Jon Hamm isn’t exactly an unknown quantity in Hollywood, as he is a six-time Golden Globe nominee and a two-time winner of said awards for his performance on Mad Men. However, the award that he most recently won isn’t really his.
See, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association didn’t spell Hamm’s name correctly on its engraving for the trophy this time around. According to a recent interview with Starz, he revealed his latest award from the HFPA isn’t really his. The trophy was for some guy by the name of John Hamm.
It really is an easy mistake for someone who follow pop culture or watch Mad Men to make. After all, Jon and Hamm could be spelled many different ways. There’s John or Jon and then Hamm or Ham — you get the picture. Even Saturday Night Live skits have made fun of the misspelling and confusion over Hamm’s name.
Still, we aren’t dealing with folks that don’t know pop culture, television or movies. The HFPA or whomever engraves those trophies specifically cover those forms of entertainment. Getting something like this wrong is embarrassing, especially when Hamm has been a multiple winner.
Hamm isn’t just a run-of-the-mill Hollywood type, either. With his performance as iconic advertising executive Don Draper on one of the most critically acclaimed TV shows in recent years, Hamm has not only won Golden Globes, but finally won an Emmy Award after years of being snubbed for that honor. (Or losing out to Bryan Cranston for Breaking Bad.)
Luckily, Hamm isn’t one to take something like a little misspelling of a name on his trophy to get all bent out of shape. The guy still did win an award in recognition of his work, after all.
Perhaps this will also serve as a reminder for the HFPA to triple-check spelling of names on awards. Proofreading is important, especially if those awards are supposed to be taken seriously.
[Complex]