Somebody Somewhere Emmy Nominee Jeff Hiller Had Given Up Hope
Something somewhere in the cosmos went right today, causing Somebody Somewhere’s Jeff Hiller to score his first Emmy nomination. Hiller has been a beloved character actor for years, but the dearly departed Somebody Somewhere was the first time he got to show off his full range of gifts. The UCB alum played Joel, a gay man living in his small hometown of Manhattan, Kansas, who at the beginning of the series is mostly just trying to get through the day. Over the course of the series’ three seasons, through his friendship with Bridget Everett’s Sam and relationship with Tim Bagley’s Brad, the audience got to see Joel, and Hiller, blossom into a version of himself that was unimaginable at the start: sillier, brighter, and more confident in his sentimentality.
Canceled by HBO after three seasons, Somebody Somewhere never traded in large-scale dramatic moments or gigantic comedic set pieces, so after two seasons of getting utterly ignored by the Emmys, it seemed doomed to slink off of HBO completely unrecognized. But on nominations morning, the series received two nods: one for Hiller, in Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series, and one for its writing. It was a thrilling last-minute surprise for the series’ devoted fans — and for Hiller. When Vulture called Hiller, who is currently promoting his memoir, Actress of a Certain Age, for a post-nomination chat, he was, as expected, fluctuating between giggling maniacally and tearing up. “Look, I am the kind of actor that shows up for one day on a TV show to play a waiter and then I leave,” he said. “To be recognized as someone who’s talented feels really beautiful.”
Hello, Emmy nominee Jeff Hiller!
Oh my God. I am really into this. I’m going to have my husband constantly call me “Emmy-nominated Jeff.”
How are you feeling?
I mean, not bad! I am at Gate 95 in La Guardia and my flight to Boston is delayed, so this is nice.
Were you expecting the nomination this morning?
Are you insane? No. Nobody was expecting it. I can’t believe I’m going to say this, but I had truly given up hope. I was on the phone with my sister trying to buy her a plane ticket, and my agent called, and I was like, “Oh, I’ll call him back.” And then my manager called, and I was like, “Hold on. I feel like maybe I need to get this.” I thought maybe I’d gotten that recurring role I auditioned for on a Fox pilot. But it was this, and I was like, Holy shit.
What was your initial response?
Well, the first one was “Did the show get nominated too?” That’s a bummer. Then I was just like, I can’t believe this. It took a while to sink in, I have to tell you. After season one, people were like, “I think you’re going to get nominated,” and then nothing got nominated. So I thought, Oh, we’re just one of those shows that it doesn’t happen for.
Has it sunk in?
No! Now I’m sitting at Gate 95. I don’t know what I’m doing. Both my manager and my publicist wept. That’s how shocked they were. Jeremy Allen White’s team didn’t do that.
Somebody Somewhere did get nominated for writing.
I did know that because Bridget called me and said, “We all get to go together!” I can’t wait. I’m very much looking forward to wearing something extremely homosexual.
You could come dressed up as Nicole Scherzinger in Sunset Boulevard.
Complete with the blood on my neck.
What did Bridget say?
She said, “Congratulations!” And then I got a little too tender and was like, “Thank you for doing this.” And she’s like, “This ain’t about me. Stop doing that.”
How does the nomination feel in the wake of the show’s cancellation?
I’ve done a lot of work just feeling very grateful to have had the show at all, and I really do feel that way. And there’s also hope: Does this award nomination mean that maybe someday we’ll get to come back? Like Fuller House.
How does this nomination feel on a personal level, given that the industry is finally recognizing what a talent you are?
Oh God, that’s going to make me cry. It feels good. When I turned 40 and I was still temping and doing cater-waiter gigs and teaching improv and trying to get a commercial for FedEx, I thought all those dreams I had were dead. Then Bridget comes along and says, “Dreams don’t have deadlines,” with proper respect to LL Cool J. I wasn’t sure she was right. So it feels really good. The idea that I get to go to the Emmys? I’m not even thinking about winning. I can’t believe I get to be in the same room as Harrison Ford.
How does it feel to get this nomination in the midst of publicizing your new memoir?
I wish it had happened before I published the book. This would be a great ending. Although, actually, the whole thing in my book is about defining success for yourself. My success is against the statutes of the book. It’s all about the slog and how it isn’t glamorous for people who aren’t gorgeous and 25. So this does kind of tarnish my brand.
Do you have a memory from season three that’s coming to mind this morning?
The season-three plotline that meant the most to me was the moment where a former bully of Joel’s apologizes to him, and he forgives that bully without necessarily saying it was okay. He forgives him for himself. I am trying to live my life like Joel: being forgiving, being warm. This reminds me of the fact that people who are not necessarily appreciated in their youth are eventually appreciated for the good things they bring to the table. I cannot believe I’m nominated for an Emmy and I’m talking to Vulture because of it. I read these things! Now I’m one of them. How wild.
A few years back, I saw you perform Sally Field’s Oscars speech verbatim at Joe’s Pub. What speech do you think you’ll emulate if you win?
Remember when Merritt Wever got it and she was like, “Thank you,” and just walked away? That’ll be mine. Also, I remember when Nicole Kidman won, right after 9/11, and she said, “Why do you come to the Academy Awards when the world is in such turmoil? Because art is important.” I remember crying at that and then laughing at myself for crying.
Related