When casting a love interest for Alex Levy on “The Morning Show,” it was Jennifer Aniston who recommended Jon Hamm for the part of tech billionaire boyfriend Paul Marks.
Fans of the Apple TV+ drama (and/or basic privacy laws) know how well that worked out for the two characters at the end of Season 3, but Hamm may still reprise the role. Speaking with IndieWire, the Emmy-winning “Mad Men” actor — who is nominated twice this year for “The Morning Show” and “Fargo” — confirmed that. He voiced his interest in leading a feature rom-com with Aniston, a fellow nominee.
“I have no idea what it would look like,” Hamm said. “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.”
Aniston, who has starred in 18 romantic comedies to date, first suggested the idea of her and Hamm leading a film together in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter from June. The actress’ last two genre efforts see her opposite Adam Sandler in Netflix’s “Murder Mystery” and its sequel, “Murder Mystery 2.” That’s the type of dynamic Hamm thinks he and Aniston could definitely pull off.
“She’s kind of established the Adam Sandler films that she’s done, which I think have been great — those murder mysteries, those are always really fun,” Hamm said, also praising “Anyone But You” from Sony.
“I mean, God bless Glen Powell and Sydney Sweeney for proving that it can work again,” he said. “I’m glad to see that some of the [studios], streamers, and alternate folks are taking swings at the romantic comedy genre again because I feel like it is something that was overlooked for some time.”
For his part, Hamm has acted in a few romantic comedies (see “Friends with Kids,” “Kissing Jessica Stein”), but never played the lead. “Mad Men” but also films like “Baby Driver” prove he can pull off passion and, even being an outright toxic asshole to Kristen Wiig, “Bridesmaids” does have a way of accidentally making Hamm look a little cute.
Over the last few years, the rom-com resurgence has been heralded as a savior of the box office on par with the likes of Taylor Swift. For his next Apple TV+ project, Hamm will executive produce and lead “Your Friends and Neighbors.” On the big screen, he’s got voice roles in the immediate future as Sentinel Prime in Paramount Pictures’ “Transformers One” and as a business-driven mayor in Pixar’s “Hoppers.”
Read IndieWire’s complete interview with Jon Hamm for the 2024 Emmys.
