'Mad Men' Star Jon Hamm Lands New Movie Role; All About The Political Thriller 'High Wire Act'

As Season 7 of “Mad Men” draws to a close, its star performers are working on landing their next projects. Lead actor of the series Jon Hamm will be trading in his Don Draper ad man persona for a chance to balance on Tony Gilroy’s political thriller, “High Wire Act.”

According to Deadline, the movie will take Hamm into the 1980’s as a former U.S. diplomat called back into action in Beirut to save an old colleague. Hamm's character suspects the group responsible for his family's death may also be the one who threatening his fellow diplomat.

The move may effectively bump Jon Hamm from romcom love interest to action star. The 44-year-old actor had previous roles in “Bridesmaids” and “Friends with Kids” with plenty of television work like stints on “The Incredible Kimmy Schmidt” and “Childrens Hospital.” After “Mad Men,” Hamm will go back to camp for the Netflix original series “Wet Hot American Summer,” based on the 2001 movie of the same now. He will return to the big screen ahead of “High Wire Act” in the new “Minions” movie this June, and “Keeping Up with the Jones,” which is set for release in 2016.

Screenwriter Gilroy is no newcomer to the political action genre. The scribe penned the entirety of the “Bourne” series in addition to “Michael Clayton” and “Duplicity.” Currently, Gilroy has taken a turn at producing the hit Netflix series “House of Cards.” “I'm thrilled the way the project's come together," Gilroy said. "Jon Hamm was made to play the part."

Brad Anderson (“Transsiberian,” “The Machinist”) is attached to direct Hamm in the upcoming film. He said in a statement (via Deadline) “High Wire Act” channels John le Carré (“Tinker Tailor Solider Spy”) and will have many betrayals in store for its characters.

No production date has been set for “High Wire Act.”