In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Jon Hamm has revealed that following the sudden death of James Gandolfini in 2013, he became a mentor to Gandolfini’s son, Michael. According to Hamm, Michael reached out to him after his father’s death, due to encouragement from Gandolfini, who had told Michael that Hamm was a good guy. Hamm was emotional about the interaction and responded by saying, “OK, let’s be friends.” Hamm has been a mentor to Michael, who is now 25 and has taken up acting himself, even reprising his father’s iconic role in The Sopranos prequel film, The Many Saints of Newark.
Hamm, who did not know Gandolfini well, noted that he and Gandolfini now share an “interesting connection” thanks to his friendship with Michael. The Mad Men star also shared that he and Gandolfini had a similar relationship with their beloved characters, Don Draper and Tony Soprano, respectively. According to Hamm, people celebrated Don Draper for the wrong reasons, thinking he was a paragon of masculinity when in reality “he was pretty messed up,” and Gandolfini felt the same way about Tony Soprano.
Recently, Jamie-Lynn Sigler, who played Gandolfini’s daughter on The Sopranos, revealed that Gandolfini used to quietly donate to multiple sclerosis (MS) charities under the name Tony Soprano. Sigler was diagnosed with the disease in 2002 and shared the news with Gandolfini on the set of the show.
Though Hamm and Gandolfini did not have a close relationship, it’s clear that their shared admiration for their respective characters and their friendship with Michael have brought them together. Hamm’s mentoring of Michael has been invaluable, particularly as Michael forges his own acting career and steps into his father’s iconic role in The Many Saints of Newark
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