June 24th.