As actor Jon Hamm joins Charlie Brooker’s cult series Black Mirror, he talks to Stylist about Twitter, life lessons and losing his parents at a young age

Jon Hamm’s voice may be as velvet smooth as his sweet-talking, womanising mad men character Don Draper, but that might just be the only thing the two have in common. When stylist asks which three words his friends would use to describe him, he says, “not Don Draper”. When asked for an alternative, he says, “Loyal, friendly and polite. You know, i’m from the mid-West, that’s what we do.”

Charming, warm and thoughtful, the 43-year-old st Louis-born actor chats to us from his home in Los Feliz in La. Unlike Don Draper, Hamm is easy to talk to, laughs a lot and is surprisingly open about the life-changing effects of losing his parents far too young. He is also refreshingly candid about what’s important to him now he’s in his 40s. “It’s the oldest cliché in the book but I don’t sweat the small stuff any more,” he says. “Without wanting to sound like a new-age guru, I just want to live a life, be happy, help people and contribute something to the world.”

Having recently finished a stint in London filming the upcoming Christmas special of Charlie Brooker’s twisted social-commentary series Black Mirror, Stylist talks to the Hollywood star about technology, candy crush and the benefits of a jetpack.

Black Mirror has an episode where you can block people in real life. If you could, who or what would you block?
So much! There’s so much clutter in our society now and it only distracts us from important things. Look at the recent elections in the US: so few people turned up to vote because they feel like it’s insignificant when in fact it’s the most significant thing you can do in a democratic society. It’s harder to make your voice heard in an increasingly cluttered media landscape and I think that’s the thing that Charlie Brooker has tapped into. We’ve never been so connected yet it seems like very few of us are actually listening to each other.

Is that why you’re not on social media?
I thought, ‘I’m not paying enough attention to friends and family’ so adding another layer felt counterproductive. that said, I’m probably on the internet too much and I’ve been working my way through the ridiculous time-waster that is Candy Crush. I think I’m on level 280, which is just absurd.

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever given?
I tell my friends who are actors to just stay at it. Half of life is showing up, working hard and being prepared.

Jon Hamm on dealing with grief and being a weird uncle