Jon Hamm has revealed all, well as much as he'd like to anyway, about his recent stint in rehab for alcohol abuse, and while the Mad Men star cited the support of his family and friends for getting him through, the actor didn't rule out that his role in the slick US drama could have ignited his alcoholism.
Hamm plays Don Draper in the hit AMC show, a troubled advertising executive with a constant thirst for alcohol, and when asked if his on-screen personas vices had prompted his own, the 44-year-old didn't totally deny it.
"I've said in varying ways that acting can be a difficult endeavour, certainly not as difficult as the recent example I used of being a baby heart surgeon. But, it does present its own challenges and so does life," added Hamm. "Obviously there can be a lot of discussion about how much of this is related to that and honestly I don't have much to say about that either."
The heartthrob also thanked the support of his family and friends for helping him get through the process. "Life throws a lot at you sometimes and you have to deal with it as much as you can. That's why you have family and friends and co-workers to help you with that," he said. "I've been very fortunate that throughout the most recent 24 hour period, I've had a lot of family and friends support me. I guess that's all I will say about that," he added.
The Million Dollar Arm actor spent 30 days at Silver Hill Hospital in New Canaan, Conneticut, according to Ace Showbiz, though finished his treatment last week, just in time for the release of Mad Men's final season.
This isn't the first time the actor has hinted he sometimes struggled playing Mad Men's Draper. While doing press for the show recently, he confessed that the role could be “challenging” and could take a lot out of him. “It's not easy to maintain that head space for a long time. You want to go home. And you want to wash it off and leave it at work,” he said.
Speaking to the Daily Mail in 2012, Hamm claimed his drinking habits were nowhere near as extensive his character's. “I don't drink as much as Don Draper,” he said. “I would be unconscious if I did.” Hamm has also denied that he continued to exercise his roles away from the cameras and at home. "I'm not that method,” he said of the difference between himself and the brooding ad exec in an interview with the Observer in 2013. “I am very cognisant that I am playing a character. Don Draper is a pretty dismal, despicable guy, so why I would want to take him home with me I don't know.”
