Jon Hamm used to work in the porn industry.

The 40-year-old actor - who is best known for playing Don Draper in Mad Men - took on several different jobs as he struggled to land acting work, with his stint as a set designer on adult movies among the most memorable:

"Essentially, I had to move furniture around sweaty, naked people. It wasn't a great job but the money was useful. I had to get by - I wanted to be an actor. Let me just stress there was no penetration - it was soft-core porn."

Jon - who also worked as a bartender, writer and teacher - considered quitting acting following a "bleak" period where he was rejected for many roles and was dropped by his agent. "It was bleak - that was part of a three-year period where I was solely rejected. I had given myself 'til my 30th birthday. I moved out to LA when I was 25 and I figured if I can't make it in five years of trying, then it's time to pack up."

While the Bridesmaids actor has been inundated with work offers since landing his role in Mad Men, he is careful about what he accepts to avoid being typecast.

"I made a conscious decision not to do things that take place in the 1960s. I got sent every script Hollywood wanted to make about that era. So I consciously chose things like Bridesmaids that are different, and I think those choices have been well-received. But if you are going to be pigeon-holed, then a handsome womanizer is not the worst thing to be."