TV’s Perfectly-Flawed Leading Man: Jon Hamm Talks Season 2 of “Your Friends & Neighbors”

When the world met Jon Hamm, he was already grown up. He wore a sharp suit and a thin black tie, commanding client presentations like a captain at the helm of a ship. He pitched things like happiness and nostalgia with the authority of someone poised not only to be a leading man, but the leading man. He held that post, unequivocally, for the next eight years. When Hamm emerged in 2007 for his first lead television role as Don Draper in Mad Men, he was 36 years old. Unlike most A-list industry veterans, there aren’t endless archives of a younger version of Hamm awkwardly finding his footing as an early-20-something tiptoeing into the spotlight. He did some theatre, went through the gauntlet of pilot season, and held a recurring role as a police inspector on Lifetime’s The Division. But mostly, Hamm waited tables and fielded feedback from executives who told him (ironically) that he looked older than his age. So, it’s no surprise that, when the world finally met him, he arrived fully formed.

“There are so many versions of this life, but the best version of it just happens how it happens.”Jon Hamm

Now, on the precipice of the second season of his second leading television role — AppleTV+’s Your Friends & Neighbors — Jon Hamm is navigating a new chapter of manhood, as is his character, Andrew “Coop” Cooper. Hamm is 54, and wearing it as well as we all knew he would. His character is wearing it a bit worse. He’s struggling to send his kids off to college, navigating a tangled relationship with his ex-wife, and his back hurts like hell. Yet, even still, when the opportunity to slow down and take the easy road toward corporate retirement presents itself, the former millionaire hedge-fund manager can’t help himself. He realizes that he prefers to support his family by stealing from his wealthy suburban social circle. Just like that, Hamm and Coop enter a new era together.

The season itself is a whirlwind: more lying, more stealing, more romance, more booze and medication (prescription and non-prescription). Then, enter James Marsden, a disruptive Jay Gatsby-coded outsider named Owen Ashe who threatens to expose Coop’s double life. Ahead of Your Friends & Neighbors’ second season, Hamm reflects on his second chapter as television’s leading man.

Before you read the script for the second season, what aspects of Coop were you most excited to explore?

It’s a good question, and I wish I had a better answer to it. All this crazy shit happens in this community in our first season, but it didn’t happen in a vacuum, right? So, the second season is about dealing with the repercussions, and those repercussions are just amplified by James [Marsden’s] character. But coming in, I didn’t really have any expectations. I thought I was in good hands with our showrunner, Jonathan Tropper. Honestly, it’s what I’ve done for most of my career. I’ve placed my faith in some pretty good writers, and it’s worked out for me so far. I don’t want to take the pen out of their hands. That’s not my job. I’m here for any thoughts or questions, but otherwise, just go crazy, and I’ll do my best to see it through. 

You and the rest of the cast were in a unique position because the show got renewed for a second season before the first season even aired, which was the first time a streamer had ever done that. Did it alleviate the pressure of dropping the first season or raise the stakes? 

I think it was a bit of both, honestly. It’s certainly a nice vote of confidence. The powers that be believed in the show so much just from what they’d seen in the rough cuts. And they trusted their instincts, rather than what usually happens, which is, “I’m gonna wait to tell you my opinion until I hear what everyone else thinks,” which is a real thing that people do in Hollywood. And it’s a ridiculous way to decide how you feel about anything, right? 

Do you think it helps that the show has such a great elevator pitch? “Hedge fund manager gets fired and sustains himself by stealing from his ultra-wealthy friends” is a pretty juicy hook. 

It’s true, but a good elevator pitch doesn’t necessarily make a great show. Think about The Sopranos. It’s probably the easiest elevator pitch in the world — “gangster goes to therapy” — but there are a million ways that the show could’ve gone off the rails. So, I heard the pitch, and I found it compelling. It felt like it would hit the culture in a meaningful way, and it has. All my evidence is anecdotal — but so many people from all backgrounds, from all walks of life, tell me that they love Coop and that the show strikes a chord. It’s not just rich white people, which tells me that it’s more than just a good hook. 

It’s funny that there’s this cultural fascination with following these ultra-wealthy, ultra-inaccessible, entirely unrelatable characters and plotlines, from Industry to Succession to Your Friends & Neighbors. Why do we get so caught up in characters we see so little of ourselves in? 

I would throw The White Lotus into that category, too. It’s true — the rubric of watching rich people behave badly. There’s something about the “Ha ha, look at these privileged assholes” of it all. But, at the same time, there’s this aspirational quality to it. “If I had that money, I’d do it all different” — you know what I mean? Plus, the stakes feel higher. It’s wildly dramatic. And then, despite our best efforts, we fall in love with the characters. 

It’s the same things that make us so enamoured with sports. We can watch LeBron play and there’s no world in which we can really relate to it, but we get caught up in the narrative or the aspiration. 

That’s why sports are so great. I happened to be in Winnipeg for game seven of the World Series, and I was in a bar with the Winnipeg Jets watching the game. It was supposed to be a Halloween party in the bar, and no one was even talking to each other. Everybody was locked on the TV. 

Sports have played a pretty consistent role in each chapter of your life, from being a three-letter varsity athlete to a pretty rabid St. Louis sports fandom. What is it about sports that has kept them so constant in your life?

Sports were such a vital part of my upbringing. Being the child of a single parent, part of growing up was being raised with the kids in my neighbourhood. If it was summer, it was basketball. If it was spring, it was baseball. If it was fall, it was football. It was always present. I was a relatively poor kid, so we didn’t have all the gear. But we just made do. You know, bases were rocks, and bats were whatever we could find. And watching the pros, that was the lingua franca of being a kid in the ’70s and ’80s. It allowed us to all speak the same language. 

Historically, there’s such a romance associated with baseball. What is it about the sport that evokes that for people? 

There’s a lot. It’s such a team sport, at its core. There’s a rhythm of everyone working together, so it automatically engenders teamwork and friendship and a sense of community. And when you talk about rooting for a team, it amplifies everything. 

I know you’ve gotten to know the St. Louis Blues team well. As a Cardinals fan, have you connected with the team at all? 

My best friend growing up was a kid named John Simmons, and his dad, Ted, played for the Cardinals in the ’60s, ’70s, and ’80s. So, I’m really close with the team. I’m very good friends with the DeWitt family [Cardinals owners]. I’m fourth-generation St. Louis, so my family’s been around a long time. I don’t care if it’s basketball or football or baseball or soccer — if it’s St. Louis, I’m all in. 

You mentioned James Marsden earlier — the rapport between you two is so great this season. What new dynamics was he able to add in the season? 

James is someone I’ve known for a long, long time, and he’s a great guy. We’ve been buds and just narrowly missed each other on 30 Rock as Liz Lemon’s love interests. But we’ve been around each other for a long time, and he just adds value to everything he does. We saw it on Jury Duty, and he had a great run on Paradise. We knew that bringing him in would be a perfect foil for someone like me because you’re really not sure who’s going to win that fight. He can hold his own, and he’s playing this Jay Gatsby role. You know, this mysterious new-money guy coming in, disrupting the social hierarchy.

Between Coop and your other television lead, Don Draper, you’ve spent a decade portraying men who are largely defined by their indulgence and greed and ego. In some ways, they’re cautionary tales. Over the years, have you picked up any life lessons?

I wouldn’t say I necessarily learned anything more from them than I would from reading a play or a great novel. Obviously, the reason we do all that stuff is to remind ourselves that we’re human, that we all have these flaws, and what it means to overcome those flaws. That’s the nature of any great story. Without showing too much of my English major, you could go all the way back to The Odyssey and see those same themes. Don is an incredibly well-crafted character. Matthew [Weiner] did an amazing job. I was lucky enough to play him for a long time, and it’s so fun to get another chance to do it in a more contemporary style with another guy who isn’t making great choices but is somehow still so compelling. Hey, maybe there’s something to be gleaned from that.

Is it just a lot more fun to play the bad guy?

A lot more fun. I mean, the guy who does everything right and is invulnerable? That’s boring. That’s why there’s been like 15 recent Batmen but only a couple Supermen.

No offence to David Corenswet, of course.

He was great! And by the way, I loved what they did with the new version. Also, James Gunn, another St. Louis guy.

“I’m happy that I got to play Don Draper, happy that my life worked out the way it has, grateful for the opportunities. But I can’t really look back and be grateful or regretful that something turned out a certain way or it didn’t. It is what it is. That way lies only disaster.”Jon Hamm

Aside from James Marsden, a huge element of this season is the theme of ageing. It’s not just Coop, but it’s something his ex-wife is grappling with; their kids are going off to college, and, I don’t want to spoil anything, but there are definitely aspects of mortality to deal with. What do you think a weighty theme like that adds to the show?

Totally, mortality is such a big part of this season. Everyone is getting older and, with that, more decisions have to be made. Then, you wonder if you made the right decisions. Seeing those decisions percolate is so relatable. As you can see, my own grey hair can testify that mortality is something that, at a certain age, looking in the mirror makes you think about unavoidably. It’s just part of the day. And things that didn’t hurt in your 20s and 30s suddenly hurt. You can’t eat how you used to eat or drink how you used to drink. It comes for all of us.

With Coop’s kids, I don’t have children of my own, but I certainly was one once. The notion of moving on or flying the coop or leaving the nest — whatever metaphor you want to use — that’s part of life. That’s growing up. And some people do it a lot later. I was always half a generation behind all my friends. When everybody was getting married, I was single. When everybody was making money during the first half of their career, I was waiting tables. Sometimes, it just happens at a different time, for whatever reason. And there’s nothing wrong with that. I think as you get older, that’s what you realize.

That’s a pretty well-treaded part of your story — the “Jon Hamm got his big break late” narrative. But at this stage of your career, are you grateful it took a little longer to get here?

Oh, man. It’s a big question. I mean, I sure could’ve used the cheque a little earlier. But in all seriousness, I don’t know if I’d say I’m grateful for the timing. Everyone says, “You were an overnight success!” or whatever. But I was still a working actor before I got Mad Men. I wrote down “actor” on my taxes each year. Now, sometimes I made zero dollars as an actor, and sometimes I didn’t. But I always wrote it down. There are so many versions of this life, but the best version of it just happens how it happens. Really, I can’t imagine it coming together for me at a younger age.

I remember when I was a younger actor in Los Angeles. I was probably 27 or 28, auditioning for things but never getting them. But finally, I got down to the last round of whatever show I was auditioning for, and I was up against this young Australian kid. I thought, “Man, he’s really good.” Yeah, well, turns out it was Heath Ledger. He got the gig and went like this [points upward] and, you know, I went like this [points horizontally]. I’ve thought since: it’s not easy to be famous when you’re so young, as proven by so many other brilliant people. So, I just think, I’m happy that it happened. I’m happy that I got to play Don Draper, happy that my life worked out the way it has, grateful for the opportunities. But I can’t really look back and be grateful or regretful that something turned out a certain way or it didn’t. It is what it is. That way lies only disaster.

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