'The best thing about children? Giving them back': Mad Men star Jon Hamm on what he's learned from playing a harassed father



Jon Hamm stars alongside his partner of 15 years Jennifer Westfeldt who also wrote the script for Friends With Kids

Mad Men star Jon Hamm is unmarried and childless — so did starring in a film about children with his long-term partner finally make the actor who plays Don Draper broody?



‘Not really — I’m a big fan of other people’s children — I think they’re awesome,’ laughs Hamm who stars in Friends With Kids with Jennifer Westfeldt.



They have been together 15 years, but are not married and have no kids themselves.



‘What I like about other people’s children is giving them back.



'But having children is a commitment — definitely a commitment. That said, having kids is something we’ve never ruled out



The film spotlights two pals who see their friends’ marriages dissolve after having kids — so they try to avoid the same fate . . . by having a baby together while vowing to continue their search for their soulmates.



Westfeldt not only wrote the film script, she also makes her directorial debut and stars as Julie, a thirtysomething single woman who opts to have a child with her platonic best friend Jason, played by Adam Scott.



Hamm plays harassed dad Ben and the idea for the plot came from the couple’s real-life experiences.



‘Our friends started having babies and everything became so kid-centric,’ admits Hamm, 41.



‘You feel a little bit left behind and you think: “Oh s**t. Are we doing something wrong?” That was how it started.



‘Then Jen wrote a great script that happened to be really funny, very real and yet heartbreaking.



‘We saw what was happening with our friends, from feeling outside that because you don’t have as much in common.



'You can’t compare notes about “Did he sleep through the night?” or “Is he colicky?” We ended up only seeing our friends at baby showers or birthday parties.’



It is the first film the pair have made through their new company, Points West Pictures. ‘It’s a high-stress environment, but it’s for a very short amount of time.

Comedy cast: The Bridesmaids cast Chris O'Dowd, Maya Rudolph, Kristen Wiig and Jon Hamm are back together on screen in the new film Friends With Kids

‘At the end of the day, at least you have each other to fall back on,’ says Hamm, who was also a co-producer.

Does he think the theme of the film was a hint from Westfeldt? ‘Not at all. If Jennifer wants to get a message to me she can just walk over and talk to me, she doesn’t need to raise several million dollars and make a movie about it.



‘When people ask: “Why don’t you get married?” or “Why don’t you have kids?” I usually say you don’t need to be an astronaut to tell a good story about outer space. We’re very comfortable with our relationship the way it stands.’



Friends With Kids may not have turned Hamm into a wannabe dad, but he did at least pick up some tips on how to cope with children: ‘The most important thing I learnt about kids is how to shut them up by handing them a mobile with the Angry Birds game. It was unbelievable!’

