Just yesterday, we heard from
Emily Blunt about why she declined the roles of Black Widow and Peggy Carter and we'll now hear a tale along the same lines from actor Jon Hamm. While speaking to IFC about his new film “Friends With Kids,” the actor discussed his apparently, numerous brushes with the comic book movie genre and why his career has not ventured into "costumes and spandex."
“I’ve been offered my share of superhero movies, but I think I’ve aged out of that,” he said.
However, Hamm quickly went into PR mode and clarified that he's been in "talks" for such roles and that he's had numerous chances to play costumed heroes yet it just wasn't a right fit.
“My name has come up in a lot of superhero discussions,” Hamm said.
“It’s a tough thing, you know? It’s a tough game to get into. I have mad, crazy respect for the people that can pull it off because it’s something that can be done poorly so easily. But, you know, it’s a big commitment and it’s probably something that, unless it’s the right thing, it’s probably not so much my jam.”
When asked about his movie role selection process, Hamm stated that it's not an exact science and he just picks based on what interests him rather than who's attached or whether it's a specific genre.
“The only way I kind of choose material is is the material interesting to me and are the people involved with it people that inspire me in some way. And I think that in every case, with every project I’ve taken on, the answer to one or both of those questions has been yes,” he explained. “I will continue to do that, and that’s kind of just the way I pick stuff to do. I’ve been fortunate enough to never be like, ‘Well, I’ve got to do this one because I’ve got to pay the rent.’ And hopefully that will never be a deciding factor.”
As many of you CBMers know, Hamm's name has come up in relation to the roles of Superman in Zack Snyder's reboot and it was rumored that he was one of the MANY actors Marvel looked at for Captain America before selecting Chris Evans. And if you look at fancasts here, you'll see that Hamm is a popular choice to play Batman following Warner Bros. reboot after The Dark Knight Rises. Regardless, it appears that Hamm isn't totally ruling out comic book movies, only that it would have to be an incredibly exceptional role. Certainly, he has to star in one, you can't have this as the stand alone superhero character on your resume!