Jon Hamm Recalls When a Network Executive Told Him He Would 'Never Be a Television Star': 'He's No Longer at the Head'

While he wouldn't "name names" on which executive made the comments, Hamm revealed that he wasn't made privy until "much later in the history of things"

Jon Hamm is having the last laugh!

While reflecting on the "strangest" feedback he's received in The Hollywood Reporter's Drama Actor Emmy Roundtable, the Mad Men alum, 53, revealed that the head executive at a network once told his team that he didn't have what it took to make it in the business.

"I had a head of this television network tell my representatives, actually, that Jon Hamm will never be a television star," he recalled before adding, "He’s no longer at the head of that network."

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While the actor wouldn't "name names" when it came to the executive or the network, Hamm revealed that he wasn't made privy to the discouraging sentiments until "much later in the history of things."

"It was one of those things where I had auditioned for this person and this network over and over and over again, as one does, and for whatever reason didn’t get the part, and didn’t get the part, and didn’t get the part," he explained. "It would always come down to the last two, me and the guy who’s going to get it."

The Fargo star referenced one of Steve Martin's books and called the auditioning process "the worst."

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"It just stinks, but that’s the only way we’ve got," he continued. "And there’s so many variables that are completely out of your control, so the ability to let it go is an amazing point in one’s career. And then, of course, that’s when you don’t ever have to audition again."

Hamm eventually proved the network executive wrong. The actor went on to become a household name when he played Don Draper in 2010s drama Mad Men. Since then, he's stolen scenes in television shows Black Mirror, The Gentleman, The Morning Show, Fargo and more.

In Fargo, the actor took on the role of North Dakota Sheriff Roy Tillman, who is "one of those constitutional sheriffs, a rancher preacher, defender of the American gospel," according to a synopsis on FX's website. In an episode that aired in season 5, Hamm's character revealed he had pierced nipples when going for a soak in a hot tub.

Related: Jon Hamm Details What It Took to Have ‘Resoundingly Lifelike’ Fake Pierced Nipples in Season 5 of Fargo

"My nipples were not pierced, they were prosthetic nipples that were pierced and they were placed over my nipples," Hamm told THR. "And I did not keep them because they looked way too much like pepperoni."

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Though the prosthetics were an unique way to develop the character, the actor said he was more than happy to wear the plastic nipples.

"The writers have put a lot of thought into these scripts," he explained. "In that case, Noah [Hawley, the Fargo showrunner] and I had talked about the character, and he wanted him to have this kind of strange, buried, not immediately visible edge, and I was like, 'Yeah, that sounds great. Do whatever you want.' And then he wrote that in."

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