Jon Hamm Remembers 'Struggling and Hustling' with James Marsden in Their Early Hollywood Years (Exclusive)
Jon Hamm Remembers 'Struggling and Hustling' with James Marsden in Their Early Hollywood Years (Exclusive)
Bailey Richards, Madeleine JanzSun, April 5, 2026 at 9:30 PM UTC
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Jon Hamm and James Marsden at the N.Y.C. premiere of 'Your Friends & Neighbors' season 2Credit: Roy Rochlin/GA/The Hollywood Reporter via Getty -
Jon Hamm and James Marsden have been friends for at least 20 years
The actors "were coming up at the same time and struggling and hustling," Hamm tells PEOPLE at the premiere of Your Friends & Neighbors season 2
Marsden joined season 2 of the Apple TV+ series, and Hamm says he was “so very, very happy we finally got a chance to share a screen"
Jon Hamm and James Marsden are now Hollywood staples — but they have been pals since they were young actors “hustling” together.
Hamm talks to PEOPLE about his longtime friendship with Marsden and reminisces on their early acting days long before they “finally got a chance to share a screen” in Your Friends & Neighbors at the series' season 2 premiere in New York City on Monday, March 30.
“We've known each other for probably the better part of 20 years, maybe even more,” Hamm says of his friend, who joined the cast of the Apple TV+ dark comedy this season.
“I'm trying to think back [to] when we first met each other. He's a little younger than me, but we were coming up at the same time and struggling and hustling and doing all the things you do when you're trying to get jobs,” the 55-year-old continues, adding that Marsden, 52, had “some pretty early success with X-Men and Cyclops.”
Olivia Munn, James Marsden, Jon Hamm and Heather Lind in 'Your Friends & Neighbors' season 2Credit: Apple TV
While Marsden got his big break in the 2000 superhero film, Hamm landed his career-defining role on Mad Men in 2007. Now, after adding dozens of credits to their respective filmographies, Hamm says he’s glad to finally work on a project with his old pal.
“So we were very, very fortunate that he could fit us into his schedule and he just knocks it out of the park this season,” the Bridesmaids actor says of Marsden, adding that he is “so very, very happy we finally got a chance to share a screen together.”
The experience, he says, “was just everything I hoped it would be.”
Your Friends & Neighbors centers on Andrew "Coop" Cooper (Hamm), a former hedge fund manager who "resorts to stealing from the homes of his neighbors in the exceedingly affluent Westmont Village, only to discover that the secrets and affairs hidden behind those wealthy facades might be more dangerous than he ever imagined," per an official synopsis.
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Marsden joins the cast (which also includes Amanda Peet and Olivia Munn) as Owen Ashe, a new neighbor who throws a wrench in Coop’s schemes, threatening “to expose his secrets and place his family at risk,” per The Hollywood Reporter.
James Marsden, Amanda Peet, Jon Hamm and Olivia Munn at the season 2 premiere of 'Your Friends & Neighbors'Credit: TheStewartofNY/FilmMagic
Speaking with PEOPLE at the season 2 premiere, the series newcomer recalls his own favorite off-camera memories with Hamm, which he says is their long-running “fantasy football league.”
“We've been in a fantasy football league, wasting colossal amounts of time for several years now,” Marsden says. As for who is the more impressive league member, he avoids choosing — but applauds his friend’s skills.
“He's very good,” he says of Hamm. “He knows what he's doing. Some guys in the league don't know what they're doing.”
Adds the Paradise actor: “But it's all playful. As long as the trash talk is there, we're good.”
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Your Friends & Neighbors season 2 premiered on April 3, 2026, on Apple TV+.
on People
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
