Mad Men’s Jon Hamm, who plays smooth-talking, good-looking Don Draper, is stepping into another role on the show – director. Hamm is set to direct the Emmy-winning drama’s fifth season premiere episode.

“The wheels have officially been set in motion to make that happen,” Hamm says. “It’s a very exciting challenge that I’m looking forward to with a mixture of utter fear and excitement.”

Hamm says that the idea to direct an episode of the show has been “in the back of my mind for a while now.” He says, “It helps to have people you know and trust surrounding you. We’ve been fortunate enough to have very little turnover not only in our cast but in our crew.”

Co-star John Slattery has directed an episode in the past, to which Hamm says, “I watched Slattery do it, and he handled it with such grace and ability and ease. I figured if he can do it, s**t, I can do it too.”

Production for the show’s fifth season has been delayed due to contract negotiations, but it slated to get underway in August. Hamm says that directing the premiere will require him to go back a little earlier “to start prepping.”

Permalink Share it: