In a candid conversation with Interview Magazine, Tina Fey revealed she contacted SNL creator Lorne Michaels to assess Jon Hamm's personality before casting him in '30 Rock.'
The Emmy-winning writer and actress disclosed that before Hamm's appearance on her hit NBC sitcom, she reached out to Michaels with two key questions: whether Hamm was funny and, more importantly, "to make sure you weren't a dick," as she told Hamm during their interview.
Hamm, who would later play Dr. Drew Baird in '30 Rock,' acknowledged the importance of this vetting process, stating, "It's not fun to work with people that aren't fun."
The conversation led to Hamm landing a multi-episode arc as Dr. Drew Baird in 2009, a character who started as a normal doctor with a passion for baking but eventually evolved into an incompetent physician with hooks for hands.
The initial job offer came while Hamm was hosting Saturday Night Live. He recalled receiving an unexpected phone call in his dressing room from '30 Rock' showrunner Robert Carlock, who pitched the role as "a totally normal doctor that won't go weird at all."
The careful personality check proved worthwhile, as Fey and Hamm's professional relationship flourished beyond '30 Rock.' Their collaborations have extended to various projects, including 'Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt,' 'Friends with Kids,' 'Maggie Moore(s),' and 'Mean Girls.'
"Life's too short and the hours are too long," Fey reflected on the importance of working with agreeable people, highlighting how their successful partnership stemmed from that initial character assessment.