ST. LOUIS – As St. Louis native Jon Hamm stars in Apple TV+’s new hit series “Your Friends & Neighbors,” the Emmy-winning actor has opened up about personal struggles that helped reshape his life, including a pivotal turn through rehab and a journey toward redemption.

In a recent New York Times profile, Hamm revealed that as AMC hit series “Mad Men” came to an end, along with his acclaimed run as Don Draper, so did his sense of direction. For awhile, he felt uncertain about his next steps professionally.

“It doesn’t matter how awesome or successful or genre-defining, career-defining [a role is],” Hamm told The New York Times of his experience. “As soon as it’s over, everyone’s like, ‘What’s next?'”

Around that time, Hamm went through a breakup with his longtime partner of 18 year, actress Jennifer Westfeldt. He also recognized he was struggling with alcohol and checked into a 30-day rehab program in Connecticut in March 2015, per reports.

“I was newly single – and I was like, I just need to concentrate on myself again,” said Hamm, noting that daily walks around Griffith Park in Los Angeles helped him navigate the transition.

When rehab came around, other difficult moments from Hamm’s past also came back into focus. Old headlines resurfaced about a hazing incident from his college days that previously led to an arrest and probation in the early 1990s.

Compounding it all was Hamm’s grief over the loss of his father, who died from complications related to diabetes when Hamm was just 20.

“After I lost my dad, I had this horrible paralyzing inertia — and no one in my family was capable of dealing with it. So what do you do? Go and see a professional,” Hamm said in 2016, per Star Magazine.

Now, nearly a decade later, Hamm says he has found balance again, both in his career and personal life. Hamm has taken on major roles in series like “Fargo,” “The Morning Show,” and “Landman.” And he’s now filming for season two of “Your Friends & Neighbors.”

“You’re coming off of this Tilt-a-Whirl that’s going 9,000 miles an hour, and so many things have come unfixed,” said Hamm in a 2017 New York Times interview about recalibrating after fame.

In “Your Friends & Neighbors,” Hamm plays Andrew Cooper, a hedge fund manager facing a financial and emotional crisis after a sudden firing. Hamm feels it echoes his personal life and Don Draper to certain extents. “There’s something to be said for that,” said Hamm.” Don was a seller, Coop is a buyer.”

Hamm has also found love again with “Man Men” co-star Anna Osceola. The two developed a close bond near the end of the series and married in June 2023 with hopes of possibly starting a family someday.

A proud St. Louis native, Hamm attended John Burroughs School and the University of Missouri before his Hollywood fame. Hamm, now 54 years old, is also well-known as a St. Louis sports superfan, especially for the St. Louis Blues, and an avid supporter of several hometown charities.