Jon Hamm Signals His Interest In Taking Over This Classic Cinematic Role

Jon Hamm may be best known for playing Don Draper on "Mad Men" for seven seasons, but he's also stepped into some well-known franchises. In 2022, he took on the role of Admiral Beau "Cyclone" Simpson in the long-awaited "Top Gun" sequel, "Top Gun: Maverick," and also, on September 16, he steps into Chevy Chase's shoes taking over the role of Irwin M. "Fletch" Fletcher in the also-long awaited third film in the "Fletch" series (per IMDb).

In an interview with Uproxx, Hamm talked about his experience when he saw the original "Top Gun" and how much that film meant to him. "And I just remember the experience of going to see it was coming out of it was like, 'I have to see that movie again. I want to see that movie again,'" Hamm told Uproxx. That's why, when Hamm was offered the role, he agreed to the "Top Gun" sequel without seeing a script or even knowing how much he would be paid.

Hamm told Rolling Stone Magazine that he had a similar experience with Fletch growing up.

"I saw the Chevy Chase movie, and it said in the credits it was based on a book," Hamm recalled. "I went to Waldenbooks in the mall, and they had half a row of all the books in the series on a shelf. I just thought, 'Oh, man, are you kidding me? I need eight of this!' I didn't have any money, so I shoplifted them. I think the statute of limitations has run out, but I owe Waldenbooks $35 plus interest."

However, Hamm may not be done with playing roles in big, iconic sequels, as he has one role in mind that he'd love to play.

In an interview with IndieWire, Jon Hamm mentioned briefly that he wanted to play James Bond. That would be quite a feat if he pulled it off as, according to Far Out Magazine, the role of 007 has never been played by an American on the big screen. (The one exception is Barry Nelson, who played the character in an adaptation of "Casino Royale" for the anthology series "Climax" in 1954, eight years before the film series actually began).

While the Far Out Magazine article explains that there have been two actors from outside the UK to play the role (George Lazenby and Pierce Brosnan), Barbara Broccoli — the producer at the helm of the James Bond franchise — told The Hollywood Reporter in 2021 that, the next James Bond could be any ethnicity, but it will definitely be a British man. "I think it will be a man because I don't think a woman should play James Bond," Broccoli told The Hollywood Reporter. "I believe in making characters for women and not just having women play men's roles. I don't think there are enough great roles for women, and it's very important to me that we make movies for women about women. He should be British, so British can be any [ethnicity or race]." So, while Hamm certainly has the charisma and charm to play the role, we probably won't see him playing Bond on the big screen anytime soon.