Better Interviews With Jon Hamm, Starting With Jimmy Fallon

Now that’s more like it! Yesterday, I complained that Conan O’Brien’s interview with Mad Men star Jon Hamm was lame because it focused more on Andy Richter and 30 Rock than the he’s actually on, which also happens to be whipping up what seems to be the entire online world into a frenzy of anticipation leading up to the premiere this Sunday, August 16th (10 p.m. Eastern!). I noted that Conan’s meandering interview with Hamm represented a missed opportunity, because while Hamm is an engaging and pleasant guest (and pleasant-looking, obvs), the excitement over Mad Men might practically have led to more pickup and “newsmaking” potential had the interview focused more on the show. I stand by that assertion; since my post yesterday morning, the Conan-Hamm interview has clocked 1,665 views on the “Tonight Show” site.

There’s no play count on the Fallon site, but I’m going with my gut here, based on Twitter and, well, my gut. Last night Hamm was a guest on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon, and it was almost like they read my mind (or my post): Plenty of Mad Men talk, plus actual news in the form of a very cool video showing Hamm’s prep for the Season 3 ad where he’s sitting in an office filled with water, plus Hamm reading a “letter home” joking about fathering a child with Elisabeth Hasselbeck. Linkbait, anyone?

It was also, to be honest, just a much more jovial and fun interview. See and decide for yourself — and then, because we’re not above a little linkbait ourselves, enjoy a few more Hamm-tastic interviews below. First, Fallon:

Here’s “Letters Home,” including Hamm’s letter to his parents as an adorable kid that we would gladly babysit:

Hamm also did a much longer, non-embeddable interview with F.O.M. Bill Simmons on his ESPN Radio show, The B.S. Report. Hamm talked a lot about sports (go Cardinals! Or, whatever) and talked about coming to New York a lot because “my girl is there,” which we loved (the “girl” is actress/filmmaker Jennifer Westfeldt, who was the driving force behind the sleeper indie hit Kissing Jessica Stein which featured the song “I Kissed A Girl” by Jill Sobule which was later title-thieved by Katy Perry according to Sobule in the Rumpus and ripped off by the Sun UK but latter better attributed. Full circle!). NYMag’s “Vulture” culled the best moments, including this gem about his Emmy nominations: “If I win two Emmys, which I’m not going to, it will be just another thing I have in common with Kathy Griffin.” Listen to the full interview here.

And finally: Hamm on “Between Two Ferns With Zach Galifianakis” – This is awesome, possibly because Galifianakis speaks more than usual and it’s sorta violent. I laughed out loud a few times. The sneezing is fantastic. I watched this yesterday, but am laughing just thinking about it.

So: What have we learned from all this? Jon Hamm is clearly as nice as he is talented as he is easy on the eyes; and the smart interviewer ought to exploit that to the hilt for maximum pageviews. Oh come on, you know it’s what Don Draper would do.

This is an opinion piece. The views expressed in this article are those of just the author.