--- title: Jon Hamm Minions Jon Stewart Daily Show: Hamm Explains Minions description: It's probably not the explanation you would expect canonical: https://time.com/3942880/jon-hamm-minions/ author: Justin Worland article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-07-01T11:38:26.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-05T08:25:58.554Z og:title: Watch Jon Hamm Explain Why Adults Like 'Minions' og:description: It's probably not the explanation you would expect og:url: https://time.com/3942880/jon-hamm-minions/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8211ce8440a3a943/698859420a4a224c5b9c4fb5/jon-stewart-jon-hamm.png?branch=production&width=778&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 778 og:image:height: 438 og:image:alt: Jon Stewart Jon Hamm og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Watch Jon Hamm Explain Why Adults Like 'Minions' twitter:description: It's probably not the explanation you would expect twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8211ce8440a3a943/698859420a4a224c5b9c4fb5/jon-stewart-jon-hamm.png?branch=production&width=778&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Watch Jon Hamm Explain Why Adults Like _Minions_ > Sponsored content. 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It curates the day's top headlines with TIME's reporting and analysis across politics, world affairs, business, health and culture. It is free to join at time.com/newsletters. #### How do I sign up for The Brief? The Brief is available free at time.com/newsletters, where readers can select it along with any of TIME's other six newsletters. There is no subscription required to receive it. #### Is The Brief free? Yes. The Brief is a free daily email newsletter from TIME. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes The Brief? The Brief is led by editor Richard Hall and draws on reporting from TIME's newsroom. Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-brief-2026q3/newsletters?i=2a3f1b6d-995f-4982-a9b2-847299db7350&cr=time-nl-brief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Late-Night Highlight: Let Jon Hamm Explain Why Adults Like Minions [Watch (HLS stream): Late-Night Highlight: Let Jon Hamm Explain Why Adults Like Minions](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/6dOhN8ne.m3u8) (1:10)  _Published 2015-07-01. We all know kids love minions. But a lot of adults do too, and 'Minions' movie star Jon Hamm knows exactly why._  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Jul 1, 2015 11:38 AM UTC We all know kids love minions. But a lot of adults do too, and 'Minions' movie star Jon Hamm knows exactly why.  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Jul 1, 2015 11:38 AM UTC Minions, the small yellow creatures from the _Despicable Me_ film series, have captured the attention of children everywhere with minion toys flooding toy stores. Now, actor Jon Hamm, a voice in the upcoming _Minions_ movie, explains why they’re also appealing to adults — and it’s probably not the reason you would expect. “I think these guys, these little minions are scientifically designed to be appealing to children, and not only children but adults,” the _Mad Men_ star told Jon Stewart on _The Daily Show_ Tuesday. “I think the reason they’re appealing to adults is because they look like capsules, they look like pills.” “You know what movie I want to see?” Stewart replied humorously. “That Xanax movie.” Check out the rest of the interview below. ## Transcript So we all know kids love minions. You know, those adorable little yellow guys from Despicable Me that have their very own feature film in the works? But kids aren't the only ones. Turns out adults love them too, and Minions movie star John Hamm says he knows exactly Exactly why. I think the reason they're appealing to adults is cuz they look like capsules. They look like pills. [ LAUGH ] That's interesting. So people are like, oh, I'm used to that. I'm into it. [ APPLAUSE ] Right. I get that. Not where we thought you were going with that. Jon. But now that you mention it, we can kind of see the resemblance. You know, minus the cute faces and awesome clothes and stuff. But a few Reddit users had a different explanation. The general consensus on the thread, people love minions because they're cute Quirky, adorable, simple, and goofy. Sounds about right to us but apparently not everyone likes cute, quirky, adorable, simple or goofy. A few Daily Show viewers on Twitter claimed Minions feels like an obvious cash grab for Mr. Hamm and because of that they like him less. [ NOISE ] Well, regardless of their minion's opinions, we're pretty stoked to see both John Hamm and the minions back in action. 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