Jon Hamm is no stranger to Saturday Night Live, and although he’s only a member of the "thrice-timers club," (his words), he’s shown up plenty over the years for special cameos. Beyond the late-night sketch show, he’s been essentially everywhere since his breakout role in Mad Men. With all of his success, including major titles on the 2024 TV schedule and the 2024 movie schedule, it’s surprising to hear hosting SNL for the first time ever scared him. That is until the Landman actor realized two words that helped the experience transform it into something more positive.
Hamm has had a lot of success in terms of trying new projects and genres in his career, including Tina Fey’s 2024 Mean Girls. You’d think the Fargo star is fearless. And while that may be the case for him today, it wasn’t always that way. Specifically, his first time hosting the legendary late-night show, which is in its 50th season and as star-studded as ever.
The Morning Show alum shared his first hosting night memory of the quick scare moment leading to the live show while on The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon. He recounted it as completely overwhelming:
I remember being very, very scared up until about 10 seconds before you go out the door. And Gena Rositano’s back there counting you down, screaming in your ear, and you’re looking at a tiny screen, and your back is up against the wall …and you have to walk down the steps... ‘Don’t trip,’ that’s all I was thinking about.
Right at the wire is the absolute perfect time to pull it together, and Hamm delivered for the viewers that night. I can’t even imagine being in that moment, delivering a monologue, and then helping deliver a live sketch show, so I’m glad the Fletch alum pulled it together.
Hamm shared that his perspective change in regards to hosting made all the difference. He said:
At a certain point, like literally as the band is playing and it’s so loud and you can’t hear anything. And Gena’s like, ‘5,4 … and I go, ‘Wait, it’s a ride. It’s a rollercoaster ride You just have to hang on.’ … and then it was awesome.
It’s great to hear that he was able to give himself such sage advice on his first hosting night. And he isn’t wrong – even just as a viewer, the fifty-year-old show seems exactly like a rollercoaster ride you need to hang onto the entire time. Not everyone is so lucky to regulate themselves before heading into the live 8H Studio. Hopefully, we’ll see him join the four-timers sooner than later and take the duties on with ease.
It is possible since he has had multiple nods from his work on FX’s Fargo and Apple+’s The Morning Show, not to mention he’ll be a regular on the 2025 TV schedule. Time will tell when we next see Hamm on SNL again. I’m just glad his advice squashed a lot of his nerves so he could enjoy his first time hosting on the sketch show.
If you’d like to watch Jon Hamm on The Morning Show you’ll need an Apple+ subscription and for Landman you’ll need a Paramount+ subscription.
