We only see Jon Hamm for a moment in the first episode of the new season of Fargo. In the middle of a breakneck run of events that starts with Dot Lyon (Juno Temple) tasering a cop during a riotous PTA meeting and ends with her demonstrating a surprising level of ability when it comes to dealing with a couple of would-be kidnappers, we cut to Sheriff Roy Tillman (Hamm) presiding over a backyard family dinner. His eyes snap open; his stare could chill the devil himself.
A stern yet (possibly) loving patriarch with a dark side? That’s pretty much what you’d expect from Mad Men’s Don Draper. What you might not expect is what comes next. The second episode reveals Sheriff Tillman to be a bible-thumping man with a somewhat unique interpretation of his place in – or more accurately, above - society.
Jon Hamm as Roy Tillman in Fargo 5.
He’s the kind of lawman who has criminals tortured, advises abuse victims to be more servile to their abusers, picks and chooses which laws he feels deserve to be enforced, and lounges around in a hot tub when the FBI comes calling before standing up to give them a good view of what they’re missing.
Yes, you do see his naked butt. Yes, he’s not afraid to show off a chunky dad bod. Yes, his nipples are pierced. And yes, Hamm has taken his career in a new direction in the decade since he was a sharp-dressed Old Hollywood style icon on the cover of every magazine out there during Mad Men.
Jon Hamm as Dick Whitman as Don Draper. Credit: Lions Gate Television
Playing a stoic symbol of old-fashioned masculinity on that series made him a star. But outside of Mad Men’s retro ‘60s world, there’s not a lot of call for an unironic square-jawed hero in today’s pop culture. So in the years since he’s quietly taken a sledgehammer to that image – and become one of Hollywood’s more interesting actors in the process.
His first few roles once he hit the big time were pretty much what you’d expect. A FBI agent in the Ben Affleck thriller The Town, a hard working baseball scout in Million Dollar Arm, a dismissive cop in Richard Jewell, a burnt out spy in Beirut. They never quite clicked because they were playing things too straight, taking him at (handsome) face value. But there was another side to the actor with the Hollywood good looks, one that would make him perfect for the dark humour that runs through Fargo: he’s a massive comedy fan.
Almost from the beginning of his fame he was undercutting his polished Don Draper persona with goofy roles on comedies like 30 Rock. He was lending his star power to absurdist series like Children’s Hospital, turning up as the charming but ludicrous but sinister cult leader in Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, and lending his voice to just about every cartoon out there. You don’t make a guest appearance on the cult UK sitcom Toast of London (playing a version of himself) unless you really like doing comedy.
Along the way, he figured out that the crime genre was the perfect place to find roles where he could exploit the tension between good looks and bad deeds. In Baby Driver he played a sleezy bank robber who turned out to not have a heart of gold after all; in Steven Soderbergh’s noir No Sudden Moves he was a detective who wasn’t as good at being corrupt as he thought he was.
Jon Hamm in 'Confess, Fletch'. Credit: Robert Clark / MIRAMAX®
Pointing the way to Fargo is a pair of recent mystery films where Hamm’s been able to juggle crime and (often subtle) comedy to give the genre a fresh twist. Maggie Moore(s) saw him re-team with Tina Fey to play an endearingly decent small town police chief who finds himself slowly unravelling a web of minor crime even as he stumbles into a relationship he’s maybe not ready for. And in Confess, Fletch, he played a version of extremely laid-back private detective Fletch much closer to the unperturbed charmer of the novels than the Chevy Chase version.
Jon Hamm as Roy Tillman. Credit: Michelle Faye / FX
Now as Sheriff Tillman, he’s found the perfect match for his skills. He’s a character both laughable and menacing, terrifying one moment, a buffoon the next. The charm Hamm’s displayed throughout his career is turned up to eleven; when Tillman informs the FBI he can do what he likes because “my constituents love me”, you believe him. He sets himself up as the law, but going by the way he flashes the FBI (before wrapping himself in a towel with his own face on it) he’s also down to, well, party.
Hamm’s clearly having a heck of a time playing him. And even at his most malevolent, he’s a lot of fun to watch. Just don’t get into a hot tub with him.
Fargo premiered Wednesday 22 November exclusively on SBS On Demand and SBS. New episodes are fast-tracked weekly from the US to SBS On Demand and also air on SBS on Wednesday nights.
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