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Photo by Kara Hayes Smith, courtesy of St. Louis County Library
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Photo by Kara Hayes Smith, courtesy of St. Louis County Library
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Photo by Kara Hayes Smith, courtesy of St. Louis County Library
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Photo by Kara Hayes Smith, courtesy of St. Louis County Library
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Photo by Kara Hayes Smith, courtesy of St. Louis County Library
St. Louis' beloved Jon Hamm returned to his hometown last weekend for an event that sold out in five minutes.
Hamm spoke on stage to a crowd of about 800 at the St. Louis County Library headquarters. He chatted with bestselling author Curtis Sittenfeld about his St. Louis roots and his roles on TV and in film. As if we couldn't love him even more, Hamm's event helped fundraise scholarships for the library's new online high school program.
The Mad Men actor also answered audience questions about the St. Louis Blues, a role he's most proud of (all of them in some way, he says, and we solidly agree), and if he'd ever like to play Batman. His response to the last question: "That stuff is hard. It's hard to be in a latex suit for 12 hours a day. And I hate working out."
Hamm closed the discussion with sentiments about his hometown. Although he says it's tricky to do what he does and live in St. Louis, "it's a really important place" to him.
Attendees documented the event on Twitter and Instagram. Many lined up hours before in the sweltering heat.
Sittenfeld, whose hit novel Prep is slated for a TV adaption on HBO, quoted a dazed library director.
A wonderful nickname was revealed.
Hamm also hugged an audience member who had driven nine hours from Minneapolis to see him.
So everyone basically agrees, right? Jon Hamm is the best.
