John Hamm
Jon Hamm famously taught high school drama in his hometown of St. Louis prior to pursuing his dreams as a Hollywood actor. Though, this is a somewhat romanticized story as he did so only briefly before moving to Los Angeles. Regardless, the future prestige TV heavyweight struggled through his 20s to make it as a working actor. An early recurring role on Providence in 2000 allowed Hamm to stop waiting tables. From there, he picked up smaller parts on TV and film projects through most of the decade. Hamm’s breakout moment finally came in 2007 when he was cast as the chain smoking, smooth talking ad man Don Draper in Matthew Weiner’s Mad Men.
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