Hammer portrayed Clyde Tolson in the biopic J. Edgar (2011), played the titular character in the western The Lone Ranger (2013), and starred as Illya Kuryakin in the action film The Man from U.N.C.L.E.

[1][2][3] Hammer denied the allegations, which derailed his acting career; he abandoned several future projects and was dropped by his talent agency and publicist.

[2][4] After an investigation into Hammer by the LA County District Attorney and the LAPD,[5] they declined to pursue criminal charges against him, citing insufficient evidence.

[15][16] Armie's paternal great-grandmother was the Russian-born actress and singer Baroness Olga Vadimovna von Root, from Sevastopol, the daughter of a tsarist general.

[24] Hammer's professional acting career began with small guest appearances in the television series Arrested Development, Veronica Mars, Gossip Girl, Reaper and Desperate Housewives.

[25] After a long search, Hammer was hand-picked in 2007 by filmmaker George Miller to star in the planned superhero film Justice League: Mortal, as Batman/Bruce Wayne.

[15] The film's cancellation came in large part due to the looming 2007–08 Writers Guild of America strike as well as stalled budgetary rebate negotiations with the Australian Government.

[26] In 2009, he played Harrison Bergeron in 2081, based on the short story of the same name by author Kurt Vonnegut, which premiered at the Seattle International Film Festival.

[28] Hammer and Pence also went through 10 months of extensive twin boot camp in preparation for their roles, in order to "drill the subtle movements and speech patterns that the Winklevosses would have developed over two decades of genetic equality.

The biographical drama, written by Dustin Lance Black, focused on the expansive career of J. Edgar Hoover, of which the titular role was portrayed by Leonardo DiCaprio.

The acting was largely praised, with David Denby of The New Yorker calling Hammer's performance "charming", and The Hollywood Reporter's Todd McCarthy describing it as "excellent".

[32] McCarthy goes on further in his review to particularly praise the chemistry between DiCaprio and Hammer, specifically in their depiction of the often speculated romantic relationship between their characters, pointing out that, "...the way the homoerotic undertones and impulses are handled is one of the best things about the film; the emotional dynamics, given all the social and political factors at play, feel entirely credible, and DiCaprio and Hammer excel during the exchanges of innuendo, covert desire, recriminations and mutual understanding.

"[33] Despite this, the film received mixed reviews overall, in part due to the direction and writing, as well as pointed criticism of the makeup used to age DiCaprio and Hammer's characters.

In January 2016, it was revealed that since 2013,[42] Hammer was in contact with the family of the infamous drug lord Edgar Valdez Villarreal and secured the rights to film the life story of the cartel leader.

Film critic Richard Lawson of Vanity Fair asserted that Hammer utilized "his ludicrous proportions and chiseled handsomeness to great, surprisingly witty and sensitive effect.

"[48] Hammer's acclaim was further echoed by Peter Travers; he wrote for Rolling Stone magazine: "a revelation, giving his most complex screen role to date the tightrope thrill of full immersion.

In the same year, he voiced Jackson Storm, the main antagonist, in Disney-Pixar's animated film Cars 3, as well as starred alongside Geoffrey Rush in Stanley Tucci's Final Portrait.

Owen Gleiberman of Variety magazine praised Hammer's ability to "suggest turbulent eddies of thought beneath the blondish Clark Kent looks and preppie manners.

"[51] The Village Voice critic found the performances "uniformly strong" and cited Hammer's portrayal of American author James Lord as the "comic highlight".

[52] In 2018, Hammer co-starred in Boots Riley's dark comedy Sorry to Bother You alongside Lakeith Stanfield, Steven Yeun, and Tessa Thompson.

Film Journal International critic Tomris Laffly described Hammer's character, Steve Lift, as an "irresistibly funny" and "coke-snorting, abominable villain".

[68] Hammer dropped out of the film Shotgun Wedding[69][70][71] and his leading role in the Paramount+ drama miniseries The Offer,[72][73] stepped away from the Starz series Gaslit[74] and the Broadway play The Minutes,[75] and was removed from Billion Dollar Spy.

He later claimed to be in a "bad financial state", resulting from limited acting work following his abuse allegations and lacking access to his family's fortune.

[5][105][6] In an interview published a year prior, Hammer's attorney, Andrew Brettler, stated, "There was never a case, never a lawsuit, never a criminal proceeding against anyone.

[108] In February 2023, Air Mail published "Armie Hammer Breaks His Silence", in which reporter James Kirchick questioned the details of the allegations.