In Confess, Fletch, Jon Hamm stars as the roguishly charming and endlessly troublesome Fletch, who becomes the prime suspect in a murder case while searching for a stolen art collection. The only way to prove his innocence? Find out which of the long list of suspects is the culprit - from the eccentric art dealer and a missing playboy to a crazy neighbour and Fletch’s Italian girlfriend. Crime, it's fair to say, has never been this disorganized.
Earlier this month, we were fortunate enough to spend a few minutes getting to pick the mind of the great John Slattery. He plays the fast-talking, foul-mouthed Frank Jaffe in this hilarious reimaging of the classic franchise and steals the show with just a handful of scenes.
Slattery talks about reuniting with Jon Hamm on this project, the fun that comes with playing a no-BS character, and getting to improvise on set with his old Mad Men co-star.
The actor also reflects on his time playing Howard Stark in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, confirming he would be open to returning after last appearing in Avengers: Endgame (you can read his comments about that by clicking here). We also learn that he's stepping back behind the camera for a movie starring Hamm.
Check out our interview with the Confess, Fletch star below:
Frank is very much a straight-to-the-point, no BS kind of guy when it comes to dealing with Fletch, but is a character like this more fun for you to sink your teeth into as an actor?
It is. I think it’s a little unexpected for the audience to hear…can I use that language? Anyway, it’s fun for the audience to dive right in and get the history in a nutshell of Fletch having left Frank on the hook. It’s very economically written. It’s fun to work with Jon. We had an instant rapport from day one of Mad Men too. We hit the ground running and got each other and had a lot of laughs. It was super fun to do.
People are already buzzing about you reuniting with Jon Hamm, so how much fun was it for you to be back sharing a drink with him on screen after those years together on Mad Men?
It was great! It’s easy and funny and each take is a little different. Greg was great and open to us adding hooks here and there and us trying stuff to see what worked. It was just easy.
Greg is a director with a real comedy background, so did you get some room to play with your lines and improv while working with him on this film?
There were story points that we had to hit as there’s obviously information the audience needs to know and the reason he comes to Frank in the first place. But no, Greg was totally open to whatever would work, whatever felt good to us, and then obviously if it worked, we’d keep it or try a little piece of something else with it. It was easy and loose.
Was the Fletch franchise one you were familiar with before learning you were wanted for this new take and is it at all daunting to be part of a film that a lot of people have literally been waiting decades for?
I mean, I’m in it so little that I don’t really feel burdened by having to recreate any specific vibe. I was glad to be asked to do it. I love those guys. Hamm is one of my best friends, and Greg, I’m a huge fan of his. It was easy to jump right in and fully trust those two guys to steer it in the right direction. I just tried not to screw it up.
I’ve always enjoyed your work behind the camera as well as in front of it, so have you given any thought to possibly directing again in the near future?
I’m just finishing a movie that stars Jon Hamm and Tina Fey called Maggie More(s). It will hopefully be out soon as I should finish it within the next month. Hopefully, it will be out this year.
Confess, Fletch arrives in theatres, on Digital and on demand on September 16, 2022.