I love Jeff Hiller's memoir because it shows that "overnight success" takes decades.

You probably already know Jeff Hiller if you've seen HBO's great show Somebody Somewhere. He plays Joel, Bridget Everett's Sam's lovely and supportive best friend. He anchors the show with his warmth and comedy. But you might not realize that Hiller's "breakout" role occurred when he was 45 years old, after working in the business for decades. This journey is the main focus of his new memoir, Actress Of A Certain Age: My Twenty-Year Trail to Overnight Success. I can tell without a doubt that this book is a refreshing, brutally honest, and completely funny look at fame and struggle that is unlike any other celebrity memoir out there.

I love a good celebrity memoir, but I've read enough of them to know when they're using clichés. Hiller, who professes to reading hundreds of them obsessively, knows these clichés better than I do. He exploits what he knows to his advantage by writing a book that both agrees with and goes against the usual "rags to riches" story. It's not about becoming famous or having a lot of money. It's about working hard, having modest victories, and large failures, and never giving up on a dream that won't die.

A Memoir That Knows All the Rules and Breaks Them

The way Jeff Hiller sets out his chapters is brilliant.

The smart structure of Actress of a Certain Age is one of the first things that makes it stand out. There are twenty-four chapters, and each one is named after a real celebrity memoir. The title also includes the age at when the celebrity became famous. Hiller uses this to show how much longer it took him to become famous. He writes, "I don't feel sorry for the person who says it was a 'decade-long slog to success' when the decade they mean was from ages fifteen to twenty-five." His self-awareness and lighthearted annoyance are what make his point of view so charming. Not only is he sharing his tale, but he's also making a point about the whole genre of celebrity storytelling, which is great.

Hiller knows a lot about celebrity memoirs, so he knows which clichés to use and which to stay away from. He isn't hesitant to talk about the awkward times that most celebrities would probably leave out, which makes his biography feel very personal and approachable. He calls it a "sort of add up to a memoir" because it's a compilation of personal pieces. The fact that they aren't in chronological order makes it feel alive and conversational, which kept me reading.

Jeff Hiller's journey was anything but "overnight."

His journey to success in Hollywood was full with surprises.

It's hard to think that Hiller's appearance in Somebody Somewhere was his big break, as he had been acting for a long time. He has been acting for more than 20 years, including on Broadway, Off-Broadway, and in improv at the Upright Citizens Brigade. He has also had several small roles in TV shows and movies. Before he got his start in Hollywood, he worked as a social worker, helping homeless youths and stopping the spread of HIV. He tells a funny and horrifying story about taking blood from a customer for tests. This is just one example of the brutal honesty you'll discover in his book.

In 2010, Hiller made his Broadway debut in "Bloody, Bloody Andrew Jackson," and he thought he had "made it" in New York. But then he went to Los Angeles and "didn't work for four years." You don't often get this kind of reality check in other memoirs. He doesn't sugarcoat the hard work; he tells it like it is, which makes his eventual achievement feel deserved and very fulfilling. His experience shows us that the "Hollywood grind" is real and that hard work really does pay off.

His story about growing up and coming out is both sad and funny.

Hiller grew up "very gay" in Texas in the 1980s, when bullying was "much harder" for kids who were thought to be gay. He talks of being a bullied, closeted, church-going recluse, and writing about this time in his life helped him feel better. He also put in the speech he gave when he came out at 22, which he calls a "time capsule" reflecting the concerns and worries of being gay in 1998.

Hiller utilizes comedy to make these traumatic memories easier to bear, which lets the reality hit home emotionally. He learned to feel sorry for his younger self through this process, and I think a lot of readers will do the same for their own pasts. One of the best things about his writing is how he can mix sad and funny things together. This makes even the hardest situations seem easy to understand and, in the end, hopeful.

What Makes Jeff Hiller's Kind of "Fame" the Best

He loves being "Nine People's Favorite Thing."

Hiller doesn't want to be a huge star or make a lot of money. He claims he still has a mortgage, but he has discovered the "perfect amount of minor fame." He talks about a song from the musical "Title of Show" that says it's better to be "nine people's favorite thing" than "a hundred people's ninth-favorite thing." I couldn't agree more. He talks about fans who cry when they see him and beg for more Somebody Somewhere. In a world concerned with being famous, this down-to-earth view of success is very refreshing.

He always wanted to play a character with "a little depth," and he's glad that he finally got to do it with Joel. For a long time, he played characters whose only job was to "stop the main character from getting what they want." Hiller clearly cares more about significant parts than a lot of others, and his portrayal as Joel shows that he can add depth and emotion to a character.

He Wants More Than Just "Best Friend" Roles

Joel from Somebody Somewhere is a popular gay character, although Hiller has said that there aren't many opportunities for gay guys in Hollywood. He doesn't have to portray straight characters, but he wants to play someone "complicated," "morally ambiguous," or even a "anti-hero." He already shown his range by playing a serial murderer in American Horror Story: NYC. His dream job? He is in a "dishy limited series" where he gets to wear good clothes, maybe even on Season 4 of "The White Lotus." I want him to get those parts because he deserves them.

Hiller also thinks that sitcoms like Will & Grace, even though they got a lot of criticism, helped make homosexual people more relatable to a larger American audience, which led to more acceptance. This indicates that he knows how media affects culture as a whole and that he wants to produce stories that people can relate to and understand.

Actress of a Certain Age is more than just a memoir; it shows how hard it is to chase a dream and how important it is to embrace yourself. This book is a must-read for everyone who has ever felt like they weren't being seen or questioned their direction because Jeff Hiller is so honest, funny, and heartfelt. It reminds us that success can mean different things to different people and that the journey is often the best part.

Questions and Answers

What is the name of Jeff Hiller's new book?The title of his latest memoir is Actress of a Certain Age: My Twenty-Year Trail to Overnight Success.

What is Jeff Hiller most famous for?Jeff Hiller is most known for playing Joel in the HBO show Somebody Somewhere. He is Sam's best friend, who is played by Bridget Everett.

When Jeff Hiller got his big break, how old was he?Jeff Hiller was 44 or 45 years old when he got his big break as Joel in Somebody Somewhere.

What was Jeff Hiller's childhood like?Jeff Hiller was a gay boy in Texas in the 1980s who was bullied, kept his sexuality a secret, and went to church. He writes honestly about this in his memoir.

What are the main ideas in Jeff Hiller's memoir?His memoir talks about how he learned to be strong, embrace himself, the truth about working as an actor in Hollywood, growing up gay in the South, becoming a social worker, and how he became successful later in life.