When Mad Men premiered in 2007, the American actor Jon Hamm was a virtual unknown. Through his portrayal of the mercurial advertising executive Don Draper over six seasons, the actor accumulated a string of acting awards, including a Golden Globe for Best Actor and six Emmy Award nominations. Speaking on the eve of the final season, screening exclusively on MBC 4 from Saturday, he talks about parting ways with the character that made him a star.
Since your character plays a central role in the last series, did you have any influence in terms of how to end the show?
I don’t have any creative input on the show other than what I bring to it as an actor. Matt’s (series creator Matt Weiner) been very clear in all of the press and all of the surrounding intelligence about the show in that it’s very clearly his baby and we are simply servants to that vision and that’s fine. But, you know, I don’t have any intelligence. I don’t have any importance. I don’t have any input, really, in that world. And I honestly am kind of happy that I don’t, because I don’t want to have to think up the end of this thing. It’s been seven seasons of characters advancing and, honestly, I’m glad I don’t have to think it up. I’m glad I just have to memorise lines.
After years of living with this character, what is your personal take on Don Draper? Anything you admire or loathe about this guy?
A very wise man told me once about acting that if you ever judge the character that you’re playing, you’re going to do it a disservice, and so I try not to judge our guy Don. I think that’s maybe been the biggest challenge of portraying this guy who is fairly odious in his behaviour patterns often, and to just try to humanise him and sort of understand that we can all be kind of hateful in our own ways when we’re feeling bad or misunderstood or confused.
Are you dreading shooting the final episode?
This show has taken up essentially a decade of my life and it’s been a great decade, honestly, and I’ve met a lot of people who I think will be friends for the rest of my life and I’ve had a lot of amazing experiences and I’ve got to go to award shows and just experience these things that when you start down the road of being an actor, you think that’s never going to happen and yet, it did to me. So it’s been an emotional roller-coaster ride for me. So when it’s time to get off the ride, I’m going to be like: “I don’t want to get off, man, I want to stay on the ride. Come on, the ride’s over?” But as it’s been mentioned before, all good things do come to an end. And I am glad that the show is ending, but I’m going to be an absolute disaster when it does.
The bright side is you will finally be available for other projects. Any decent roles that came your way?
I don’t necessarily have anything lined up and I don’t know what the future holds, honestly. It’s a brave new world out there.
After it's all done and dusted, what do you think will be Don Draper's legacy?
I really do hope people take away that this is a story of a person who, in all of his faults and all of his troubles and all of his missteps, was trying to do the right thing and I think that’s the thing that people can identify with the most.
• Mad Men screens exclusively on MBC 4 Saturday at midnight. For more details go to www.mbc.net
sasaeed@thenational.ae
Company%20Profile
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What is graphene?
Graphene is a single layer of carbon atoms arranged like honeycomb.
It was discovered in 2004, when Russian-born Manchester scientists Andrei Geim and Kostya Novoselov were "playing about" with sticky tape and graphite - the material used as "lead" in pencils.
Placing the tape on the graphite and peeling it, they managed to rip off thin flakes of carbon. In the beginning they got flakes consisting of many layers of graphene. But as they repeated the process many times, the flakes got thinner.
By separating the graphite fragments repeatedly, they managed to create flakes that were just one atom thick. Their experiment had led to graphene being isolated for the very first time.
At the time, many believed it was impossible for such thin crystalline materials to be stable. But examined under a microscope, the material remained stable, and when tested was found to have incredible properties.
It is many times times stronger than steel, yet incredibly lightweight and flexible. It is electrically and thermally conductive but also transparent. The world's first 2D material, it is one million times thinner than the diameter of a single human hair.
But the 'sticky tape' method would not work on an industrial scale. Since then, scientists have been working on manufacturing graphene, to make use of its incredible properties.
In 2010, Geim and Novoselov were awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics. Their discovery meant physicists could study a new class of two-dimensional materials with unique properties.
Sheer grandeur
The Owo building is 14 storeys high, seven of which are below ground, with the 30,000 square feet of amenities located subterranean, including a 16-seat private cinema, seven lounges, a gym, games room, treatment suites and bicycle storage.
A clear distinction between the residences and the Raffles hotel with the amenities operated separately.
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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COMPANY PROFILE
Initial investment: Undisclosed
Investment stage: Series A
Investors: Core42
Current number of staff: 47
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Jigra
Starring: Alia Bhatt, Vedang Raina, Manoj Pahwa, Harsh Singh
The specs: 2018 Maxus T60
Price, base / as tested: Dh48,000
Engine: 2.4-litre four-cylinder
Power: 136hp @ 1,600rpm
Torque: 360Nm @ 1,600 rpm
Transmission: Five-speed manual
Fuel consumption, combined: 9.1L / 100km
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Moon Music
Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5
UAE gold medallists:
Omar Al Suweidi (46kg), Khaled Al Shehhi (50kg), Khalifa Humaid Al Kaabi (60kg), Omar Al Fadhli (62kg), Mohammed Ali Al Suweidi (66kg), Omar Ahmed Al Hosani (73), all in the U18’s, and Khalid Eskandar Al Blooshi (56kg) in the U21s.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
Joker: Folie a Deux
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson
Director: Todd Phillips
Rating: 2/5
The%20specs
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EA Sports FC 25
Developer: EA Vancouver, EA Romania
Publisher: EA Sports
Consoles: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4&5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5
PREMIER LEAGUE STATS
Romelu Lukaku's goalscoring statistics in the Premier League
Season/club/appearances (substitute)/goals
2011/12 Chelsea: 8(7) - 0
2012/13 West Brom (loan): 35(15) - 17
2013/14 Chelsea: 2(2) - 0
2013/14 Everton (loan): 31(2) - 15
2014/15 Everton: 36(4) - 10
2015/16 Everton: 37(1) - 18
2016/17 Everton: 37(1) - 25
if you go
The flights
Direct flights from the UAE to the Nepalese capital, Kathmandu, are available with Air Arabia, (www.airarabia.com) Fly Dubai (www.flydubai.com) or Etihad (www.etihad.com) from Dh1,200 return including taxes. The trek described here started from Jomson, but there are many other start and end point variations depending on how you tailor your trek. To get to Jomson from Kathmandu you must first fly to the lake-side resort town of Pokhara with either Buddha Air (www.buddhaair.com) or Yeti Airlines (www.yetiairlines.com). Both charge around US$240 (Dh880) return. From Pokhara there are early morning flights to Jomson with Yeti Airlines or Simrik Airlines (www.simrikairlines.com) for around US$220 (Dh800) return.
The trek
Restricted area permits (US$500 per person) are required for trekking in the Upper Mustang area. The challenging Meso Kanto pass between Tilcho Lake and Jomson should not be attempted by those without a lot of mountain experience and a good support team. An excellent trekking company with good knowledge of Upper Mustang, the Annaurpuna Circuit and Tilcho Lake area and who can help organise a version of the trek described here is the Nepal-UK run Snow Cat Travel (www.snowcattravel.com). Prices vary widely depending on accommodation types and the level of assistance required.
MATCH INFO
Europa League final
Who: Marseille v Atletico Madrid
Where: Parc OL, Lyon, France
When: Wednesday, 10.45pm kick off (UAE)
TV: BeIN Sports
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
The five pillars of Islam
Cricket World Cup League 2
UAE results
Lost to Oman by eight runs
Beat Namibia by three wickets
Lost to Oman by 12 runs
Beat Namibia by 43 runs
UAE fixtures
Free admission. All fixtures broadcast live on icc.tv
Tuesday March 15, v PNG at Sharjah Cricket Stadium
Friday March 18, v Nepal at Dubai International Stadium
Saturday March 19, v PNG at Dubai International Stadium
Monday March 21, v Nepal at Dubai International Stadium
The Perfect Couple
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor
Creator: Jenna Lamia
Rating: 3/5