HBO is currently running the third—and last—season of Somebody Somewhere, the Peabody Award-winning that stars Bridget Everett in a series set in rural Kansas, although part of the show was actually filmed in Lockport, Illinois.
Among the show’s co-stars are queer actors Jeff Hiller and Tim Bagley, who portray a couple; and drag-king entertainer Murray Hill. Hiller recently talked with Windy City Times about the show and more.
Note: This conversation was edited for clarity and length.
Windy City Times: Before we dive into Somebody Somewhere, I need to ask you something: How’s Neely O’Hara [Hiller’s all-gay improv troupe]?
Jeff Hiller: [Laughs] Well, we’ve scattered to the winds now! We’re still actually in touch. It started because we were all in theater; when I started, I was the only gay person. We all wanted to perform with each other. It was so exciting, but we were also another team called Feathers and Flannel. [Laughs] Then it morphed into Neely O’ Hara. But we’re all still great friends.
WCT: I only saw the movie Valley of the Dolls [featuring the character Neely O’Hara] a few years ago—and I think I’m still processing it.
Hiller: [Laughs] Have you seen Beyond the Valley of the Dolls, by Chicago’s own Roger Ebert?
WCT: Yes. I don’t know what he was on when he wrote it…
Hiller: …But it was definitely something! [Laughs]
The same group of people who did Neely O’Hara did Showgirls: The Best Movie Ever Made Ever, where we did a dramatic reading of Showgirls while there were interviews about playing [screenwriter] Joe Eszterhas. [Laughs]
WCT: And Showgirls has this cult status, especially in the queer community.
Hiller: Yeah! And we all just jumped to this idea that [Elizabeth Berkley] was bad or terrible. No—she was, like, a victim of Hollywood. The writing was terrible!
WCT: So you filmed Somebody Somewhere in Chicago, but primarily in Lockport. What was that like?
Hiller: It was great! Murray and I lived together for season three and all three of us—Bridget, Murray and I—lived together for seasons one and two. But I had gotten a dog between two and three, and I wasn’t sure that my dog would get along with Bridget’s. Murray was always [saying], “We’ve got to be careful. If anyone comes, I’m grabbing your hand!” [Laughs]
WCT: But Lockport wasn’t that bad, was it?
Hiller: Oh—not at all! In fact, it was better than Glen Ellyn. [Laughs] But we didn’t live in Lockport; we lived in Lemont. We were there in June and when we saw a Pride flag, we would say, “Oh—there’s a Pride flag!” And when we came into Chicago, we said, “There are Pride flags everywhere!” [Laughs] In a way, being there reminded me of the show: Not every space is safe, but there is somewhere—even in a small town like Lockport. In fact, several people have DM’d me on Instagram…
WCT: Is that so?
Hiller: [Laughs] No one ever DM’s me THAT way! They would say they were grateful that, instead of making fun of Midwestern culture, we were celebrating Midwestern culture.
WCT: I saw where The New Yorker called the show a “hangout dramedy.” What do you think of that label?
Hiller: Yeah, I guess so. It’s more character-focused than plot-focused, so it’s not like Succession. [Laughs] Will Sam [Everett’s character] find the tesseract? It really is about relationships and community, and even though the show is ending, you know that Sam, Joel [Hiller’s character], Brad [Bagley’s character] and Tricia [Sam’s sister] are going to go on. They feel so authentic that you want to hang out with them, so good call, New Yorker. [Laughs]
WCT: I’ll let them know you approve. [Hiller laughs.] Could you talk about how the dynamic between Joel and Sam has developed over the seasons?
Hiller: When they first meet, Sam literally doesn’t remember Joel [from high school], but Joel remembers everything about Sam. In the first season, Sam was leaning heavily on Joel and he’s obsessed with her—her talent. And when you grow up as Joel does—he says, “A lot of people don’t remember me,” which I can relate to—that recognition was such a powerful thing. In season two, they were more equal; they have this intense bond that may be even a little unhealthy. In season three, you start to see how Sam is there for Joel, too; at one point, you see her help Brad do something for Joel. And then she’s there to listen to Joel—and I think that’s really special for him.
WCT: I actually saw Murray Hill emcee an event called “Chicago Takes Off” a few years ago—and he was HI-larious, as opposed to just being hilarious.
Hiller: [Laughs] And when you see him in that element you’re, like… [Hiller goes slack-jawed]. And Bridget, too.
WCT: I didn’t know she could sing like that.
Hiller: Yeah—and she is so funny and has this wildly different persona; she’s like a wild animal. Murray is so funny because he’ll do a stand-up show and will send me his set; he’ll ask me to punch up his jokes. I’ll say, “You have way too much here and you know you’re not going to do any of this because you’re going to improvise—and you’re going to be hilarious. You don’t need all these bits.” [Laughs] That’s when he’s himself—when he’s on stage. He’s HI-larious. [Laughs]
WCT: You’re welcome—and you can keep that.
Hiller: [Laughs] I just might. You know, when I was in Denver I was in an improv group called Mile High-larity. [Laughs]
WCT: I believe it. By the way, I didn’t know that you’re married.
Hiller: Yes—we’ve been together for 17 years.
WCT: And what’s the secret?
Hiller: Don’t leave. [Laughs] Yeah—neither one of you leave.
WCT: So do more people recognize you from this show or American Horror Story [where he played gay serial killer Mr. Whitely in the “NYC” season]?
Hiller: It kinda depends. Once in a while, somebody will say, “I love your show. You are so good in it. I love the part where you cut up the gay guy”—and I’m, like, “Oh.” [Laughs] But I think I’m recognized more for Somebody Somewhere. But I do love horror movies.
WCT: So do I! What’s your favorite?
Hiller: I love the original Scream. Every Halloween, I watch the Drew Barrymore scene. And I love the first 15 minutes of When a Stranger Calls—that Carol Kane movie from the ‘70s.
WCT: I never understood why she didn’t actually check on the children. If someone is constantly calling and saying these things, my first instinct would be to check on the children. Of course, my head would be rolling down the stairs afterward.
Hiller: [Laughs] It was kind of weird. Maybe you’ve got to keep the scare going. But I like those kinds of movies—the ones that play with your mind. I also love the super-gay Nightmare on Elm Street.
WCT: Asking you something I’ve asked several other people, what is it like for you to be part of the queer community in today’s America?
Hiller: I only recently really felt like part of the community, although I’ve been out as queer for a really long time. We’re talking about a big, big cloud with a tiny silver lining, but the right’s focus on oppressing queer people does unite us. It does make us say that we have to protect each other. I do feel that unity now, and I cherish that. Also, I think we’re getting to the point where we’re moving past stereotypes and into humanity. When you see a queer person on TV, it doesn’t have to be a snappy queen; we can see a trans man who’s a soil scientist or a middle-aged unconventional gay guy who’s a little femme of center. Even playing a gay serial killer, if you dig a little deeper you see a gay man who was killing gay men to show that cops don’t care when gay men die. [Laughs] But it does show that there’s more queer representation, and more nuances to that representation.