“Mad Men’s” Jon Hamm is known for his dashing good looks — features so handsome they were written into his guest part on “30 Rock,” as a love interest for Tina Fey. Despite being one of Hollywood’s most devilishly good looking gents though, the actor said he was a little intimidated by his director and co-star Ben Affleck, and the physique Ben achieved for their upcoming drama “The Town.”
“I just leave my shirt on when I’m around that guy,” Jon told Access Hollywood at the Toronto International Film Festival of Ben. “He was in amazing shape and he worked very hard on it and I know it was a discipline.”
In the film — due out on September 17 — Jon plays FBI agent Adam Frawley, an officer who is hunting Ben’s character – thief Doug MacRay – a part for which Ben altered his physique.
“I think the discipline of having to work out and being focused on that as well as having to be prepared [as] a director, as well as having to be prepared as an actor — it was almost military in its structure,” Jon explained of Ben’s on-set focus. “That was, I think, helpful to him and obviously the guy had to have a certain body type — pro-athlete. And all of that dovetailed nicely with looking good. We were making fun of him a little bit but like, ‘Did you have to put the pull-ups [bar] in the trailer? Really?’”
Jon, whose day job is playing dark and troubled advertising executive Don Draper on AMC’s “Mad Men,” revealed that taking on the part of an FBI agent in “The Town” was a thrill.
“It’s cops and robbers… Most people want to play the robbers. Sometimes the bad guys are more fun, but it’s fun to run around with a shotgun and blow stuff up and chase some bad guys,” he said. “We had a very good time making it.”
The actor said playing Adam Frawley was a real departure from the sharp suited, but internally complex, Don.
“Don Draper universe is a little cloudy and his compass tends to spin around almost randomly, but our boy Frawley on this film is more sure about what is wrong and what is right,” Jon explained. “He lives in a more certain universe and that was nice to do. It was certainly nice to get away from Mr. Draper for a while.”
While Jon enjoys his film projects, he revealed he has no plans to ever try out a superhero suit, despite his uncanny resemblance to a certain cape-wearing comic book legend.
“I have been offered my share of — not offered — thrown around a few super hero contexts. I think I’m a little too old to be a superhero,” he said. “Honestly, that is the classy younger man’s game. I think we are better suited with the Taylor Lautner’s and Ryan Reynolds’ of the world to handle all of that stuff.”
