Tina Fey Checked with Lorne Michaels Before Casting Jon Hamm in ‘30 Rock’: “Just Making Sure He Wasn’t a Jerk”

Before Jon Hamm charmed audiences as the handsome yet hilariously flawed Dr. Drew Baird on 30 Rock, he had to pass one important test: the Tina Fey background check.

In a new joint interview, Fey revealed that she reached out to Saturday Night Live creator Lorne Michaels before offering Hamm the role on her hit NBC comedy. The reason? She needed to know two crucial things: Was he funny — and was he easy to work with?

“I remember calling or emailing Lorne and saying, ‘Let me know if he’s funny because we have a part coming up on 30 Rock that would be great for him,’” Fey shared. “And also to make sure you weren’t a dick.”

Hamm laughed off the moment, acknowledging the importance of that kind of vetting in Hollywood.

“That’s a real thing,” he said. “It’s not fun to work with people that aren’t fun.”

Fey agreed, adding, “That’s one where you’re just like, ‘I won’t do that anymore.’ Life’s too short and the hours are too long.”

A Perfectly Weird Casting Call

The Emmy-winning actress and writer went on to recount how Hamm first got the call to appear on 30 Rock. The moment happened while he was still at 30 Rockefeller Plaza — only a few floors away.

“I remember coming back down to the host dressing room at SNL, and the phone rang,” Hamm said. “It was like, ‘Whose phone is this? Who’s calling the dressing room?’ So I picked it up and it was Robert Carlock saying, ‘Hey, would you like to do this? We have a part for you. It’s a totally normal doctor that won’t go weird at all, I promise.’”

Of course, in true 30 Rock fashion, the character didn’t stay “normal” for long.

“By the end of this arc, you have hooks for hands,” Fey joked. “And it turned out you were an incompetent doctor. We ruined you.”

A Lasting Friendship

Hamm’s multi-episode appearance in 2009 as Dr. Drew Baird became one of the show’s most memorable guest arcs. His charmingly clueless character dated Fey’s Liz Lemon, who was drawn to his handsomeness and supposed “normalcy” — until the truth unraveled.

Since then, Hamm and Fey have built a lasting friendship that’s extended beyond 30 Rock. The duo later worked together on Friends With Kids, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Maggie Moore(s), and most recently, the Mean Girls film reboot.

Fifteen years and several projects later, it turns out that Lorne Michaels was right — Jon Hamm wasn’t just funny. He was the real deal.