Mike Fleming

EXCLUSIVE: Here’s a hot signing before the biz goes away for the holidays. CAA has just signed Jon Hamm, the Mad Men star who recently left ICM Partners early last month following the exit of his longtime agent Carol Bodie. Hamm had taken meetings with a few of the agencies — WME was the other major player — but he’s headed for CAA. Hamm should have a bright future in features. Like Alec Baldwin, he can play comedy as well as drama, and has done several inspired turns on Saturday Night Live and in the film Bridesmaids. He played serious in the Ben Affleck-directed The Town, and those blue-chinned guys like Hamm also work well in macho franchises.

WME didn’t come out of this empty handed, as the agency reportedly signed David Oyelowo, who left ICM Partners at the same time Hamm did and has reportedly signed with WME. After a great run on the British spy series MI-5, Oyelowo has been busy in features that include Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes and The Paperboy.