TIt was a time Jeff Hiller would kill to play the stereotypical “gay best friend” on TV. Now, after years of ephemeral guest spots from “gay whore” to “bitty” flight attendant, he’s showing the world what he’s capable of as HBO’s sweet and funny Joel. Someone’s Somewhere.
In this episode of The Last Laugh podcast, Hiller talks about how her real-life friendship with star Bridget Everett reverberated on screen and why it’s so important to have “normal” queer characters on TV. She also shares what it’s like to appear on shows like: 30 Rock, Community, And Wide City and she remembers that she totally ruined the time SNL choose.
When I mentioned that by then he was a working actor for almost 20 years Someone’s Somewhere arrived, Hiller replies, “You’re kind enough to say ‘almost’ 20 years.” It felt even longer.
“This is definitely the biggest role I’ve ever had,” Hiller says of her mild-mannered, church-going character, Joel. “I’ve been an actor for a long time but this is really the first time in my career that I was able to just be an actor and at the same time I didn’t have to teach improvisation and I didn’t have to run into unemployment right away. The game is over. It feels great. I never want to wait for a table or make a spreadsheet ever again in my life.
Hiller had met Everett, who plays Sam, on and around New York’s downtown theater stage. “We knew each other vaguely,” she says. It was Everett who asked if he would be “willing” to audition for the role of Joel. “I thought I was like auditioning for your fancy HBO show,” he remembers with a laugh. “I felt the role was really written for me, but I’ve since learned that it wasn’t. Many other gay men over the age of 40 also auditioned for the role.”
When Everett guested on The Last Laugh podcast during the show’s Season 1 premiere, he told me he “knew” Hiller and felt he was “underused” onscreen. “I think Jeff brings something so dynamic and sweet that it could be very valuable in the wrong hands,” he said at the time, “but it’s just too intimate for him.”
Hiller had similarly never seen a character like Joel on television before, but immediately felt a strong connection with him. “I look how I look. Obviously I’m gay. I’m on the wrong side of 40,” she says. “And I have never seen anyone on TV who is religious and happy to be religious. And it’s no joke that they are religious. And they are not persecuted by the Church.”
The actor grew up attending church in his hometown of San Antonio, Texas, and was a college major in theology. To date, he says, he has fellow pastors who are “good people who focus on social justice, not persecution of queer people.” “And I love that that person is finally on TV because that person is a totally real person.”
While there is “no word yet” about the possibility of a third season Someone’s Somewhere, Hiller says: “3. There isn’t a single person who doesn’t desperately want the season, so that’s the hope. I know this is a little show that isn’t noisy so it might be very quiet, but if we have even the slightest peep inside, hopefully they’ll give us Season 3.
Below is an edited excerpt from our conversation. You can listen to the whole thing here Subscribe to The Last Laugh Open Apple Podcasts, spotify, Google, sewing machine, Amazon Musicor wherever you get your podcasts and be the first to hear about new episodes as they air every Tuesday.
Your on-screen relationship [Bridget Everett’s character, Sam] It feels so natural, deep and real. It feels like you’ve been close friends for a long time, but even on the show it’s kind of a reconnection, right? One of the really impressive details when you meet him at the beginning of the pilot episode is that you remember him, but he doesn’t seem to really remember you.
Let’s just say I brought some real authenticity to this role because it just happens to me a little bit.
Really?
Less now, less now. But yes, all my life, absolutely. I remember them, they don’t remember me.
Does this happen with celebrities? Or any?
Sure, it happens with famous people. It happens to people I went to high school with. It happens with people who are my students, with people I am their student with. All.
How do you feel that this fact affects the dynamic between your two characters?
Well, I love what Joel said: “It’s okay, a lot of people don’t remember me.” It’s kind of rude for people to say “We know each other”. You have to let this go. And hopefully, the next time I talk to you, I’ll be more memorable. But yeah, I think it tells you exactly what a relationship is because there’s a bit of idol worship there. She longs for his approval for being someone she idolized in high school. He saw her talent before anyone else.
Do you think this is reflected in your feelings about Bridget? What do you remember when you first saw your performance?
It has something to do with seeing your live performance. Exciting. It’s magnetic. There is some fear that he might choose you to do something… But at the same time, it’s undeniable. You can’t watch it and just say, “Oh my God, you’re such a star!” And I certainly had that belief. I jokingly say that I wanted to be Bridget Everett’s best friend for 10 years. But there is some truth in this. He was the cool kid, she. And you wanted to be in his orbit.
His talent on stage was undeniable. But I didn’t know he had this depth of acting that he displayed on screen. Someone’s Somewhere. I don’t know if you did or what it was like to witness it up close and personal.
No, I had no idea. And from the already won fame, Inside Amy Schumer And Camping and all these shows—Paw Cake$, where it’s obscene, raunchy, and dirty – you wouldn’t expect her to pick the show herself, where she had to put herself so forth to be so vulnerable. He’s incredibly raw and I think most people would be too scared to do that. So the willingness to go there is really impressive.
The show’s first season is all about your two characters reconnecting and getting really close. Most of the second season – I don’t want to spoil anything – but there is some tension and there are many difficulties in their relationship as well. What was it like playing that side of business with him?
It’s a bit stressful, especially since it’s so good. “Well, as someone who isn’t a trained actor…” He’s a great actor. “Are you really angry with me?” There was one point where I was like.
It was so believable that you really thought something was wrong?
Yes definitely! He looked really hurt.
“[Trans people] turned into these cartoonish, bad people. And in real life, if you meet people who are truly trans, you realize that you are only human.”
— Jeff Hiller
So, as you said, this series and this character really defy stereotypes in many ways. and i think Someone’s Somewhere This beautiful queer show that exists outside of hate and bigotry and all that stuff that tends to dominate the headlines about queer people? I wonder if you think this is intentional. Do you think it reflects real life more than we often see?
Yes I know. I think they’re all targeting trans people especially right now, even with all these stupid transvestite bills and things like that. And that’s because trans people are marginalized in a way, so… the word I want to call is nonsense. They have been turned into these cartoonish, evil people. And in real life, if you meet people who are truly trans, you realize that you are only human. You’re just like me. Also, “Oh, I have to go to work today.” And I think our show is political in a way, because it portrays queer people – one of the main characters is a trans man – as humans as opposed to something. And in a certain way, this is revolutionary.
Yeah, I think there’s a way to look at it and you might say, “Is it realistic that this trans man lives in this community in the Midwest and has no issues? No one’s going after him?” But there is an argument to be made that this is a way of looking at things more realistically, or at least in a more optimistic and hopeful way.
Yes. And I don’t think it’s portrayed as having any issues. There are some issues that come to the fore especially in the second season. But at the same time, the life of every trans person is not just being murdered. I think it’s important to show Murray Hill. [who plays Fred Rococo] Being misgendered But I also think it’s important to show Murray that you’re having fun and that he has friends. Trans people have normal lives too, and not just in New York.
I’d love to talk about how you got into this job, and that’s a little bit about this conversation. I imagine most of the roles you’ve been offered and auditioned for aren’t as complex or nuanced as Joel. One of your first roles, at least on IMDb, is a character named “Gay Man” in a show called “Gay Man”. longing.
I swear it’s true: Someone changed it because it read “Gay Hooker” on IMDb. [Laughs]
Someone thought, “This is so offensive, we should change him to ‘Gay Man'”.
Definitely. I’ve played a lot of “Gay Man”. I’m sure there’s another one out there.
Was this symbolic of the types of roles you took on early on?
Certainly. I mean, I think there’s something to be said about homophobia there, and there’s also something to be said about paying your dues just as an actor. You need the characters that are there to advance the plot. It would be a tiresome movie if every character had a bow. But as an artist, I kept thinking that I had more to give. I’m really good at playing the waitress, but I swear to you, there’s more in me. I also realized that I was lucky. There are many other actors who are in my situation who have not taken a role that allows them to do more. And I can’t be said to be more talented than them. I was there when the right role came along. This much.
How do you feel about this experience of being open? Someone’s Somewhere Has it changed things for you, opened doors for your career? Do you still feel?
So, don’t get me wrong, I’m not like Pedro Pascal. I can walk on the street. But my manager had given up on me a bit. And now I have a new manager who is excited for me. I just, okay, went back to doing occasional off-Broadway shows and guest stars, and I felt like I could hopefully get enough health insurance. I was 44 when I got this role, so I felt like it probably wasn’t going to happen. I remember looking at actors who became famous after 40 on my 40th birthday, and then there was an article about actors who survived. It was like, “Naomi Watts didn’t get it.” Mulholland Drive Until the age of 31!” So I feel like I can have a career. You won’t want me on your podcast when I’m a waiter. That’s why it’s so exciting.
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