Not to be confused with John Ham or John Hamm.
[>>]Source: WikipediaNot to be confused with John Ham or John Hamm.
Jonathan Daniel 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 had his first leading role in the independent thriller Stolen (2010).
Early life
Hamm was born on March 10, 1971, in St. Louis, Missouri to Deborah and Daniel "Dan" Hamm. His parents divorced when he was two years old, and he lived with his mother in Creve Coeur, Missouri, 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.
Hamm attended John Burroughs School in Ladue, Missouri, a private prep academy, where he was a member of the football, baseball, and swim teams. When Hamm was 16, he was cast as Judas in Godspell, and enjoyed the experience, though, he confessed that he did not take acting seriously. "Acting was fun, but my grandfather would always tell me, 'It's never too late to be an engineer.' You were supposed to get a 'job' job and do acting on weekends or at school." Following graduation in 1989, he enrolled at the University of Texas, but dropped out during his sophomore year, following the passing of his father. Hamm moved back home to attend the University of Missouri, where he studied English. Hamm answered an advertisement from a theater company looking for players in a production of A Midsummer Night's Dream, auditioned, and was cast in the production.
After graduating in 1993 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English, Hamm returned to teach at his high school teaching eighth grade acting as a gesture of repayment for the school's support during his adolescent years. He worked at the school as a faculty drama teacher. One of his students during this time was Ellie Kemper, an actress best known for her role on The Office.
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