‘The Morning Show’ actor told host Seth Meyers that he took a “big swing” with his attempt to lighten the mood
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Jon Hamm took a “big swing” ahead of his 2008 Saturday Night Live debut.
On the Wednesday, Feb. 13 episode of Late Night with Seth Meyers, Hamm, 53, shared a story about an interaction that he had with Amy Poehler, 53, during his week to debut on Saturday Night Live.
The Morning Show actor recalled to host Seth Meyers, 51, that Poehler received a phone call and immediately began to cry while they sat next to each other in the makeup chairs. After the Parks and Recreation actress returned from stepping away to take a call, Hamm remembered the SNL star’s tear-stained face as she delivered the horrible news to the cast that her OB-GYN died.
“And, I said, ‘God, Amy, that’s really terrible, but you really need to pull it together because this is my first time hosting and you better bring it!’ Which, was a big swing!” he admitted of his attempt to lighten the mood at the time. “She immediately started laughing.”
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The Mad Men actor recently shared that he will be “forever grateful” to SNL creator Lorne Michaels for his prolific career. Speaking with reporters following his crowning as the 2025 Hasty Pudding Man of the Year at Harvard in Cambridge, Mass., on Friday, Jan. 31, Hamm said Michaels gave him a chance to showcase that his talents extend beyond dramatic roles.
“I really credit none other than Lorne Michaels for offering me a [chance to] guest host Saturday Night Live [for the first time in 2008] to really get the sense of, well, I do have a funny side to me,” he told reporters at the event.
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“Most of the people who knew me before they knew me for Mad Men knew that was the predominant side of me,” he added. “So Lorne gave me that opportunity, which led to 30 Rock, which led to Bridesmaids, which led to a lot of other gigs in the Tina Fey, Robert Carlock, Lorne Michaels universe.”
As he keeps an open mind to new career opportunities, Hamm last year revealed his interest in taking a crack at a rom-com leading man role — with his The Morning Show costar Jennifer Aniston by his side.
“I have no idea what it would look like,” Hamm told IndieWire of the potential project. “I think it would just have to be funny and fun and it would let us do what we both do very well, which is be charming and funny and compelling. I certainly wouldn’t say no to that.”
