Jonathan Daniel "Jon" Hamm (born March 10, 1971) is an American actor whose work has been primarily in television roles. For much of the mid-1990s, he lived in Los Angeles as a struggling, unemployed actor. He appeared in multiple television series roles, including
Providence,
The Division,
What About Brian, and
Related. In 2000 he made his feature film debut in
Clint Eastwood's space adventure
Space Cowboys. The following year, Hamm appeared in the independent comedy
Kissing Jessica Stein (2001) in a supporting role.
Hamm gained worldwide recognition for playing advertising executive
Don Draper in
AMC's drama series
Mad Men, which premiered in July 2007. His performance earned him a
Golden Globe Award in the category for Best Actor in a Drama Series in 2008. Aside from appearing in
Mad Men, he was featured in the 2008 science fiction remake
The Day the Earth Stood Still and has completed work in the independent thriller
Stolen Lives set for a release in 2009.
Early life
Hamm was born on March 10, 1971 in
St. Louis, Missouri to Deborah and Dan Hamm.
His parents divorced when he was two years old, and he lived with his mother until she was diagnosed with advanced cancer when he was 10.
Although doctors removed two-thirds of her colon, she died soon after and Hamm moved in with his father,
but after a few years his father fell ill and died when Hamm was 20.
He said that teachers and friends' parents filled in as parental figures.
