Transcript

RE-RELEASE: Jon Hamm | SmartLess

From SmartLess · Episode page · Watch on YouTube

· 48 min · 10,262 words · 284 timestamped sections

This is the full, timestamped transcript of "RE-RELEASE: Jon Hamm | SmartLess", an episode of SmartLess published February 12, 2026 (48 min, about 10,262 words). It mentions 12 people, works and ideas, including John Ham, Mad Men, Top Gun, St. Louis, Missouri, Yas.

What this episode is about

Jon Hamm shares a nostalgic story about his first love during a charity telethon in Chicago, reminiscing about the music that defined that weekend, particularly songs by the band Yaz. The conversation seamlessly blends personal anecdotes with music trivia, highlighting the connections between artists and the impact of their work.

Key takeaways

  • Love at 15: a reminder that sometimes, nostalgia is just a flight away.
  • Scotty's soap saga proves cringe-worthy humor often masks childhood trauma more effectively than actual therapy.
  • Blocking wooden spoons with broomsticks: a masterclass in both agility and the power of laughter for conflict resolution.
  • Who needs Laala Palooza when you have Yas Queen? A testament to the eternal glory of clever puns.
  • Burping as a bonding ritual: the undisputed language of camaraderie among road warriors; etiquette be damned!

Who speaks in this episode?

What is discussed, and when

  1. – 5:00: Yas, John Ham, Vince Clark, Allison Moyet
  2. – 10:00: St. Louis, Missouri, Yamaha, John Ham
  3. – 15:00: John Ham
  4. – 20:00: John Ham, Mad Men, SNL
  5. – 25:00: Mad Men
  6. – 40:00: John Ham, Mercedes
  7. – 45:00: Top Gun, John Ham, Mercedes
  8. – 47:30: Mad Men, American Hostage, Ozark

Notable quotes from "RE-RELEASE: Jon Hamm | SmartLess"

  • Did you guys know what the music festival was? where Queen this new game show we have?
    about Yas · at
  • It's none other than the dashingly handsome, the talented, very relatable John Ham.
    about John Ham · at
  • Okay. Ready? Hey guys, are you in a hurry? Get a Yamaha. Wait, you're advocating? They're going to be No, no, no. We don't want to advocate for people to speed if.
    about Yamaha · at
  • Of like a I'm one of the few people that loved high school and clearly you did. I went to a really excellent high school, the aforementioned John Burrough High School in St.…
    about St. Louis, Missouri · at
  • I don't think so. I think there's been because they were kind of they were for eventually I became a producer on the show. So, I got nominated for best show and things like that. But,.
    about Mad Men · at
  • Voice has been something that you've been using for a while then it sounds but you've you've really hit the top of the mountain there with Mercedes for how many years now?
    about Mercedes · at
  • The most exciting thing that I have coming out which will finally come out in May is the long awaited 30 years on sequel to Top Gun.
    about Top Gun · at
  • Like this how's this going to be watching him in this it's kind of like Jason watching you in Ozark which is also a testament to how good you are.
    about Ozark · at

Who and what is mentioned in this episode?

People

  • John Ham — Person · Main guest · 6 mentions · first at
    Primary interview subject; hosts discuss his career (Mad Men, SNL, voiceover work) and personal background (St. Louis, teaching acting).
  • Vince Clark — Person · Referenced musician/songwriter · 1 mention · first at
    Mentioned as the songwriter behind Yaz/Yazoo and associated with Depeche Mode and Erasure, used as music trivia during banter.
    Songs ever. now Jason, did you know that the lead that the guy who wrote all those Yas songs wrote all those Eraser songs and wrote Depes Mode songs?
  • Allison Moyet — Person · Referenced singer (music trivia answer) · 1 mention · first at
    Named as the lead singer of Yaz/Yazoo in a quick quiz-style exchange among the hosts.
    So now let me ask you this. Here's a little here's a Sean. You might know that you probably do the name of the lead singer of Yas. What was her name?

Companies & orgs

  • Yamaha — Company · Referenced company · 2 mentions · first at
    Mentioned in a humorous segment about selling motorcycles

Places & events

  • St. Louis, Missouri — Place · Setting · 2 mentions · first at
    John Hamm's hometown and where he returned to teach after college

Media & podcasts

  • Mad Men — Media · Referenced work · 5 mentions · first at
    Discussed as a significant TV show that changed television and brought fame to John Hamm
  • Top Gun — Media · Referenced work · 2 mentions · first at
    Mentioned as an upcoming sequel in which John Hamm is involved
  • Yas — Media · Referenced work · 2 mentions · first at
    Mentioned as a band whose music was significant in a personal story shared by the hosts
  • Ozark — Media · Referenced work · 1 mention · first at
    Mentioned in the context of Jason Bateman's performance and the show's setting
  • American Hostage — Media · Referenced work · 1 mention · first at
    John Hamm's new podcast mentioned by the hosts
    Yeah, he's got a new podcast. It's called American Hostage and it's on Amazon Wondery. It's fantastic. The trailer you got to listen to the trailer. The trailer sounds like an.
  • SNL — Media · Referenced work · 1 mention · first at
    Mentioned as one of the shows John Hamm was nominated for an Emmy
    I won one for the final season of Mad Man, but I was nominated, I think, as a guest star on SNL and on 30 Rock and a couple of things like that. So, I think those have been lumped in there.

Sponsors

  • Mercedes — Company · Sponsor · 2 mentions · first at
    John Hamm's long-term association with Mercedes as a voiceover artist

Full transcript with timestamps

Hey, it's John Ham. I got here early and set my tech up very quickly. So, of course, I'm waiting for three idiots. Welcome to Smartless.

Smartless. Smartless. Smart. Oh my god, that gives me Is that Yas? Yeah, Yas it is.

That brings me back to uh I met uh I I went to Chicago uh once to uh work the phones at a charity uh or a a teleathon.

Jason, what have you done with my Jason? Yeah. And I uh I met a I met a girl there and she was also working the phones and we fell in love

and and I I was 15 and I went I went back home. I talked to my mom about this love I fell in with this girl in Chicago for a whole full week. She said, "Why don't you go back and see her? I'll take you. I'll go with you." I was like, "Great." My mom and I got back on a plane the following weekend. Went back to Chicago and I had the most

Did you tell her you fell in love with a girl? Yeah. Working the phone banks with me at this tellathon and we had a magical weekend and that was that. All we listened to was Yas the whole weekend.

Yeah. Only you. It's one of the best songs ever. Um, now Jason, did you know that the lead that the guy who wrote all those Yas songs wrote all those Eraser songs and wrote Depes Mode songs?

Really? Vince Clark, not all of them, but but a lot of them. Yeah. Well, Vince Clark was the writer of Yas and then he went to Depes Mode and wrote, you know, just Can't Get Enough and all those kind of songs. Then he went then he left the Pesh Mode and went to Eraser and wrote all

So now let me ask you this. Here's a little here's a Sean. You might know that you probably do the name of the lead singer of Yas. What was her name?

Allison Moyet. Wow. Again, I said you may know this, but yeah. Okay. Well, do you guys

Jason? Yeah. Go ahead. Did you guys know what the uh music festival was? Um where uh uh Queen

this new game show we have? Queen uh Queen was the headliner and Yas led in for them. It was called Yas Queen. Um and um it was it was pre it predated Laala Palooa.

I can't believe I'm laughing at that. So stupid. Look, a good one. Yes, queen. Even a stopped clock. All right. I mean,

I want to ask you guys what the worst trouble in Uganda as a kid because here's why. Because whenever I'm I'm like 5 minutes late to rehearsal, whatever, however late I'm in rehearsal here in Chicago, you know, I feel like I get in trouble like I was a kid. So, I was talking to Scotty about that. And Scotty's like I asked Scotty, "What's the worst trouble you got in his kid?" Scotty got his mouth washed out with soap from the nuns in Catholic school. He was about six or seven years old and he got in trouble because he was making fart noises on his arm in the bathroom.

Oh boy. And they literally took soap and they really literally scrubbed his mouth.

Why they should have scrubbed his armpit, right? Oh, but you know what he did soap?

He breathed in to make his mouth all dry so that it wouldn't suds up under our guest or

I mean, yeah. Wow. What what are you are you trying to Will Will Can you Can you top uh Scotty's Scotty's drywash?

I mean, there have been a lot of stories of heroes over the years, and that is really people really when their backs against the wall are forced to come up with uh Right.

Lewis Scott outsmarted them. Yeah. You know, there's no fluid in my mouth, so you will not get suds, ma'am.

But I always thought that was like a not real thing that you got your mouth washed out with soap. But he got his mouth.

That once happened to me, right? Yeah. I one time my mom went to hit me with a wooden spoon. True story.

And uh I was in the kitchen and I was being mouthy, I guess. I can't imagine how. And I was sweeping. I was holding a broom and I was sweeping and she went and I said something and she went to swat me with the wooden spoon and I put the broom up to block it and it broke the wooden spoon in half. My timing was perfect and it snapped it in half and there was a moment of like, what just happened? And then we both burst into laughter.

Oh, that's nice. Yeah, because you said you better step step off. Well, just cuz I was able to block her so easily and then

just the whole topic of the whole topic of of abuse and families is well, she went to hit me on the butt with the with the wooden spoon. And

next time does she come at you with a metal spatula? Cuz that's what I would have done. Would have learned my lesson.

You know, I know it. I guess these days I don't even want to get into the broader conversation cuz

Yeah. Well, no, hang on a second. Let's talk about um uh how you discipline your children and what what you advocate for. Um

yeah, I want to open that up and I' I'd like to open it up to the world and I and not only that, I want to hear their opinions on it.

You would never do anything. No, of course. Um guys, here we go. Hi. Ready? Mind if I I got to burp. I'm not going to burp right now.

Would this guest appreciate something like that? He wouldn't care. He wouldn't care.

You didn't even wait for our answer. You said, "Do you mind if I burp?" And then you just were going to do it. You didn't said why bother saying it. There's just uh

Was it a false alarm? Cuz I didn't see you burp. Yeah. No, it came up. It was right on the whatever this part of your throat is, but it didn't.

You are. You are. I will say after having been on the road with you for 10 days, almost two weeks,

I'm a burper. You're quite a burper. Yeah. Oh, yeah. You are a loud burper like me. You like to you like to

Yeah. No, you like to kind of yell your burps. Well, Jason, you like to do the burp that's almost like is you pretend as if you're about to completely throw up and you go,

but I do the same thing. I do the same thing. Um, I will say that uh to both of your credits um you neither one of you have uh bubble problems from the other end.

No, I don't have too many bubble bubble bubble problems from the other end. Yeah,

this guy is amazing. Let's get he I don't want to waste his time. He's received, guys, 16 Emmy nominations for one television show.

Huh? You guess enough for that? Yeah. I'm going to say uh Well, wait. So, that's 16 years.

Well, no, it could be multiple multiple uh be writing and producing and Yeah, sure. He's one of the he's one of the rares that's known for both comedy and drama and his films are some of the best ever made. This I didn't know about him. He returned to his high school in St. Louis, Missouri to teach eighth grade acting. And one of his students was Ellie Keer. I didn't know that.

Really? You guys have loved this and I hope we talk about it for the entire episode. He's an avid golfer.

Uhoh. It's none other than the dashingly handsome, the talented, very relatable

John Ham. What? What? Did I get any of that right, John? Yeah, you got it all right.

I did. Really? You have to say uh I I don't think I've ever been immediately put in a good mood from any of our previous guests. It was a pretty low bar given the fart burp conversation that I stumbled onto. But

do you want to join in? You just perked me up. Hi boys. Sean, what's happening? Ham,

it's been a minute. How you doing? Oh, John. The best or nothing. Yes. We want to get a little We got three car guys on here. Sean, come on.

Get a [ __ ] car contract for How about a motorcycle? Sean, let me hear Let me hear you sell a Yamaha right now.

Okay. Ready? Hey guys, are you in a hurry? Get a Yamaha. Wait, you're advocating? They're going to be like, "No, no, no. We don't want to advocate for people to speed if you're in a hurry."

Hey guys, pissed off at those dudes cutting line by going right in between your cars. Get a Yamaha.

Hey guys, want to weave in and out of traffic? Hey, we make musical instruments and motorcycles. That's not weird.

Hey, you can play our car. Do you want to ride up to your baby grand in style? Hey, I wonder how many products Yamaha makes. They make They make musical instruments. They make pianos, obviously. They make

They make guitars. They make I know they make violins cuz I had one in third grade.

A Yamaha violin or I believe I did. Whoa. How long did you play violin? I think until about sixth grade

and then uh and then it just got too I I could never really read music. It got too complicated. I just I could I could I can still kind of do it from memory like that weird

long longterm memory where you remember lyrics of songs but like you know your mom's birthday somehow you forget.

Um I I it's the it's the weirdest thing how your brain quick. What's your mom's birthday?

February 1st. Oh that's that's forget. That's a very easy day. Um did you move on to a different instrument or did you just say screw it?

No I think that's when like sports became kind of paramount and I just did that. What did you jump into in sports?

Uh, football, baseball, swimming, soccer, basketball, what have you? It was Were you Were you kind Were you kind of good at all of them?

I was better at football and baseball. But I was kind of good at a lot of stuff. This is the high school I went to. It says Burroughs baseball. This was my baseball shirt from 10th grade.

Is that your actual 10th grade t-shirt? Yeah. Yeah. From Congratulations. What brand is that? That's really holding up.

I think it's a Champion. Will's high school t-shirt's now a beautiful midrift that he wears. some every once in a while.

It's turned into an homage to '90s Britney Spears. Jason's high school t-shirt is a Warner Brothers lot tour shirt.

It's a tank. Okay. It's got a cap to match it. It's from Upfronts that they they came in after Alront8. Johnny, I didn't know that about high school where you graduated with an English degree and then went back to your high school to teach it because that's kind of like a I'm one of the few people that loved high school and clearly you

did. I I went to a really excellent high school, the aforementioned John Burrough High School in St. Louis, Missouri. And we had like crazy, you know, we were encouraged to try everything. So it was like arts and sports and and academics and everybody was sort of encouraged to achieve and do well and and that sort of was the ethos of the whole joint. So, you know, you didn't have to be good at it, but you had to try. And that was the fun of it all. And exposing getting exposed to like all of these different disciplines was really was really cool.

And and it wasn't, you know, there weren't like the jocks and the nerds and the sportoos or whatever the Edie Mccclur thing from Ferris Buer is of all of the gradations. They were all kind of

all on Edie Ml. Come on. You got to know McLaren. You got to have McLaren at the top of that.

I did. I did a show with her for five years. Love that woman. Yeah. Hey, so but now John, don't don't be falsely modest here, but I've got you between the jocks and the nerds. I've got you uh heavier over on the jock side. I

Yeah, the dial's twisted a little to that side for sure. You did very well in high school. Is that is that was that a fair statement?

Yeah, I graduated with honors and uh Yeah, that's not what I'm talking about. Yeah. Yeah, it is.

You did okay. Did you do all right? I did okay. Why do you keep winking at him?

I'm not winking. Did you uh Look, we're talking about sports. Did Did you score Did you score a lot?

Scored a lot of points. Yeah, scored a lot of points. Played a lot of defense. Did you put a lot in the bucket?

How good he was. He had to play a lot of defense. Put a lot of balls in the basket.

I don't know where this metaphor is going. Jason, has Amanda got you like on a no-fly list? What's going on right now? Are you not

What's going um Well, then how did All right. So then, so then you start to feather in

Jason, fix your hair. I'm sorry. You start to feather in some theater, right? Did that Did that

feather feather in some theater? And then did you braid in I don't have a lot of terms. Will's so tired of my [ __ ] I love

it's new to John, so be be hush hush. There was a there was some theater feathering for sure. Uh

yeah. Did the jocks ostracize you for that? That's a new one. Will I'm going to I'm going to feather that one in.

Did they ostracize you and then did the nerds embrace and receive you? Like I said, no, not really. Cuz there there was a real blend of talk about feathering. We were both groups were feathered together quite well.

Yeah. And um the jocks were all over. We did the the senior production, senior year production was God Spell. So,

of course, uh and and as in most high school productions, they were, you know, 35 roles and they split up roles and you would you would do half a song and um with the exception of me who played Judas and the uh the kid who played Jesus. So, um yeah, you know, it was it was fun and exciting and it was, you know, it was something to do and it just it was encouraged. So, we all did it. It was fun.

If I looked at your high school picture, did you have uh luxurious hair? I had a good flow

in '89. Sure. Real good flow. Real salad, huh? Baitmanesque, I would say. Jason, this is I think Ham's giving you a run for your money. He's got a great flow. He's

He can have it. John wins every category with any man on the planet. You know, you can't You're foolish. You just chase the silver with him.

Listen, it's just nice to be nominated in any category. Wait, Johnny, when you went back to teach at your high school, was there anybody still there that you knew?

Yeah, tons tons of teachers that I knew and loved. Um, so it was kind of a now teaching behind them.

Yeah. Yeah, they were now colleagues, which is really cool. That's crazy. And in fact, the guy who was who was pretty much responsible for me becoming a professional actor, giving me the encouragement and and hiring me and got me my equity card eventually. Wow. uh I kind of taught under him as his that was my pitch was like look you're so such a good teacher that you you made this department like a fun thing to do so you have way too many students so you need a you need a helper and basically I'll be the like junior theater teacher if you'll have me and they did

and when was that I graduated college in '93 so this would have been 94 94 95 and then I moved to LA in '95

Wow [sighs] I did too okay wow jeez what a coinc Coincidence. Okay. Lower your eyebrows, Sean. [ __ ] A lot of people hit the airport in 95 out here.

Like a million a day. I remember we auditioned up against each other all the time, Sean. So, it was

all the time. Wait a minute. Lost another one down here. And then I went on the 405. I was on the 405, too.

What car? What exit did you go? Cuz I was on the 405. Okay. Okay. Wait. I came here so long ago was the 404. Thank you. Okay.

Wait a minute. Wait. Sorry, John. When we were on tour, uh Will or Jason, one of them came up.

It was Will. The best pun in the history of puns. It was the dumbest Japanese. I kept going. I was too lazy to make uh to make dinner, so I I ordered some uh some Japanese food. Sashimi. It's so stupid.

And we were so punchrunk and tired we couldn't stop laughing. God, was that funny? I was crying real tears.

And we will be right back. And now back to the show. John, would you ever consider doing something so generous as and loving and give backish as going uh as teaching your the eighth grade class again now that you're that you're you got the 16 Emmys, this incredible career

nominations. Nominations. That's crazy. Is that the most nominations anybody's ever received for one show? It's got to be a record.

I don't think so. Um, I think there's been because they were kind of they were for eventually I became a producer on the show. So, I got nominated for best show and things like that. But,

but you won three as an actor. I won one. Oh, I won one for the final season of Mad Man,

but I was nominated, I think, as a guest star on SNL and on 30 Rock and and a couple of things like that. So, I think those have been lumped in there.

What' you do with all the speeches? What' you do with the 15 speeches you didn't that you didn't use?

I still got them. I bet you do. I still got them right up here. No. No. Did you Did you memorize them or did you write them down?

No, no, no. I I didn't write anything. I never wrote anything down ever. Did you didn't have any sort of thoughts prepared if I get up there? I want to make sure I don't forget to thank

Honestly, no. I really didn't. Did you Jason, did you write a few of the times that you lost?

Oh, yeah. No, I've got a book. Yeah, you did write them down. Yeah, I was an early adopter for when Baitman won. I I was right there on probably number four on the text chain. Congrats, buddy. John is incredibly

supportive. Love you. Consistent. Oh, [ __ ] You know what? That's a good point. Congrats, Jason.

What happened? I know it's been a couple years. No, you winning the NBA. Sorry. I don't think I ever said anything.

Hey, better late than never. Wait. Sushimi. Sashimi. All right. You know what? Will can use the same joke again. Another one from the tour, which was when I said to Jason, uh, I got him golf balls for Christmas. like a two sets of 18 golf balls each or something. And I said, "Did you ever get that?" And he goes, "Yeah, I already had those." And Will goes, "That's a twist on Thank you."

Wait, what did I say? I already had those. You know, Sean, you said that you dropped them. I Sean, you go I gave you like a couple boxes of golf balls. You came over to my house and I gave them to you. And go and Jason, you said, "Oh, yeah. Yeah, I did get those." I said, "Well, that's a fun twist on Thank you. the wrong

pronounced thank you. That's pronounced thank you. I don't think that happened. I don't I think you're both

Wait, back to Jason's question. Would you ever go back and teach now, John? Would you ever desire still there?

I sure would. I I I I was offered a a chance to extend my contract by another year. and I would have um loved to have done it, but I was 24 turning 25 at the time and I thought, well, maybe I'm at least gonna try to to do LA, see what happens. And um and you know, I did and I I I really would though. I I I found it tremendously fulfilling. I don't know what teaching is like now with phones and internet. This was pre- internet, pre phone.

Well, that's all I was going to kind of ask, like what teaching would be like now for you though, like you as an acting teacher then versus how you would teach acting now. Not to get into acting weeds because we'll lose we'll lose our one listener. Um, but like as your as your your whole theory about acting, like how would you teach the kids now? Would it be different?

It would probably be similar uh if not identical. I I would just have much more credibility as a 50-year-old rather than a 24y old guy trying to wear a tie.

Yeah. What was the gig that you had? What was the job you had right before Mad Men? Um, I was kind of unemployed for like I I I got a pilot which I got fired off of

and then I tested for seven other pilots the following um pilot season and got none. Like I went all you know all the way up to the top and then

seven times. Oh my god. So, MadM was that my eighth test that season, and it was crazy late in the in what used to be called pilot season because it was on AMC, which didn't really know how to do pilot season, so they just had a different schedule than everybody else, but I had tested seven times and and biffed them all. Um, so yeah, so my my last job was a pilot that was called something that then went on to be called a show called Related with Lizzie Kaplan, Jennifer Espazito, and

Oh yeah, someone else. Um, and I played the love interest of God, why am I spacing out her name? She was in Pretty Woman with Julia Roberts,

Sanji Como. Yes, Laura Sanjuko. So Laura San Jakomao was the the eldest of three siblings and I was her love interest and the the p and she killed herself on this pilot and she was wonderful in it and they forced her call every day and she had a kid at home. It was like they treated her terribly and then they fired her and the powers that be said you're out

and when they told me they're like but you're we like you and you're going to stay. I was like there's no part like that was my love interest. I don't have a a person and I'm not in the family so it doesn't make sense. No, no, no, no, no no no.

Yeah. And they kept me, kept me, kept me, and I had to turn down another couple of jobs that now I was available for and then they they released my option on the last day and fired me. So, that was that was my last gig before Madman.

That's so crazy. And and what a what a change of perspective you have now on the other end of it. And we all know we've been there of just just hearing you describe it brings almost like PTSD of

Oh, yeah. For sure. We Yeah, like you said, we've all We've all had a version of that of just like

for sure. Oh, this is gonna go. Oh, it didn't. And then it's gonna go in the far worse way ever possibly could have.

Yeah. Right. And a good example of while it probably felt like hell at the time, had that show kept going, had they not fired you, you you would have been unavailable to do Mad Men. So, it was a a great

Everything happens. Um Yeah. Everything happens for a reason. So, you're saying look at the bright side of things, which I, you know, I'm going to say I agree with.

There's plenty of fluid in that glass. Um, Johnny, I read somewhere that you after Madmen, you got offered like 800 parts where it took place in the ' 60s or or some kind of same thing over and over and over and over again. But you were smart enough to wait out wait for that one good thing. And what was that one thing? Well, there's there's obviously like as soon as one thing hits, then there's five versions of that thing that come down the pike. And so for us, it was

NBC came out with something like called like Panam, something that was about like sexy stewartises in the '60s. And then like there was

some other version of like Woodstock and and it was just all this stuff and and um

you know then the like the movie Revolution Road came out. there were all of these kind of things that the ' 60s became kind of a

a hot commodity or at least the late60s and and it was um and not only that it was just yeah it was like so if there was a brooding dark character that smoked and drank a lot then I got that script and I was kind of like that's my day job like I don't

right and I and I love it and I I get to do it at a at a very high level and I very much appreciate it but it's my day job like

I would rather do something radically Was any part of you like, "Oh god, you know, I know what it's like to not work so much that maybe I should like to like the the immediate instinct when you have that is to just grab everything with both hands and hold on for dear life."

Um, but I don't know, there was something I guess I was older. I was 36 at the time, 37. Like I was kind of like, eh, all right, I got this. This seems to be going really well.

But then like, you know, Lauren Michaels came calling and said, like, why don't you host the show? And I was literally like, "This has to be a prank. I don't understand."

Um, and I Yes. Yes. And in fact, I had to turn it down the first time he asked because my then girlfriend at the time and I were had planned this huge trip like I'd never been to Greece. We had like had planned this whole like two week long getaway and it was like we couldn't we couldn't move it.

And I was like, "Well, I get to say no to Lord Michaels. Sean will never go to Mkos again." and tell them what happened. Sean,

what happened, Sean? Jesus. Yeah, you can't know me too well. I love the highlights.

Uh, John, I you know, it's funny. Mad Men was and and and remains such an incredibly uh like it's one of those shows that really changed

I feel like in a lot of ways changed TV, changed the way that people look at TV, was one of

incredible incredible writing. And you were so incredible in it. And I and I'll tell you here's a testament to how great you are. You were in that part and you are because it still lives on. When I actually started watching it in earnest, I had already known you a few years and then started watching it and was completely immersed in it and could not get enough of it and watched absolutely every episode all the way through to the end and was really profoundly moved by your performance uh as Don Draper, honestly. And really really really truly and

it's historical now. Absolutely. Did it change the way you acted around John when you when you need to when you hang out with him afterwards?

No. No. No. But yes, of course. But but but I think way more differential what John has to say. I don't know.

He's my friend. My friend John. My friend John is John. Do you want anything? Um

I mean I wasn't going out but I will. Well, I will totally go out. Okay. The kids are in bed and the the doors are locked, but I'll get up. No, I'll get dressed. I'll get dressed. Um but but did So, you do something like that that changes your life in in so many ways.

Absolutely. Uh and it's at first scary probably and weird like you say Lauren Michaels is calling you and like

and and you and it didn't happen at 18 years old. Yeah. I I to this day, you know, Jason, God, you be your life and and growing up the way you grew up being famous since you were six.

I remember you on Silver Spoons. I'll say it. Um yeah, and I was a fan. I was a fan early on. I was like, "This kid's good. I get it." Um but uh yeah it it changes everything you know and it and it really does provide an incredible amount of opportunity but it comes with an incredible amount of like

you know uh caveat you know like just be careful what you wish for in a lot of ways. So, you know, we also we also came around,

you know, the show really kind of got famous and I then got famous around 2007, which seems like not that long ago, but was a long time ago. Not only it was 15 years ago, but it was um that was the year they came out with the iPhone

and I think it was maybe around the time that Twitter started. M uh and then like 2010 was Instagram and like all of these things were starting to kind of like people's access to the internet became in their pocket and 24/7 and so that was kind of the blogging recap culture was just starting. So this idea of kind of actively engaged fans that could in real time kind of talk about the shows really came around right when we happened to get famous. So there was a lot of like serendipity and luck involved in in our show's success and it was, you know, it was crazy and it was a whirlwind and it was impossible to kind of not um enjoy because it was enjoyable and and you and it's you so rarely happens that you and we've all we've all been a part of at least one in some in some cases several

hits like that where you just it's out of your control and you just have to hold on for the ride and and that's kind of what it But getting that level of fame and and respect and success in in in a profession um a at at the age you are at is is fortuitous I would think uh in that in that you you you've got the coping mechanisms to to to deal with something like that.

Were you able to uh take some really beneficial parts from fame um and incorporate it into your life in in a healthy way? Yeah. I mean, I think part of it is is is being okay with is with appreciating it,

if that makes any sense. Like, yeah, there's a lot of us, I think, that are want to like poo poo it and play it down and and be modest with it, which is

which is also very healthy and good. But there's there's something very um I think healthy about saying like, you know what? Yeah, good for me. Hooray.

Yay me. I I didn't for nothing like work for 10 years with very little recognition or accolades or money or jobs or anything like you know when I landed in '95. When Sean and I landed in 1995, it took me

three years to even get a job. So, you know, it was and it wasn't for lack of trying. I auditioned for everything.

You know, my my weird audition story was auditioning for Mimi Leader for Deep Impact, a part that eventually went to John Fabro.

John Fabro. Yeah. Um, and you know, who to this day I still say I'm still a little angry at. I'm a little angry at him for beating me out for [clears throat] that. He had swingers. He had swingers. He's a writer. He's straight. He had so much. And he could

He didn't need deep impact. He couldn't back off and just give me that. I needed it.

No, but he could pay you back now. Give you some nice sweet arc on Mandalorian.

Some Mandalorian love. Yeah. Nice little tight little three up three arc. Well, he's also he's the guy in all that stuff, too. In all the Marvel stuff, isn't he?

Yeah, he's Johnny Marvel. Come on. Isn't he the guy? Isn't he in those movies, too? He's Downy's uh driver, right? Show

getting his SAG benefits. You know what I mean? Listen, he's been he's driven Robert Downey in the Iron Man trilogy quadruple.

Yep. He's driven Jack Nicholson, I think. Truly. In as good as it gets. Am I Am I making this up?

I don't remember. Was he a driver in that? Was he in as good as it gets? I don't know. I'll be honest. I might be conflating a lot of things. I think you may not.

John is a fun guy to act with. Have you Have you guys done that? No, but I obviously know him is a fun guy in general.

He is He is fun in a scene. He's very fast. Very quick. And him and Vince together. That must have been fun to watch on the show.

Oh, man. Yeah, he's he's I've met those guys. I live on the east side of LA and and they they're kind of credited with kind of bringing Los Felis into the hipster world for sure.

The Dresden that whole kind of swing, you know, the swingers scene was their scene for sure.

And when those guys walked into a bar in 1996, like you knew it. It was they were they were very good hangs and they were very funny even then. And you know, the proof's in the pudding. They both have very nice career

circles. We were we were talking the other day about uh Jason and I were talking about Vince about how [ __ ] quick and funny he is.

There's just no one better at what he does. He's [ __ ] He's unreal. Yeah. And nobody does what he does, which is a nice place to be.

Yeah. And now a word from our sponsor. All right, back to the show. John, when you, you know, now that you worked your butt off to get to where you are, and in in hindsight, it probably took longer than you wanted and longer than than what you explained before. Um, is there anything that you tell younger actors going through it now or any kind of business businessy advice rather than acting, you know, technique advice that you, you know, that you would probably pass on to anybody looking to make it? Now,

you know, I've talked to actually Jenna Fischer about this, who's also from St. Louis, who I've known for some time. I didn't know her in St. Louis, but um I we we were talking about something for some reason. Uh and and it's funny like you can go to all of the acting schools in the world and nobody really teaches you about the business of acting,

right? And what it really is like of course like managing your day and managing your time and and

your expectations. Your expectations for sure. like thinking about, you know, here's what it is to like drive into the valley in August

and then have another audition in in Fox in an hour, you know, and it's, you know, it's it's a lot and it's and it's real and it's actually the part of of acting that most actors engage with

from a professional standpoint far more than they do, you know, scene study or whatever. Mhm.

And and so there's that part and there's also just the fact that everything at at this level moves so quickly, especially in television, that if you're not ready to go, if you haven't done the work before you get to work, then you're it's not going to go well,

right? For one reason or another. And I've seen it happen. I've been a victim of it of just like, oh, I'll just wing it and then you're like, uhoh.

Right. Uh but it's um it's a real lesson to learn of just you know it's the first one I learned in classes just like be prepared.

I had I had an acting teacher too years ago. He would he kind of would would would profess this and he was kind of a working actor. He was a character actor guy and he'd lived in LA a long time. He had moved back to New York. It's like early

Charles Nelson Riley or early 90s. Um Charles Bronson. It was Charles Bronson. It was the first

and uh we he'd only we'd only do scenes from uh Fort Apache the Bronx but but he would

but he great movie he wasn't in that uh Charles Bronson was sure he was um so he had a lot to pick from but I'm glad you picked that one.

Yeah, me too. Um he would say the same thing which which was like if as a young actor if you get on if you get to set and you start going like I'm going to work through my stuff you're fired. Um, there's no time to work through your [ __ ] They got to get this shot and they got to move on and they don't give a [ __ ] about what your process is and how you get there. You deliver when they [ __ ] call action. Be ready. And I think that that was like the I had that at an early age. And I was I felt lucky because I feel a lot of actors feel like I'm just going to go and I'm going to work it out.

I'm going to feel it. Once they see how amazing I am, they'll give me all the time in the world.

Right. it. But but it depends on what you want, right? If you want to be like take Tom Cruz for example, people like they didn't just hand it to him. Like he he he worked his butt off to be Tom C. You know what I mean? Like

and having worked with him, he is the first guy on set. He work, you know, he's in the gym at 5 in the morning, call times at 6:00, he's there, he's ready to go, and he's the last guy that leaves. And it's

that guy deserves it. You know, he wants it. He got it. He works hard at it. And that's, you know, Jason, I know you've directed. Have you guys both directed television? Sean and Will. Like,

it's the same thing when you sit through those auditions and you think like, "All right,

the guy that comes, who's going to come in and take this part? Who's going to come in?"

So, I can worry about something else. So, I can worry about something else. And by the way, so I can go back to the set. I got to shoot.

Yeah. And and you walk and you watch the guys that do it that walk in and just say like,

"I don't have any questions or or I don't have any ridiculous question." not how you hey there's not 10 minutes of [ __ ] It's like let's do this and I'm going to prove to you how how I can crush this and then it's like great that's the guy I want on the day when I'm 10 hours behind.

Sean you do but you you're you haven't directed but you also you go to the at when it goes to the going to the gym you're the last guy there and the first guy out right.

Yeah. Very similar. Yeah. I mean look at me. So John growing up in St. Louis, did you uh did you did you spend any summers uh at the Lake of the Ozarks down there?

Yeah, in fact, my uh a good portion of my family has retired down there. My my uh my dad's sister, my aunt Betty, uh lives lives down there full-time now, and my cousin

Is it true that there that there's a a a bar down there that does real well called Big Dicks Halfway In?

Whoa. No way. Is that a true story? It's entirely possible if I'm if I'm judging by the amount of of and the quality of puns that I've seen and heard throughout the years in the in the Lake of the Ozarks, the redneck.

Is that [clears throat] true, Jason? Is that a real bar? That is a real bar from what I understand. And it is a very high level pun. That is uh that they deserve to do a lot of business in that.

J Jason, can we get can we get a little something out of Marty Bird? I I I don't I don't I don't change at all. This is a full Marty right now.

We hear a little something out of Marty. whole interview's been conducted by Marty Bird. I think

everyone loves to have a conversation with Marty Bird real quick. I think it might go a little something like this.

Now, did you ever see any uh any um any money laundering or um [clears throat] killings or anything down there?

Very little if any. We're painting a pretty bleak picture of the lake down there.

There was a lot of bass fishing, a lot of water skiing. Yeah. Uh and some pretty heav heavy uh drinking. Yeah. But uh you know, a lot of lot of very poor uh water safety.

Yeah. But you're not getting a murder a week down there. No. Yeah. We're taking a little license.

Yeah. You know, fall out of the boat, hit your head. Son of a [ __ ] Yeah. I had my phone in my pocket. God damn it.

A lot of that for sure. A lot of anger. But not a lot of cartel guys walking down dirt roads with shotguns in the middle of the night. Right. You just didn't see it. And that doesn't mean it didn't exist.

Now, are they upset at us for painting that type of a picture? I I think any any publicity for the Ozarks is good publicity at this point.

You know, they do need to lengthen the runway there so they could get some commercial flights in there and and really open up tourism. Darn it.

You're speaking, you're preaching to the choir at this point. Why don't you get down there and and and and kind of ramrod something like that? Well,

is that one of the other bars? The ramrod something like that. Ramrod does great business, but it's mostly on weekends

and it's gay. Mostly on weekends. Thank you. Um, Johnny, what's your favorite best movie experience on a set or or part that you played and and

I will tell I' I've got it right here ready with that one. Um, I worked on a movie called Bad Times at the El Royale a couple years ago.

Directed by a guy who who I have known for a long time. He used to write promos for the WB. I auditioned to be the the guy that reads the probe next on the WB.

Um that guy that Will probably got No, I did CBS at that time. Fair enough. Fair enough. Um and so uh and and I I got the offer for it uh during Sundance.

Yeah. Came through and they said, "You got 48 hours to read this. It's yours if you want it. Got to be on a plane from Sundance to Vancouver. Let me know." And I read it and I loved it and I was like, "Cool, cool, cool. This is amazing. Uh, who fell out basically cuz clearly somebody did.

No, John. No, somebody did. It was fine. It was Russell Crowe. Whatever. Good replacement, I think.

Sure. And it was to work with Jeff Bridges, who I've wanted to work with my entire life. And that's always thought was maybe the coolest

coolest guy, you know, even pre- Big Labowski, I was just I was on board. I just thought

that's no letown, right? He's a real that's a high level profession. The best. And so I got to work with that guy for

I shot the whole thing chronologically. Um, spoiler alert, I die in the first act, but I shot all,

you know, whatever two and a half weeks of my part and it was mostly with Jeff. And man, that was a that was and it was a beautiful set. It was super cool. Everybody on it was nice.

Um, it was that was that was one of the good ones. That was really one of the good ones.

John, how weird. So you actually you you did this movie but with the guy who was writing promos at the CW. What a trip for you guys, right? Did you guys acknowledge that?

And I and I knew him through like a little poker league that we played in. Like he he was just he he hit the big time. Drew Goddard and he's still making movies.

Wait, I know Drew cuz I he he's Caroline Williams. He's married to Caroline Williams who's an tremendous comedy writer. She's one of the funniest writers I've ever worked with.

She she wrote on Bo J. things happen to good people sometimes. Now, you mentioned uh auditioning to be the voice of uh of CW. So, the voice the voice has been something that that you've been uh using for a while then it sounds like, but uh you've you've really hit the top of the mountain there with uh with Mercedes for how many years now?

I think going on 13 now. John Ham. That's so cool. Yeah. Yeah. They've I've I've outlasted several CEOs and CMOs and

13 years. That's pretty good. Here he comes. Here he comes. Here he comes. It's not professional grade, though. I mean, 13 years is good, but it's not professional grade.

It's not professional grade. It's not professional grade. It doesn't matter. Oh, no. We I think people want to know.

I will say for the listeners out there, every now and again, I will get texts from both Jason and Will

about some voice over something or other, which is it's it's a it's a compliment, but it's a left-handed compliment, isn't it?

It's always a Oh, I see you doing that, too. Good for you. Good for you. Good for you. Real real happy for you. And let me tell you what else is a is is a good that Apple commercial that you do is killer. I that's well done. That's beautiful. Who shot that by the way? I want DP and director.

Uh another guy I've known for a long long time through our our mutual friend Tall John Shrader. A guy named Wayne McClammy who now is another guy that came out of the the trenches of the WB. I'm not kidding.

Do you know who shot it? Do you know who the DP was? I don't remember the name of the DP. I'm sorry. Um

okay. Wait. Uh Johnny, before we let you go, because I know you got to go, I want to know what you're excited about coming up that's that's really getting you going.

I'll tell you exactly what I'm excited about because I've said it about four times today. Um I get to go uh to uh Europe for my birthday.

Uh like la I turned 50 last year and it was during a pandemic and my big celebration was having some people over and standing 10 feet away from them.

Yeah. Um, and I get to go, my gal and I get to go to uh the Alps for two weeks for my birthday. I've never been I've never been to Switzerland.

I've never been to that part of France and I've never been to that part of Italy. So, we're going to we're going to do it right. And you're going to like that a lot.

I'm leaving in a week and I'm very, very excited about that. So, George can toss you the keys for the the house in uh

Baby, you got como handy? Let me uh let me get out. I promise I'll mop up. Why not? And listen, you can uh pop down to Zerat and you know where you going in uh Switzerland.

Switzerland. Yes. I just want to be like I want to do like one thing James Bond did,

right? Like I want to eat dinner in a like UFOshaped thing that you have to take a gondola to and then you ski out some dessert.

Hey, why don't are you going to get Are you going to get into Germany at all? You should get to Germany and have Mercedes give you one of their cars and drive on the Autobon where there's no speed limit.

I think that's a that's a different trip, but yes, that's going to happen at some point.

I'll go on that one with you. Okay, let's go. Yeah, come on. God, that sounds like fun.

Let's take uh let's take this podcast on the road and uh do it German style. But one more thing, and I know that I know the personal life is way more important than anything we do for a living, but I'm just excited about you and and your talent. And is there anything that you're excited that's coming up that you can share with us that you're working on or going to work on?

Uh the most exciting thing that I have coming out which will finally come out in May is the long awaited 30 years on sequel to Top Gun.

Oh, nice. You're in that? Yes, I am. And uh that's coming out I think Memorial Day weekend around there. And uh it's I've seen it. It's really really good. Um, it's exactly what you want out of this and it's uh

I cannot wait for people to see it. It was one of those things where another kind of pinch me moment like just like wait they're asking me to be in the Top Gun sequel like tell my tell my 15-year-old self that and I would punch my 15-year-old self in the face like

Yeah, that's healthy. So, yeah, Tom Cruz was uh not not a disappointment either, I'll bet. Right. Just incredible.

Best in the biz, man. He's the best in the biz, as advertised. He is intense and hardworking, but that's exactly who you want. That's who you That's what you want in a in a Tom Cruz.

Yeah, that's great. Do a whole hour on that. That's awesome. Well, I'm excited about that, Johnny. Thank you for being here. I know you got to run. Uh it means the world to us and thank you for saying yes to coming on. I'm such a big fan.

Thank you very much for having me. It's rare that I know all three podcast hosts at the same time. And it's uh

hopefully if Major League Baseball gets her act together, uh we can go out there quality time. I you know Jason and I have a lovely friendly Cardinals Dodgers rivalry that the Dodgers have had the better of the last few years but

not really barely. You still have flarity though, you know. Listen, you got you got the ring.

You give me him and and all is forgiven. Okay, we'll trade you for Walker. Be with the high school here. No, no, no. He needs to be with Walker.

Well, anyway, we'll talk. We'll negotiate something. No, no, no. Please continue on with [ __ ] baseball, man. all the [ __ ]

Let's end on base. Well, we can end on the fact that I went on a blind date with Jason's now wife. We can all But that's we that's for another wait in there really fast.

I got to go. But I got to go. That's Listen. Did you really go on a blind date with Amanda?

Ham, just wink at me. One wink means yes, two means Okay. Yes. John. All right, John. Ham. Thank you so much, John.

Thank you, Johnny. Oh, great to have you, Ham. You're the best. You're the best. Go

BSando on the next time. All right. I love you guys. Thank you. Love you, buddy.

Thank you. Uh John Ham is no ham. John is a is a very humble, classy, solid individual.

Solid individual. Yeah. Yeah. I I was super excited that that he was coming on. I mean, he's like one of those guys that's, you know, I say it all the time, but to about other people, but whenever he's in something, you're like, "Oh, this is going to be great."

Yeah. Yep. got a real solid presence and I really meant it about uh about Mad Men watching that and and truthfully like thinking like kind of know him and like this how's this going to be watching him in this it's kind of like Jason watching you in Ozark which is also a testament to how good you are.

He's like you get into it and you're like you forget that you know the guy which is it's a hard it's a higher bar to have to hire a specialist over I know that's so true like

and that shows how good it is Jay whenever I Yeah. whenever I watch I can't it's like I don't it's transformative as they say. So congratulations on that. Congratulations to John Hammond.

So Sean also uh what a great guest. So great having uh John on. Yeah, he's got a new podcast.

Yeah, I was going to say that. Does he have a new podcast? Yeah, he's got a new podcast. It's called American Hostage and it's on Amazon Wondery. It's fantastic. The trailer you got to listen to the trailer. The trailer sounds like an actual movie. It's It's really really cool.

Ah, he's perfect for that. It's really great. He's perfect for that cuz he's so good. I meant it when I said like I watch Mad Men

and and to I mean how many You would never think that a series about a pot store would last for how many seasons?

Oh, no. No. You're thinking of Sorry. You're thinking of Mad Men, which is a pot store out here in California. No, it's a different It's a totally different Yeah. I mean, it's a very

Oh, this is Oh, sorry. Mad. So, it's an anger management like a help group. Again, it's just I honestly I wish you could. It's just kind of a play on Madison Avenue of Advertising. I'm

but it's like where they you know those ad executives they come up with all the different slogans like you know do this do this or like

you're thinking of like I mean smartless is 100% organic and artisally handcrafted by Michael Grant Terry, Rob Armjarve, and Bennett Barbco. Smart less.

Questions about this episode

Who speaks in "RE-RELEASE: Jon Hamm | SmartLess"?

John Hamm (Guest), Jason Bateman (Host), Will Arnett (Host), Sean Hayes (Host).

What is "RE-RELEASE: Jon Hamm | SmartLess" about?

Jon Hamm shares a nostalgic story about his first love during a charity telethon in Chicago, reminiscing about the music that defined that weekend, particularly songs by the band Yaz. The conversation seamlessly blends personal anecdotes with music trivia, highlighting the connections between artists and the impact of their work.

What is mentioned in this SmartLess episode?

12 people, works and ideas are mentioned, including John Ham, Mad Men, Top Gun, St. Louis, Missouri, Yas, Ozark. Each one on this page links to its own page with every episode that mentions it.

How long is "RE-RELEASE: Jon Hamm | SmartLess"?

The episode runs 48 min; the transcript is about 10,262 words in 284 timestamped sections.

More from SmartLess

About this transcript: the episode's spoken words as captioned on YouTube, split into timestamped sections. Reclip.Me locates every person, work and idea in the text, keeps the time it is first named, and quotes the words around it verbatim. Last updated February 15, 2026.