You might be surprised by the abundant similarities between Jon Hamm and a pound of deli ham, but according to Bernardo Sequeira ’26, they do not share one thing: an Oscar win.
On Friday, Jan. 31, the Hasty Pudding Theatricals (HPT) honored actor Jon Hamm with their prestigious Man of the Year award. During the event, Hamm participated in a lively roast, held a press conference, and got a sneak peek at this year’s production, “101 Damnations.”
Jon Hamm is best known for his iconic role as executive Don Draper in the AMC series “Mad Men,” set in the high-stakes world of Sterling Cooper advertising. Beyond “Mad Men,” Hamm has showcased his versatility in a range of films, including “Keeping Up with the Joneses,” “Beirut,” “Baby Driver,” and “Top Gun: Maverick.” He has also made memorable television appearances, with notable roles in “30 Rock,” “The Morning Show,” and “Parks and Recreation.”
Hamm’s range across drama and comedy has made him a standout talent in Hollywood, and his sharp wit and charm were on full display during the Man of the Year event, captivating the audience with his humor.
Roast presenters Sequeira and Cathy Stanton ’25 put Jon Hamm through a series of playful “tests” to prove to Hollywood that “he’s still got it.” The first test involved confirming Hamm’s claimed 6-foot-2 height, but the Pudding team pulled out a giant ruler that appeared to measure him at a comically shorter 5-foot-8.
Next, Hamm was put to the test to showcase his salesman skills. He had to pitch car insurance to a “Baby Driver,” sell a pen to a woman who had just lost her job (in which he traded her the pen for a dollar—much to the presenters’ amusement), and try to convince a superfan to buy a Daniel Radcliffe bathtub poster. “The Real Paul Rudd”—an exaggerated, muscle-bound version of the actor—made a surprise appearance and joined Hamm onstage for a flexing competition.
The final test was a game called “Hamm or Ham,” where the presenters asked a series of questions to see if the answers could apply to either Jon Hamm, the actor, or ham, the deli meat. Hamm won by default, since the slab of meat couldn’t speak, and as a quirky follow-up, he was challenged to slice the ham using a pair of hook hands—a nod to his “30 Rock” character, Dr. Drew Baird, who loses his hands in a freak accident after waving to someone while exiting a helicopter. Twice.
After successfully passing all the tests, the presenters declared that Hamm had earned his place as the recipient of the coveted Pudding Pot. He was then presented with this prestigious honor by HPT members Ava Pallotta ’25 and Jessica Zisk ’25 while sporting a decorative Hasty Pudding Theatricals bra. “He’ll have lovely friends on my shelf,” Hamm joked with reporters at the press conference as he explained that he would place the Pot alongside his other prestigious awards, including an Emmy and two Golden Globes.
Stanton, HPT’s president, said that she “had the time of [her] life honoring Jon Hamm as Man of the Year! He’s extremely personable and good-humored with so much knowledge and experience that he shared with students interested in the arts and entertainment.” Furthermore, Stanton mentioned that “during the day, it became clear that [Hamm] really keeps himself busy, booking multiple movies [and] TV shows per year and filming in months-long increments. That gave us plenty of material to work with during the roast, which he took like a champ!”
Hamm was accompanied at the press conference by costumed Hasty Pudding members Harrison Epstein ’25 and Liv Ernst ’26 and Press and Publicity Manager Chaelon Simpson ’26. “Jon Hamm is definitely one of the most down-to-earth and nice people that I think I’ve ever interacted with. He used to be a teacher and I talked a little bit with him about what the job was like, especially because my mother is a teacher as well,” Simpson said. “I feel like that human element of teaching other people really informed his politeness and fun energy that he brought—not only the roast and the press conference, but the entirety of the festivities as well.”
At the press conference, Hamm talked about what it was like going into the roast, and if he had prepared himself for what could be in store. “I thought it would be more fun if I just entered it, like most things, with eyes wide open and knowing that it’s all in good fun,” he said. “I did notice that the four or five Men of the Year before me are all people that are in my phone, so I could have certainly hit them up, but I’m glad I didn’t and let it be a wonderfully pleasant surprise.”
The evening concluded with a preview of the first half hour of HPT’s 176th production, “101 Damnations.” The theater’s curtain flew up to reveal a relatively barebones set, primarily defined by a detailed, beautiful projection on the back of the theater that depicted a sprawling hellish metropolis. The opening number, led by Gabrielle Greene’s ’27 character Claire Ickle-Error, reveals that the characters are dead and now in Hell. Claire, a Dorothy-esque goody-two-shoes, has seemingly found herself there by mistake, or rather, due to a clerical error.
Claire’s ballad about how she does not belong in Hell trips off some sort of metaphorical sensor in God’s omniscience and he sends William Murray’s ’26 character Anne Gelic, a well-dressed drag queen angel, to go rescue her and bring her to Heaven. Claire navigates Hell alongside a wacky cast of characters, from Emma Rogers’s ’25 fur-clad viking Jürgen Alovemeoneday to Will Jevon’s ’27 fratty, backward-cap-wearing rower Rowan D’Boat. It is clear that writers Rodmehr Basidj ’26 and Jackson Coombs ’26 alongside principal lyricist Zachary Halberstam ’25 have put together a fun, eclectic show that is sure to keep audiences interested.
The underworld portrayed in “101 Damnations” certainly lives up to its description as “nondenominational,” with references to the River Styx and three-headed dog Cerberus of Greek mythology, mentions of the classic Christian figures of Lucifer and God, and other nods to the fabled afterlives of various religions and cultures. The preview cemented the show as a must-see comedic romp and impressive visual spectacle rife with talent and more heaven and hell puns than you ever thought possible.
The official premiere of “101 Damnations” will take place on Wednesday, Feb. 5, with Woman of the Year honoree Cynthia Erivo also being celebrated that night. The production will run at Farkas Hall from Feb. 7 to March 9, with special performances in New York City on March 14 and 15.
Kayla Reifel ’26 (kaylareifel@college.harvard.edu) and Layla Chaaraoui ’26 (laylachaaraoui@college.harvard.edu) cannot wait to see the full “101 Damnations” production.