FROMLEFT: JOJOWHILDEN/EVERETTCOLLECTION; JASONLAVERIS/FILMMAGIC;NBCUNIVERSAL
divideshistimebetweenNewYorkand
LosAngeleswithhispartnerof16years,
actressandfilmmakerJenniferWestfeldt,
andtheirmixed-breedrescuedog,Cora.
Thepairarealsopartners inaproduction
company,PointsWestPictures,producing
andstarring inthe indiefilm
Friendswith
Kids
in2011. (Westfeldtalsowroteand
directedtheensemblecomedy.)
Andwhentheyarebothnotworking,
travel isa favoritepastime.Whileprincipal
filming for
MillionDollarArm
tookplace
inIndia—wheretemperaturesreached
120degrees—Hammadmits, “Iwasnot
abletodomuchsightseeing,whichwas
toobad. IdidgettoseetheTajMahaland
ElephantaIsland inMumbai,whereIsaw
lotsofcavesandcarvings. It isdefinitelya
placeIwantedtovisit. India issodierent
andbeautifulandthe food isamazing.The
cuisine isverydierentandIturned into
avegetarianasaresult.Rice, lentils, tofu—
notveryadventurous food-wise,butIate
wiselyanddidenjoy it.”
“Wealso loveItaly,”Hammadds. “We
stay inaphenomenalplaceoutsidePosi-
tano,VillaTreVille(directorFrancoZef-
firelli’s formerestateonthepicturesque
AmalfiCoast).Theplace is likemagic.We
havealsostayedatJ.K.Place inCapri; it’s
wonderful.”
ThissummerfindsthecoupleinManhat-
tanas“Jenisdoingaplayrightnowandin
rehearsals.”AsforHamm,nextupisthefilm
adaptationofWilliamFaulkner’s
TheSound
andtheFury
withdirector/actorJames
Franco,ataleofsiblingsintheearly20th-
centuryDeepSouth.Certainlyadeparture
forHamm,butit’salsoclearhewon’thave
toworryaboutbeingtypecastasaphilan-
deringSixtiesadmanany longer,sincehis
careerprovestheoldadage:Whenonedoor
closes,anotheropens.
Followingthetraditionaltemplateofthe
strugglingactor,HammheadedtoHolly-
woodpostcollegewithonlyhiscarand$150.
Hestartedwaitingtablesandattendingau-
ditionsbutfacedonerejectionafteranother.
“Igavemyselffiveyears inLosAngeles.I
thoughtthatwasenoughtimetotestthe
watersandseewhat’swhat.Ittookevery
bitofthreeyearstoactuallygeta joband
itwasn’tformy lackoftrying.”Despitethe
facthisagentatWilliamMorrisdropped
him, thepersistentactornevergaveup.
When thecameoroleofafirefighter
resulted ina19-episodegig for the televi-
sionshow
Providence
, alongwithhis
first feature-filmdebutofaone-liner in
ClintEastwood’s
SpaceCowboys
in2000,
Hammwasable tohanguphisapron.Soon
heappeared inbit televisionpartson
CSI:
Miami,WhatAboutBrian
,
TheDivision
,
and
TheUnit
, amongothers. In2006,his
old-fashioned, leading-man looksand tal-
enthelpedhimbeatout80candidates for
therole in
MadMen.
Theshow’screator,
MatthewWeiner,defiedboth thenetwork
and theusual logicofhiringa“name” for
thepartof thecoolcreativedirector, cast-
ingHammaftersevenauditions.Thepart
becamehisdefiningrole, earningHamm
aGoldenGlobe forBestActorayear later,
followedbysixEmmynominations.
Successfulcomedicturnsensuredthe
actorwouldnotbe forevertypecastasthat
“Sixtiesadguy”:Hehadstintsasaguest
hostof
SaturdayNightLive
androles inthe
2011chickflick
Bridesmaids
andtheNBC
primetimehit
30Rock
,whereheplayedop-
positeTinaFeyastheboyfriendwhogets
treateddierentlybyothersbecauseofhis
good looks.
Hisown love lifehas, forthemost
part,beenkeptoutof thetabloids.Hamm
CHANGINGDIRECTIONS:
FROM
LEFT
:
WithAdamScott in
FriendsWithKids
; Hammand longtimepartner JenniferWest-
feldt at the65thannual PrimetimeEmmyAwards; hamming it upon
SaturdayNight Live
PROFILE
SUMMER
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