Jon Hamm has a knack for making flawed men fascinating. From his career-defining turn as Don Draper in Mad Men—the role that won him an Emmy and cemented his status as an icon of prestige TV—to his recent work in the likes of Landman and Fargo, Hamm has consistently gravitated toward characters who are deeply complicated and compulsively watchable. His latest project, Your Friends & Neighbors, continues in that vein. Set in a seemingly idyllic, tony New York suburb, the show is packed with intrigue, dark secrets, and the slow-burn chaos of multiple characters undergoing midlife crises. Hamm plays Coop, a charming yet calculating man whose quiet desperation, fueled by a humiliating layoff and a messy divorce, leads him to start stealing from, you guessed it, his friends and neighbors. Amanda Peet, Olivia Munn, and Hamm’s real-life wife, Anna Osceola, round out the Apple TV+ series’ cast. For W’s latest TV portfolio, the 54-year-old Missouri native sits down with Editor at Large Lynn Hirschberg to reflect on his lasting scars, his childhood crushes, and seeing a reflection of himself in Southern Charm.
You are remarkably adept at making bad behavior look extremely attractive. Does this work in real life?
Well, my wife might have an opinion about that. Look, I think people can relate to characters making bad decisions, because we’ve all made them. My history of characters isn’t exactly the saints; it’s more on the sinner side of the equation. But Superman can be kind of boring. No offense to the new Superman, who I hope is a delightful person.
As a kid, you were more into sports than theater.
I was a three-sport varsity athlete—football, baseball, and swimming—but I also did plays. I’m a product of a single mom, who I unfortunately lost when I was very young, but she enrolled me basically in everything from the Cub Scouts to the soccer team to acting, painting, and music to everything. My founding fundamental thing that I learned from my mom was just try it.
Have you always been funny?
I always had an appreciation for comedy, for sure. I would check out records from the public library without my mom’s knowledge. I would bring home things like Richard Pryor, George Carlin, Bob Newhart, and Bill Cosby. I liked Saturday Night Live. I’ve had the good fortune to have a relationship with them, now going back almost 15 years. I have a lot of friends who are professionally funny. I like to think of myself as more funny-adjacent.
Do you like Halloween?
No, in a word. I don’t like dressing up. It’s too much effort.
Did you like it as a kid?
I liked it, but not as much as most did. I like giving out candy and participating in Halloween. In our neighborhood in Los Angeles, we have a really cute thing where they shut down the streets. All the kids walk around, and the dogs get put in costume. It’s very sweet.
Do you think you’re more like a dog or a cat?
More like a dog, times a million. I’m loyal. I’m very self-reliant. I like to hike. I like to be outside. I’m very friendly. If I could be a dog, I would be a dog. I’d just be over here wagging my tail.
Hamm wears Burberry jacket, pants and shoes.
When you were growing up, who did you have a crush on?
Farrah Fawcett from Charlie’s Angels. Actually, Jaclyn Smith was my favorite Angel. I met her about five years ago, and I did the thing that I hate when people do—I came up to her and said, “I have to say hello. I’m sorry.” She couldn’t have been more pleasant, and she couldn’t have been more gorgeous.
Do you ever get starstruck?
For sure. Jeff Bridges, most recently. I got to work with him in 2018 on Bad Times at the El Royale. It was a bucket list moment for me. I had been a fan of his since I was a kid. Everybody loves him as the Dude, but I just remember seeing him and another crush of mine, Cybill Shepherd, in The Last Picture Show. That’s one of my favorite movies of all time.
What movie makes you cry?
The Last Picture Show, but Cinema Paradiso will always get me. The end montage is a heartbreaker. It’s a gorgeous film, the music is beautiful, and the performances are great. It’s a story about loving cinema and about loving where you’re from, and all of those things really resonate with me.
Do you have a favorite reality show?
Right now, it’s Southern Charm. I really like it, mostly because it’s about the guys, and most reality shows are about the women. Southern Charm is about these three dumbass, glorious dummies bumbling through life. You want to hit them in the head and also give them a hug and tell them everything’s going to be okay. They’re all younger than me. Watching them stumble reminds me of a lot of dumb shit I did. So, it’s like, oh god!
You’re a noted Housewives fan too.
My wife turned me on to a lot of these shows, and now I’ve befriended Andy Cohen, and I get it. Beverly Hills, New Jersey, New York—I’ll sit there and I will watch it with glee. Are they bad actors? I wouldn’t want to see them in a fictional thing, but they’re good at being themselves on those shows. I can’t imagine what that must be like. I wouldn’t trade places with them for all the money in the world.
Hamm wears a Loro Piana T-shirt and pants; Omega watch; stylist’s own cap.
Do you have any good scars?
I have one that I got when I was 7 and I got hit by another kid with a belt. He was swinging it around, and I was like, “You can’t do that, that’s bad.” I tackled him, and the belt hit me in the head and I had nine stitches in my forehead. When you’re that young, they’re not allowed to give you a sedative, so I was strapped to a board and they had to sew it up without it, but I felt very cool.
Like most actors, you spent some time waiting tables.
I was a waiter for years, probably a decade. It’s not the best thing to be good at, because it means you’ve done it for a long time, but I appreciate good waiters and bartenders. If it all went pear-shaped tomorrow, I could certainly go back to doing that. Although it’s a lot harder now. Food and drinks and bars and cocktails, everything’s so much more complicated now and not necessarily better.
What’s your secret skill?
Well, now you know I’m a good waiter. And a pretty good bartender.
Grooming by Kumi Craig at the Wall Group.
Produced by AP Studio, Inc.; executive producer: Alexis Piqueras; producer: Anneliese Kristedja; production manager: Hayley Stephon; production coordinator: Kaitlyn Fitzpatrick; lighting technician: Eduardo SilvA; lab: picturehouse+thesmalldarkroom; retouching: picturehouse+thesmalldarkroom; fashion assistants: Tyler VanVranken, Amir La Sure, Celeste Roh, Lila Hathaway, Natalie Mell; production assistants: Linette Estrella, Ariana Kristedja, Sammi Kulger, an Carter, Cameron Bevans, Chase Walker, Rory Walsh; hair assistants: Courtney Peak, Austin Weber, Simone Domizi; makeup assistants: Mika Iwata, Anna Kurihara, Nana Hiramatsu; manicure assistant: Rieko Smith; set assistants: Kevin Kessler, Cedar Kirwin, Paul Levine; tailor: Lindsay Amir Wright; tailor’s assistant: Natalie Wright.
