The Mad Men star, 42, who plays tormented ad executive Don Draper on the acclaimed AMC series, is preparing to undergo throat surgery next week to remove a large polyp that has affected his voice.
Confirming the actor’s condition, his rep, who called the surgery a “routine outpatient procedure,” told PEOPLE, “He’s having a single polyp removed from his throat.”
That means the extra-raspy voice Hamm debuted at the Emmy Awards Sunday night – along with his bushy beard – was not simply an attempt to ratchet up his already sizable sex appeal. His more gravely manner of speech was noticeable when, alongside Alec Baldwin, he presented the award for lead actress in a comedy, to Veep star Julia Louis-Dreyfus.
And though Hamm didn’t take home the Emmy for playing Don Draper – that category’s victor was Jeff Daniels, for The Newsroom – he still has another chance or two.
AMC recently announced the seventh and final season of the show will be split into two parts, beginning in the spring of 2014.
In other words, Don Draper’s voice will have plenty of time to heal.
• With reporting by JULIE JORDAN