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Jon Hamm is best known for his role as the iconic Don Draper in the hit show Mad Men, and now he’s the man starring with Flo in the Progressive commercials. He’s also a man who, now in his 50s, has lived quite a life. His childhood was not the most idyllic. From divorce to losing his mother to the idea of acting and taking control of his own life, he’s not always been in control. However, he’s always known that his life would create magic in some capacity. He certainly wasn’t wrong in that way of thinking. But what is it about Jon Hamm that makes him who he is?
Jon Hamm’s Childhood Was Filled with Tragedy
The only child born to his mother and father when they were married, he’s kind of an only child despite not being an only child. He did spend a lot of time alone despite the fact his father has two older girls from a previous marriage. By the time he was two, his mom and dad no longer wanted to spend their lives together. They divorced, and Hamm lived alone with his mother. It was a lonely time for him in a way, but it wasn’t in another way. He had a great relationship with his father – he saw him regularly – but he lived with his mother.
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Sadly, his mother died of colon cancer when he was only 10. It was the most tragic time in his life, and he and his father leaned into one another so much at that point. Despite the fact that they were no longer married, his father knew the heartbreak his son would face losing his mother at such a young age. Hamm refers to the day his father woke him up to tell him that his mother died as the day his life began.
Private School and Being Encouraged to Focus on His Future
Despite his loss, Hamm was a wonderfully gifted student. His academic achievements allowed him to go to one of the most prestigious private schools in his area. The school focused a lot on the future. What did kids want to do when they grew up? What did they want to be? How did they define their own success at such a young age in terms of their future?
Participation was highly encouraged in all facets of life for the students at his school. The teachers and staff wanted to see kids try sports, drama, and everything in between. Hamm found drama for the first time, and we think you can infer where this story ends up. We should also mention that his father died when he was in college, and it was just a sad time for him in so many ways. He’s spent more of his life without parents than he did with, and there is nothing so heartbreaking.
Jon Hamm Doesn’t Have a Life Plan
Much of his life has been defined by the loss of his mother at ten and his father at 20. When you lose your parents at such a young age, it’s difficult. He didn’t have a plan then, and he doesn’t really have one now. However, he had this to say about his own life and the idea of kids of his own. “I’ve never had a life plan. I never really had a roadmap. Everything was always so unstable. Now that things have stabilized and I’m comfortable in my career, I would love to have kids. I think it would be great,” he said of his own future.
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He Really Felt Don Draper
There’s so much about his life that even he doesn’t quite understand – who could when you lose your parents so young? But there is one thing that really does work for him, and that is his ability to feel the pain and the sadness of Don Draper. A wildly successful man in his line of work, the character was not always sure of who he was or what he was doing despite seeming so sure of himself and what he was doing.
Jon Hamm feels that, and he really resonates with that character. While we might not know much about their backstory, we do know that there is so much there that might be described as similar. Even the people who seem the most put together and the surest are often unsure and sometimes feel lost and confused. There is nothing wrong with that feeling or that type of existence. We can only assume that it’s these roles and this feeling that has turned Jon Hamm into the successful actor he is today. Without that pain and trauma in childhood, would he have succeeded in the way he has? We will never know, but everything is part of his story.
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