LOOK at Young Jon Hamm Photos: Yes, He Was Always That Handsome [PHOTOS]

Even in High School, the Future Mad Men Star Looked Like a Model

Handsome, funny, handsome, smart, handsome, talented, handsome … save that Emmy that keeps eluding him (he's now 0 for 5 in his quest for a Lead Actor statue for Mad Men), Jon Hamm seems to have it all.

And, fellas, in case you don't envy him enough as it is, yes, it turns out he was always just that attractive. And athletic. And creatively gifted. Sorry, dudes.

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But a round-up of young Jon Hamm photos by Buzzfeed.com illustrates what we're talking about, as Hamm looked every bit the future star, whether he was a smiling toddler sitting on his mom's lap, a high schooler in his football team uniform or a white tuxedo-ed young man smiling in a photo with his father.

Hamm's parents, Daniel and Deborah, divorced when he was just two, and his mother died of cancer when he was 10. That's when he began living with his father, who died when Hamm was just 20.

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Despite the upheaval and sadness in his younger years, Buzzfeed's photos show the St. Louis as an apparently happy young guy, who excelled at sports, starred in his school play and had a goofy, but endearing grin in photos with his classmates.

Hamm went on to graduate with an English degree from the University of Missouri, and taught English to high schoolers at his alma mater -- John Burroughs School in the wealthy St. Louis suburb of Ladue -- where one of his students was future Bridesmaids and The Office actress Ellie Kemper.

After moving to Los Angeles in 1995 (where his longtime friend Paul Rudd was already pursuing his acting career), Hamm spent a lot of time auditioning, but mostly working as a waiter, as roles eluded him thanks to the fact that he looked older than he was (and older than most of the roles TV casting agents were looking to fill at the time).

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Recurring gigs on the TV shows Providence and The Division, as well as other TV guest work and small roles in movies like Space Cowboys and We Were Soldiers, helped him stop waiting tables, but his true big break didn't happen until 2007 (at age 36), when he beat out more than 80 other actors to win the career-making role of Don Draper on Mad Men.

Lessons to be learned: be persistent. Work hard. Don't give up on your talent and your dreams.

And, of course, it doesn't hurt if you look like Jon Hamm.

Now check out a slideshow of selections from Buzzfeed.com's collection of young Jon Hamm photos, and visit Buzzfeed.com for the whole line-up.

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