Jeff Hiller
Jeff Hiller (born December 7, 1975) is an American actor, improvisor and comedian. He is best known for his portrayal of Joel on the television series Somebody Somewhere, for which he won the 2025 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series.
Jeff Hiller
- Name
- Jeff Hiller
- Born
- 7 December 1975
- Birthplace
- San Antonio, Texas, U.S.
- Education
- Texas Lutheran University (BA)
- Occupation
- Actor
- Nationality
- United States
- Honours
- Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series
- Languages
- English
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In this article
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Jeff Hiller • Born — 7 December 1975 • Birthplace — San Antonio, Texas, U.S. • Education — Texas Lutheran University (BA) • Occupation — Actor • Years Active — 2001–present • Notable Works — Somebody Somewhere • Website — hillertime.com
Early life and education
Early life and education
Hiller grew up in San Antonio, Texas. He has a sister, Melissa, and was raised Lutheran. Hiller is a 1994 graduate of Winston Churchill High School in San Antonio, where he performed in some of his earliest theater productions. He enrolled at Texas Lutheran University with the intention of becoming a pastor, and though he completed theology coursework, his love of performing deepened and he earned a bachelor’s degree in theater in 1998. During his junior year of college, he studied in Namibia.
Career
Career
Hiller started performing improv comedy with the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in 2001 where he was part of the improv teams People People, The Scam, Creep, Rumpleteaser and Police Chief Rumble. He taught improv comedy for a decade. Hiller has appeared in various television series, including Guiding Light, Ugly Betty, 30 Rock, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Psych, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, and Community. Hiller appeared in the films Morning Glory and Ghost Town. Hiller was well-received for his performance as John Quincy Adams in the hit rock musical Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson. In 2018, Hiller replaced Drew Droege's solo show Bright Colors and Bold Patterns off-Broadway, which was directed by Michael Urie. Hiller played Joel for all three seasons of Bridget Everett's Peabody Award-winning series Somebody Somewhere (2022). Hiller won the 2025 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series for his performance. His memoir, Actress of a Certain Age: My Twenty-Year Trail to Overnight Success, was released June10, 2025. On the first printing of the book, the spine was misspelled, missing an "R" in the word Certain; Hiller joked about it on The Daily Show with Desi Lydic. In the 2025 revival of Urinetown, Hiller played the role of Mr.McQueen. In June 2025, Hiller served as a panelist on NPR's Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! and was interviewed by Terry Gross on Fresh Air in August 2025.
Personal life
Personal life
Hiller is gay and founded the all-gay improv troupe Neely O'Hara. Hiller is married to artist Neil Goldberg with whom he lives in New York City. Hiller has a medical condition called morphea, which causes hair loss, as well as other dermatological changes. His character on the series Somebody Somewhere, Joel, also has the condition.
Memoir
Memoir
*
Television
Television
• Year — Title — Role — Notes • 2004 — A2Z — Comedian Panelist — Episode: "Guns N' Roses" • 2005 — Starved — Gay Man — Episode: "3D" • 2006 — The P.A. — Jeff — 1 episode • 2008 — 30 Rock — Hotel Clerk — Episode: "Reunion" • 2008–2009 — Guiding Light — Francois the Tailor — 2 episodes • 2010 — Old Friends — Waiter — Episode: "Waverly Place" • Submissions Only — Gay 4 (Sonny) — Episode: "Old Lace" • Wiener & Wiener — Man — Episode: "Always a Bridesmaid" • Ugly Betty — Wilheldiva Fan — Episode: "Chica and the Man" • 2011 — 30 Rock — Stewart — Episode: "Double-Edged Sword" • Community — Glee Club Guy — Episode: "Regional Holiday Music" • Bored to Death — Emcee — Episode: "Forget the Herring" • Death Valley — Security Guard — Episode: "Tick... Tick... BOOM!" • Psych — Dwayne — Episode: "Last Night Gus" • Law & Order: Criminal Intent — Stan — 2 episodes • 2012 — Squad 85 — Macey — 3 episodes • Partners — Randy — 2 episodes • NTSF:SD:SUV: — Don — Episode: "The Return of Dragon Shumway" • Best Friends Forever — The Host — Episode: "Fatal Blow Out" • 2012–2013 — Campus Security — Lyle Moses — 6 episodes • 2013 — Raptor Raptor — Unnamed role — Episode: "How to Get a Job" • Go On — Eric the Actor — Episode: "Urn-ed Run" • 2014 — Dead Boss — Timothy — TV movie • The McCarthys — Phillip — 2 episodes • UCB Comedy Originals — Unnamed roles — 2 episodes • The Hotwives of Orlando — Antoine Donner — 4 episodes • Long Distance — Matt — 1 episode • 2015 — The Hotwives of Las Vegas — Antoine Donner — 3 episodes • Your Pretty Face Is Going to Hell — Wolfgang Ragekiss — Episode: "New-cronomicon" • 2015–2016 — Impastor — Jeffrey — 4 episodes • 2016 — Crazy Ex-Girlfriend — Harry — Episode: "That Text Was Not Meant for Josh!" • 2016–2017 — Nightcap — Phil Miller — 20 episodes • 2017 — Difficult People — Subway Man — Episode: "Sweet Tea" • Broad City — Tim — Episode: "Sliding Doors" • Playing House — Jeff — 3 episodes • ASAP Fables — Lion — Episode: "The Lion and His Privilege" • New York Is Dead — Dante — Web series • 2018 — Human Kind Of — Various roles — 10 episodes • West 40s — Ryan — Episode: "Forty Candles" • 2019 — Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt — Tomothy / Tomathy — 2 episodes • 2020 — Little America — Man with Cold — Episode: "The Silence" • 2022–2024 — Somebody Somewhere — Joel — 21 episodes • 2022 — American Horror Story: NYC — Gideon Whitely — 9 episodes • Evil — Chuck — Episode: "The Demon of Parenthood" • The Watcher — Therapist — Episode: "Haunting" • 2023 — FBI: Most Wanted — Rudolph Varitek — Episode: "Black Mirror" • 2023–2024 — American Horror Stories — Mr. Nevins — Episode: "Bestie" • Niles Taylor — Episode: "The Thing Under the Bed" • 2025 — Will Trent — Lance — Episode: "The Most Beautiful, Fierce, Smart, Powerful Creature in the Entire World" • King of Drag — Himself; guest judge — Episode: "Comedy" • Pluribus — Larry — Episode: "Please, Carol" • 2025–2026 — Stumble — Augustus — 2 episodes • 2026 — Elsbeth — Felix West — Episode: All's Hair • Ghosts — Jeff — season 5 episode 13 "St. Hetty's Day 2: The Help" • Widow's Bay — Dale — 6 Episodes
Podcasts
Podcasts
• Year — Title — Role — Notes • 2020 — Escape from Virtual Island — Waiter / Man No. 1 / Crowd (voice) — 11 episodes • 2017 — Mission To Zyxx — Bruce the Glam Droid (voice) — 1 episode
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
- New York City
Named but not plotted · 1
San Antonio.
Birth place
Films
• Year — Title — Role — Notes • 2008 — Dream Assassin — Waiter — Short • Ghost Town — Naked Guy • 2009 — Adam — Rom • 2010 — Morning Glory — Sam - Channel 9 Producer • 2011 — Bad Seed — Jeff — Short • 2012 — Gayby — Showgirls Fan Customer • 2013 — Gods Behaving Badly — First Follower • That Thing with the Cat — Rick • Chasing Taste — Chef Micah • Snore (Downton Abbey) — Unnamed role — Short • The Little Tin Man — Gregg — Independent film • 2015 — The Last Ones — Brad — Short • The Poets — Leonard — Short • 2016 — Sing! — Mark — Voice role • 2018 — Greta — Maitre D' Henri • Set It Up — Mexican Restaurant Waiter • 2020 — First One In — Frazzled Salesman • 2024 — Lost & Found in Cleveland — Graham Hargreaves
Awards and nominations
• Year — Award — Category — Nominee(s) — Result • 2022 — Peabody Awards — Entertainment — Somebody Somewhere • Independent Spirit Awards — Best Supporting Performance in a New Scripted Series • 2025 — Primetime Emmy Awards — Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series • 2026 — Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series — Pluribus
Text attribution
Licensing
Text attribution
Part of the biographical narrative on this page reuses licensed material. Its origin, revision and licence are recorded here.
The biographical narrative on this page is based on the Wikipedia article Jeff Hiller, revision 1373668508 (EN edition), by its contributors. VALÉORINE has edited that text and built its own documentary record around it. The reused material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, and this page's reuse of it is offered under the same licence. Everything else on this page — the chronology, the holdings, the evidence, the plates and the connections — is VALÉORINE's own record. Sources and licences.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Vital Records Index. sanantonio.gov.
- 2.Hiller, Jeff. Actress of a Certain Age: My Twenty-Year Trail to Overnight Success. Simon & Schuster Audio. 2025-06-10. 9781797193878.
- 3.Martinez, Kiko. Actor Jeff Hiller talks growing up in San Antonio and his HBO series Somebody Somewhere. San Antonio Current. 2023-07-02.
- 4.Rizzo, Carita. Jeff Hiller Is the Heart of 'Somebody Somewhere'. Shondaland. August 28, 2023.
- 5.2016 Bulldogs Football. TLUBulldogs.com. 3.
- 6.Tompkins, Molly. ‘Somebody Somewhere' Star Jeff Hiller on His San Antonio Roots. Texas Highways. 2025-06-10.
- 7.Schwartz, Missy. 'Somebody Somewhere' Star Jeff Hiller Is Still Getting Used to Being an Emmy Nominee: 'I Mean, It's Bonkers'. TheWrap. August 14, 2025.
- 8.Shaw, Rebecca. Jeff Hiller and Katherine LaNase's surprise Emmy wins buoy those of us who also don't fit a template to continue The Slog. The Guardian. September 18, 2025. 0261-3077.
- 9.ACTRESS OF A CERTAIN AGE Kirkus Reviews.
- 10.Jeff Hiller Talks New Book on 'The Daily Show'. Kirkus Reviews.
- 11.Rabinowitz, Chloe. Rainn Wilson, Kevin Cahoon, & More Complete URINETOWN Cast at Encores!. BroadwayWorld.com.
- 12.NPR. 'Wait Wait' for June 21, 2025: With Not My Job guest Ibtihaj Muhammad. June 21, 2025.
- 13.Voss, Brandon. Actor Jeff Hiller Is Always the Life of the Gay Party. Brandon Voss. January 25, 2018.
- 14.Jeff Hiller Came Out of Nowhere. It Only Took 20 Years. August 22, 2025.
- 15.Jeff Hiller has Morphea. Apple Podcasts.
- 16.Martinez, Kiko. Actor Jeff Hiller shares journey from San Antonio to Hollywood in new memoir Churchill HS grad uses humor to relive memories in 'Actress of a Certain Age'. MySanAntonio.com. June 22, 2025.
- 17.Voyles, Blake. 83rd Peabody Award Nominees. September 20, 2023.
- 18.Lattanzio, Ryan. 'Severance,' 'Pachinko,' 'The Rehearsal' Among Independent Spirit Award TV Nominees: Full List. IndieWire. December 13, 2022.
- 19.Gonzalez, Shivani. Emmy Nominees 2025: The Complete List. The New York Times. July 15, 2025.
- 20.Gomez, Dessi. Emmy Nominations 2026 List (Updating Live). Deadline Hollywood. July 8, 2026.
- 21.USA Network. Last Night Gus. September 17, 2011.
- 22.Jeff Hiller. Fort Lauderdale Improv.
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
reference work
Secondary witnessreference work
Secondary witness
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 28 September 2026.
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