Mad Men - Jon Hamm Directing Season 5 Premiere

Mad Men‘s Jon Hamm just got the kind of promotion that I dare say would impress even Don Draper: The actor will step behind the camera to direct the Emmy winning drama’s fifth season premiere.

“The wheels have officially been set in motion to make that happen,” Hamm tells TVLine. “It’s a very exciting challenge that I’m looking forward to with a mixture of utter fear and excitement.”

The idea to follow in the footsteps of co-star John Slattery and helm an episode of the acclaimed AMC hit has been “in the back of my mind” for a while now,” says Hamm. “It helps to have people you know and trust surrounding you. We’ve been fortunate enough to have very little turnover not only in our cast but in our crew.”

“I watched Slattery do it, and he handled it with such grace and ability and ease,” he continues, before adding with a laugh, “I figured if he can do it, s–t, I can do it too.”

Production on the show’s delayed fifth season is slated to get underway in August, but Hamm says his expanded duties will require him to “go back a little early to start prepping.”

That begs the question: Will Mad Men‘s notoriously close-to-the-vest creator, Matthew Weiner, be cool with Hamm having a copy of the top-secret premiere script that far in advance? “We’ll see,” Hamm chuckles. “Hopefully he’ll give me enough time to properly prep. What’s the worst that can happen?”

Source: TV Line