Armie Hammer, whose career collapsed amid revelations that he enjoyed cannibal-themed sexual role play — as well as sexual assault accusations that didn’t lead to criminal charges — says he’s making a quiet career comeback and that the general perception of him in Hollywood is, “Man, that guy got f—ed.”
Hammer lost jobs and his representation at his agency, WME, when private messages ascribed to him went viral in early 2021. They included talk of cannibalism, drinking blood, enslavement and rape. Hammer has since contended that they were part of consensual fantasy role playing, taken way out of context.
His once-thriving career — which included roles in The Social Network and The Lone Ranger — crumbled as police investigated sexual assault accusations by an ex-partner who identified herself as Effie. In 2023, Los Angeles County prosecutors announced that they would not file charges against Hammer, in part because of the “complexity of the relationship” between Hammer and the woman.
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In a new interview with Tom Segura and Christina Pazsitzky’s Your Mom’s House Podcast released on New Year’s Day, Hammer explained that he would sometimes send sexual partners graphic, joking messages, laughing as he sent them. He also said that his understanding of consent has evolved since that period in his life, and that he understands that some of his partners may have thought they were in a more long-term relationship than he intended, and may have felt burned by their interactions with him.
When Segura asked him if his career could still move forward, Hammer said it already is moving forward, albeit slowly.
Armie Hammer on Hollywood’s Perception of Him: ‘That Guy Got F—ed’
“The worm is turning. And it takes time. It’s slow,” Hammer said on the podcast. “But generally now the conversation when my name comes up with people in the industry is, ‘Man, that guy got f—ed.’ And that feels really good. It’s really encouraging.”
Hammer says he has completed one new film — Frontier Crucible, with William H. Macy and Thomas Jane — and has two more movies coming soon, as well as a potential TV show “that the head of a studio signed off on.”
He added that he now books roles through his lawyer, and that not having agents or a manager saves him money. He joked about following in Bill Murray’s footsteps by just managing his career through an 800 number.
“Want to stunt hire the guy who eats people? Call my 800 number,” Hammer deadpanned.
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Armie Hammer on Wanting to Get Caught
Though he jokes frequently on the podcast about the cannibalism accusations — the episode is called “Just Lemma Eat Ya” — he also clarifies what his fetishes are and aren’t. He said he would sometimes “like” Japanese rope bondage photos on social media, for example, to signal his discomfort with being portrayed as part of a flawless family.
“I think somewhere deep down, subconsciously I wanted to get caught. I think that I so did not relate to the image of me that was out there in the public of sort of like this, ‘Look at them. They’re like, the Ralph Lauren family. They’ve got the perfect life and the perfect house and the perfect kids’… I was like, I feel like a f—ing alien walking around most of the time. Like, I don’t feel like a human. I feel like a creature.”
He added that he got a “King Creature” tattoo at one point because he felt, “if I’m gonna be a creature, I’m gonna be the king of creatures… I’m just gonna lean into this. And so I would like things on my Twitter. I would like rope bondage pictures and s— like that.
“I was dog whistling, if you will, and wanting, I think, to get caught, and then people would be like, ‘I don’t think he knows his Twitter likes are public,’ and I’d see that, and I’d be like, ‘Oh, I know, yeah, I know. And it was just, it was silly.”
Armie Hammer also talks on the podcast about launching his own podcast, vetting his new potential partners very carefully, and the time he spent, during his cancellation, selling timeshares in the Cayman Islands. It’s a fascinating listen.
Main image: Armie Hammer on the Your Mom’s House Podcast.