Jon Hamm spent years learning to live with loss, said Elaine Lipworth in the London Daily Mail. He was 10 years old when his mother died of stomach cancer. “It was a sad realization how permanent [death] was,” he says. “When you’re a kid, permanent is like a weekend.” Hamm moved in with his grandmother and his father. “He was good with people. But he had a dark side. He was a drinker [and] also a diabetic, so that didn’t mix well.” When Hamm was 20, his father died. “I dropped out of school, moved into the basement of my half sister Julie’s house, and sank into depression.” Struggling to find acting work, he took a job as a set decorator on soft-porn movies. “I made decent money, but it was gross and sad.” He often considered suicide, and was eventually prescribed Prozac. “The therapy and pharmaceuticals clear up your brain chemistry just enough so you can start taking steps forward.” Hamm, who was cast in Mad Men at age 36, is still astonished to have made it as an actor. “I was at the very bottom of the list,” he jokes. “I wasn’t even on the list.”
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Do smartphone bans in schools work?The Explainer Trials in UK, New Zealand, France and the US found prohibition may be only part of the solution
-
Doom: The Dark Ages – an 'exhilarating' prequelThe Week Recommends Legendary shooter adds new combat options from timed parries to melee attacks and a 'particularly satisfying' shield charge
-
7 US cities to explore on a microtripThe Week Recommends Not enough vacation days? No problem.
