Jon Hamm Says He Has No ‘Grand Plan’ for His Life After “Mad Men”

Carin Baer/AMC(NEW YORK) — Jon Hamm is ready to say goodbye to Don Draper who he has played for seven seasons on Mad Men, even if he’s not exactly certain what’s ahead.

“The one constant thing I’ve had in my career is now removed,” Hamm told GQ. “And that’s an eye-opener: Are people still going to take me seriously? Am I just going to do romantic comedies for the rest of my life? What’s next? And I don’t know, you know? I wish I was smug enough to have had a grand plan.”

At least Hamm has found some encouragement from someone who’s already gone through a similar life adjustment — Bryan Cranston. Hamm said Cranston, who was recently freed from Breaking Bad, told him: “It’s hard, man. It’s hard to let it go. It’ll hit you a couple of different ways at different times.”

Nonetheless, Hamm is ready to give up Draper, whose downward spirals he said were draining to play for seven seasons.

“You’re kind of hoping for redemption, and it’s not forthcoming,” he told the men’s magazine. “To consistently come in and be the bummer was always like, ‘Oh, that’s not fun.’ But at the same time, it’s been like the greatest obstacle course in the world. A puzzle to figure out.”

After his side-splitting appearance on Saturday Night Live and his scene-stealing roles on 30 Rock and Bridesmaids, don’t be surprised if Hamm’s next role is much lighter.

“I have no affinity for it other than my appreciation of it,” he said of doing a comedy. “I had no desire to get up onstage and tell jokes. I prefer to stand next to really funny people. I was always good at being observationally funny — like contributing something funny to the conversation.”

Hamm and his fellow mad men will return to AMC on April 5 to wrap up the seventh and final season of the acclaimed series.


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