Jon Hamm’s 2024 Villain Role Is Even Better When You Remember His $226.9 Million Action Movie From 7 Years Ago

Jon Hamm gave an outstanding performance in Fargo season 5 as the anthology show’s latest villain, with this dark character turn being more impactful after his comparable role in Edgar Wright’s 2017 action film. Though his most iconic role remains Mad Men’s lead character Don Draper, Hamm has showcased more versatility in his characters and project choices following the hit show’s conclusion. From playing Kristen Wiig’s hilarious yet repulsive romantic interest in Bridesmaids to Tom Cruise’s adversary in Top Gun: Maverick or a hilariously parodic version of himself as a Larry David ally in Curb Your Enthusiasm, Hamm has proven that he isn’t confined to any character type.

However, Hamm has unexpectedly excelled at playing some compellingly heinous villains on the big and small screens. The greatest example of this arrived at the very end of 2023 and early into 2024, as Hamm played the despicable Sheriff Roy Tillman in Fargo season 5’s cast, for which he received a Golden Globe nomination. Tillman took Hamm into one of his most abhorrent and irredeemable roles yet, culminating in the other main Fargo characters getting their brutal revenge. Of course, Fargo season 5 isn’t the first time that Hamm has effectively portrayed a villain who audiences can’t wait to see lose at the hands of the protagonist.

Jon Hamm’s Baby Driver Role Proved He Would Be Incredible As Fargo Season 5’s Main Villain

Hamm subverted his Mad Med persona as Baby Driver’s villain

Several years before he played Roy Tillman in Fargo, Hamm showed off his villain character skills in the hit 2017 movie Baby Driver. Earning over $226.9 million at the worldwide box office (via Box Office Mojo), Edgar Wright’s action film Baby Driver was also a huge hit with critics, holding an impressive 92% score on Rotten Tomatoes. In addition to the clever direction, gripping story, and heavy-hitting action sequences, a great deal of the film’s success can be attributed to Baby Driver’s cast. Furthermore, the subversion of many character expectations based on the actors’ past roles helped make Baby Driver’s twists and turns all the more entertaining.

This was part of the reason why Jon Hamm’s character was so compelling in Baby Driver, as he began the movie as an easygoing criminal ally to Ansel Elgort’s Baby who appeared extremely likable to audiences. Of course, Baby Driver’s ending would see Hamm’s Buddy become the primary villain, as he blamed Baby for the death of his girlfriend, Darling, and spent the rest of the film attempting to fulfill his vow to kill Baby in revenge. Certainly, the campiness of the movie’s humor should have cued into the irony of Hamm’s eventually villainous character being nicknamed “Buddy.”

The twist of making Hamm, who excels at playing complex, amoral yet still rootable characters, the final villain also greatly contrasted expectations for Kevin Spacey’s Baby Driver casting. Spacey’s Doc is the kingpin of the crime syndicate who was expected to be the main villain due to his power, as well as the actor’s notoriety for antagonistic roles with the likes of The Usual Suspects’ Keyser Söze. However, in the end, Spacey’s Doc lets Baby go free while Hamm’s Buddy proves to be Baby’s big adversary to overcome. Still, after Hamm’s terrifying stint in Baby Driver, Fargo finally saw him play the entirely detestable main villain from beginning to end.

Edgar Wright Specifically Wrote Baby Driver’s Buddy For Jon Hamm

Wright had Hamm in mind for the role

Though Hamm hadn’t played a villain quite like Buddy before Baby Driver, Edgar Wright surprisingly wrote the character specifically for him. Wright told GQ that he’s known Jon Hamm since 2008 and that he was “the only person that [he] wrote with him in mind,” elaborating that he “really wanted [Hamm] to play the part.” In fact, Wright mentioned that it was great “subverting his kind of persona,” where Baby Driver would see Hamm play a completely different role from what audiences expected of him at the time.

Several years before Baby Driver finally hit theaters in 2017, Hamm took part in an early table read of the script while reading as Buddy (via EW). Thankfully, when the movie was finally brought to fruition, Hamm agreed to take on the antagonistic role in the high-ranking Edgar Wright movie, which still remains one of his career-best performances. Hamm’s performance as Buddy in Baby Driver helped him break away from the persona established by his roles in projects like Mad Men, The Town, and The Division, thus paving the way for a truly vile character like Fargo season 5’s Sheriff Roy Tillman.

Jon Hamm’s Best Villain Roles Share One Key Challenge To Overcome

Hamm’s likable persona initially makes his characters more difficult to hate

Despite the fact that Hamm has repeatedly proven himself as a compelling on-screen force in a villain role, his casting as these characters often shares a barrier that needs to be overcome. This obstacle, of course, still deals with the notion that Hamm himself is so likable, with audiences generally wanting to find something redeemable in his characters after engaging with Draper’s complexities in Mad Men. The jump isn’t as extreme in Baby Driver due to the more campy way it styles Hamm’s Buddy as the main villain, but Fargo quickly and harshly overcomes this assumption to explain that Hamm’s character isn’t someone audiences should like or root for.

Sources: Box Office Mojo, GQ, EW