Jonathan Daniel "Jon" Hamm (born March 10, 1971) is an American actor and stars in Mad Men as Don Draper.

Hamm moved to Los Angeles in 1996 and struggled as an unemployed actor. He was represented by the Hollywood talent agency William Morris. Hamm settled into a house with four other struggling actors, received work as a waiter and started going to auditions. In 1998 William Morris dropped him as a client and Hamm continued working as a waiter.

In 2000, after being cast in several unsuccessful television pilots, Hamm landed a role as romantic firefighter Burt Ridley on NBC's drama series Providence, that led to a nineteen episode stint. Originally, he was scheduled to appear in one episode, but the show's producers liked him so much that they brought him back for additional guest spots. His role in Providence led him to quit his job waiting tables. That same year he made his feature film debut in Clint Eastwood's space adventure Space Cowboys. The film received favorable reviews, and was a box office success, earning $128 million worldwide. The following year, Hamm appeared in a supporting role in the independent comedy Kissing Jessica Stein (2001). Shortly thereafter he played another supporting role in the war film We Were Soldiers (2002). His career was further bolstered when he played Nate Basso, a police inspector, on Lifetime's television series The Division, in a recurring role that went from 2002 to 2004. Hamm went on to feature in minor roles on the television series What About Brian, CSI: Miami, Related, Numb3rs, The Unit and The Sarah Silverman Program. Hamm's major breakthrough came when he was cast as Don Draper in Mad Men. His performance received strong critical acclaim, and he was awarded a Golden Globe award for best actor in 2008. He was nominated for the Emmy Award for best actor in 2008, 2009, and 2010 and the Screen Actor's Guild award for best actor in 2008 and 2009. Hamm's success on Mad Men led to bigger roles. He had major supporting roles in the films, 'The Day the Earth Stood Still', 'Howl, 'Shrek Forever After', and 'The Town'. In 2011 he will star in the Zack Snyder film 'Sucker Punch'.

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External LinksEdit

• Jon Hamm at the Internet Movie Database