Jon Hamm Talks Emmy Nominations for ‘Fargo,’ ‘The Morning Show’

Jon Hamm is back in the Emmy Awards saddle.

Nine years after winning his first statuette for his performance as the philandering advertising executive Don Draper in the Madison Avenue drama “Mad Men,” Hamm picked up two more acting nominations on Wednesday, for his performances in “Fargo” and “The Morning Show.”

The first, for lead actor in a limited or anthology series or movie, was for his villainous turn as Roy Tillman, a power-hungry Christian nationalist sheriff on “Fargo,” FX’s darkly comic anthology crime drama inspired by the 1996 Coen Brothers movie. The series, which was created by Noah Hawley, picked up 15 nominations for its fifth season, including best limited series.

Hamm also scored a supporting actor in a drama nod for his role as Paul Marks, an Elon Musk-like, space-loving billionaire in Season 3 of “The Morning Show,” Apple TV+’s behind-the-scenes look at a fictional broadcast news program.

In an interview shortly after the nominations were announced — on the way to a voice-over session in Lower Manhattan for the animated show “Grimsburg,” in which Hamm, 53, plays a small-town detective — he shared his inspirations for his characters and what he thinks of Netflix’s limited series contender “Baby Reindeer.”

These are edited excerpts from the conversation.

Congratulations! How did you find out you were nominated?

I was walking the dog to go get coffee, and I came back and my phone had quite a few messages.

Your characters on “Fargo” and “The Morning Show” both seem to have fairly clear politically charged, real-world analogues — someone like Elon Musk for Paul Marks and any number of blowhard, nationalist politicians for Roy Tillman. To what extent did you base your performances on real people?

It’s impossible to deny — it’s impossible to ignore — as you say, the real-world analogues. I didn’t necessarily base them on anybody; it all comes from the script. Noah had said to me, talking about Roy, “I just want this guy to be Marlboro Man.” And I said, “Yeah, I think I can see that.”

The mythology around that character, how we lend that person iconic status they may or may not have earned — we have that now with people who have money. If you have money, somehow people think that you are more correct, or more right, or more righteous, and that’s not necessarily earned. So that was what I led into both of these guys with.

You’re from St. Louis, and your “Fargo” character is a North Dakota sheriff. What truth did you bring to embody a fellow Midwesterner?

“Fargo”’s sensibility is contrasting the rural nature of the upper Midwest with some of the other cities like Minneapolis. Roy is a sheriff in a distant rural county in North Dakota, so there’s something there. We’re all so interconnected now with social media that regional differences are blending in a lot of ways. So that’s part of the fun of “Fargo” — those people have not been touched by too much social media, which makes for a fun environment.

What was it like to re-embody your “Mad Men” character, Don Draper, with John Slattery in “Unfrosted,” Jerry Seinfeld’s Pop Tart movie?

It was fun! It came together very quickly — they asked if I’d do that, and I said I’d do it if John did; John said he’d do it if I did. We both leaned into the silliness of it. We shot it during Covid, with masks and everything — that was a very strange environment, so it was nice to take the piss out of it a little bit.

Have you seen any of the other performances that you’re up against in the limited series category — Andrew Scott in “Ripley,” Matt Bomer in “Fellow Travelers,” Richard Gadd in “Baby Reindeer” and Tom Hollander in “Feud: Capote vs. the Swans”?

“Baby Reindeer” is such an interesting journey to take as an audience member. And I saw “Ripley”; I thought it was wonderful. I saw “Swans,” which I also thought was wonderful. I have not seen “Fellow Travelers,” but I’ve spoken to Matt — Matt and I have known each other since the first go-round of our relative shows. I’ve seen a good number of them and was very pleased to be in the conversation with all of those fellows.

What’s next for you?

After I get out of my voice-over session, then I go upstate to shoot the new show I’m working on for Apple, called “Your Friends and Neighbors.” “Landman,” which I shot with Demi Moore and Billy Bob Thornton, will come out in the fall for Paramount. So I’m staying busy, but I think the fall may be time to rest.