Film From mad to the badge Mad Men’s Jon Hamm tells Kaleem Aftab about working with Ben Affleck on his new film, The Town, and considers the future of Don Draper
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✽✽ HITLIST
THE BEST FILM & DVD RELEASES
✽✽ BuriedOne man in a coffin with a mobile phone equals one of the best thrillers of the year. See review, page 59. Selected release, Wed 29 Sep. ✽✽ Police, Adjective Dark, clever and funny Romanian policier. See review, page 59. GFT, Glasgow, Fri 1–Thu 7 Oct; Filmhouse, Edinburgh, Fri 1–Thu 14 Oct. ✽✽ Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps Oliver Stone’s long-gestating sequel to his seminal 1980s thriller is a class act. See review, page 58. General release, Wed 6 Oct. ✽✽ From Here to Eternity Lusty wartime shenanigans in the shadow of Pearl Harbour revisited. See Also Released, page 59. GFT, Glasgow, Fri 24–Mon 27 Sep. Filmhouse, Edinburgh, Thu 7 & Fri 8 Oct and Sun 10 & Mon 11 Oct. ✽✽ Rapt Commendable kidnap thriller. See Also Released, page 59. GFT, Glasgow, Fri 24 & Sat 25 Sep. Filmhouse, Edinburgh, Fri 8 Oct and Sun 10 & Mon 11 Oct. ✽✽ Alamar Slow but sweet drama set in a marine paradise. GFT, Glasgow, Fri 24–Thu 30 Sep. ✽✽ Cyrus Painfully truthful comedy about love and other obstacles. General release, out now. ✽✽ Winter’s Bone White trash thriller set in the Missouri backwoods. Selected release, out now. ✽✽ While the City Sleeps Little-seen 1956 Fritz Lang thriller gets long-overdue reissue on DVD. See review, page 60. Out Mon 27 Sep (Exposure) ✽✽ Tears for Sale Mental Balkan fantasy fable dances onto DVD. See review, page 60. Out now (Icon).
J on Hamm says that there is only one downside to playing TV’s best known advertising executive, Don Draper. ‘Part of the fun of being an actor is that you get to do different things, and that’s the one downside of working in television – that you are playing the same role over and over again. While it’s fun and I have a wonderful time on the show, it’s good to be given the chance to try different things.’
most likeable guy but audiences find themselves rooting for him or willing him on to find some measure of redemption, and I think that’s the story Ben’s trying to tell here. How much are we defined by our past and our upbringing and our connections? And is it possible to change and break free of those traditions and those relationships that somehow drag you down?’
So Hamm didn’t have to think twice when actor- turned-director Ben Affleck asked the St Louis born star to play an FBI agent in his crime thriller The Town. Whereas Don Draper loves to operate in the grey areas of life, his character in The Town is a stand-up guy, as Hamm confirms: ‘The Feds have a serious job that’s often dangerous and they take it seriously and they’re clearly defined in what they do. That’s where I started from. This is a guy who is good at his job; likes his job; takes his job very seriously.’ Hamm is still waiting for confirmation that Mad Men will return for a fifth series, although the way he talks about it, the signs are good. ‘We’ve not officially picked up a fifth season, I don’t know if we have a start date, we usually go back late spring and shoot in the summer.’ He says he imagines it will carry on for some time: ‘We’ve shot four seasons now and there’s still a lot of deep dramatic stories to be mined out of that character. I’m glad it’s someone else’s job to think them up, but I’ll keep doing it as long as they’ll have me.’
‘HE’S NOT A LIKEABLE GUY BUT AUDIENCES
LOVE HIM’
To research the role he familiarised himself with the work of Boston’s finest. ‘I spent a lot of time with the guys in the violent crimes and robberies task force in Boston, which is a combination of federal state and local law enforcement, and had a chance to see what they do day-to-day and the vast amount of info that they process and work with to try to solve these crimes and catch these bad guys.’ The 39-year-old sees similarities between Mad Men and The Town. ‘The story is not dissimilar to the way some people perceive Draper. He’s not necessarily the
56 THE LIST 23 Sep–7 Oct 2010
Hamm’s been dating actress Jennifer Westfeldt for over a decade and says that their busy schedules mean they have to work hard to keep the relationship going. ‘I’m working on things and so is she,’ he says. ‘So you want to carve out time for living your life as well, and we’ve been very diligent and lucky.’ It seems diligence is the operative word, in both Hamm’s home and work life. The Town, general release from Fri 24 Sep. See review, page 58.