Olivia Munn says Jon Hamm gave her confidence she could still act after five-year break

Olivia Munn stars alongside Jon Hamm in the new Apple TV+ series Your Friends & Neighbors.

The actress told ABC Audio she was initially “very intimidated to meet and especially work with” the Mad Men star.

“He is so kind and generous,” Munn said, before detailing how he helped her out in a moment where she was struggling.

“I hadn’t acted since 2019, because we had COVID, then I got pregnant, then I had postpartum [depression], then I had cancer,” Munn said. Her five years without acting had her wondering if she had forgotten how to, the actress said.

The first scenes she shot for Your Friends & Neighbors featured her and Hamm running into each other at a country club. Munn said she always prides herself on remembering her lines perfectly, but something was different this time around.

“I started on these two scenes, and I kept mumbling my words and forgetting lines,” Munn said. She began to panic.

“I just was like, ‘Oh my god, oh, my gosh … did I lose it?'” Munn said. While she was spiraling, Hamm, who is also an executive producer on the project, took notice.

“Jon noticed the inner panic that I was failing at covering up. And he took me aside and said, ‘Hey, you got this. You can do this. This is why we want you. We know that you can this. Just relax,'” Munn said.

That changed everything, Munn said.

“Just him talking to me like that, one-on-one, actor to actor, as my executive producer as well, just gave me a lot of confidence,” Munn said. “I calmed down. And then it’s really been smooth sailing from that moment on.”

Episode four of Your Friends & Neighbors drops Friday on Apple TV+.