In the decade following his iconic portrayal of Don Draper on Mad Men, Jon Hamm strategically avoided television typecasting by embracing villainous roles and numerous supporting parts. However, the Emmy-winning actor has now made a triumphant return to the small screen with a leading role in Apple TV's acclaimed series Your Friends & Neighbors, where he plays a character navigating life's turbulent waters.
A Compelling Return to Television
When presented with the script for Your Friends & Neighbors, featuring a character at his breaking point, Hamm found himself intrigued by the prospect of headlining a television series once again. "Well, let's be fair. I was on a few TV shows—The Morning Show and Fargo and Landman. I'd been doing some work here and there," Hamm, 55, explained during a video interview from Los Angeles. "But I liked this show."
The Character That Lured Him Back
Creator and writer Jonathan Tropper successfully attracted Hamm with a storyline brimming with entertainment potential across multiple seasons. As Andrew "Coop" Cooper, Hamm portrays a divorced financier who, after losing his job, turns to crime, pilfering from his affluent neighbors in the fictional Westmont Village community.
The ensemble cast includes Amanda Peet as his ex-wife Mel, Olivia Munn as secret lover Samantha, alongside Aimee Carrero, Hoon Lee, Mark Tallman, Lena Hall, Isabel Gravitt, and Donovan Colan. "I thought it sounded very compelling as the beginnings of a series and the beginnings of a story. I thought there was a lot of thematic ground to till, so to speak. So I thought it could be a fun thing to do," Hamm remarked.
Season Two Introduces New Challenges
After seemingly reclaiming his former life at the conclusion of Season One, Coop opts to continue his illicit activities with the assistance of house-cleaning friend Elaina (Carrero). His criminal enterprise faces new threats in Season Two with the arrival of billionaire resident portrayed by Emmy Award nominee James Marsden.
"The first season was super-juicy. The second season just feels so much more juicy," Marsden commented. "I get to play this magnificently wonderful and delicious role as the guy that just doesn't know how to stop." Hamm describes Marsden's character as a "chaos agent" disrupting the carefully constructed world of Westmont Village.
Parallels Between Actor and Character
Hamm revealed that Coop's storyline resonated deeply with him, particularly the character's experience of life unraveling unexpectedly. This mirrors Hamm's own journey when he moved to Los Angeles from St. Louis at age 25, giving himself a five-year deadline for his acting career to take off.
"I think that was a fair amount of time. I said that to myself when I moved out to L.A. at the age of 25. I said, 'Well, a lot can happen in five years.' You can have a presidential administration or two. I felt like that was a fair amount of time to let the market decide whether I had viability," he reflected.
Coop's life "blows up through no fault of his own," but Hamm notes this upheaval forces the character to re-evaluate his future. "He realizes that maybe this wasn't what he wanted out of life. Both Coop's marriage and his job blow up... And he has to kind of go, 'Is this all there is?' I think that's a great way to start a television show."
Surrounding Himself with Excellence
Following his departure from Mad Men in 2015, Hamm recognized that roles like Don Draper were exceptional. He consciously sought collaborations with top-tier talent and exceptional writers throughout his subsequent career.
"That's been the case with Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon and Billy Crudup and Holland Taylor and Julianna Margulies and everyone else on The Morning Show. It's a murderer's row of home-run hitters," he stated. "I worked with Noah Hawley three times. I think his writing is so spectacular and he was able to craft a uniquely terrifying villain that I got to play (on Fargo). And Taylor Sheridan, as we all know, is the most prolific writer in Hollywood and he came to me and said he wanted me to do this part (on Landman)."
Hamm compares these experiences to his current work on Your Friends & Neighbors, praising the cast as "all-stars" who deliver outstanding performances. With Apple TV already greenlighting a third season, Hamm expresses no fatigue with Coop's character development.
"When I first read it, I thought there was a lot of fertile ground that we could get into. And I've been proven right," he laughed. "It turns out I can pick 'em."
Your Friends & Neighbors Season Two is currently streaming on Apple TV, with new episodes releasing weekly on Fridays until June 5.
