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The surest sign of a gay man in crisis is that hes just decided to adopt a dog.
Thats what Jeff Hillers character Joel does in the latest episode ofSomebody Somewhere.
I need to know how you found that dog who plays Roger.
Her name is Charlie.
This is her first professional acting gig.
I dont want to brag, but I got it in one take!
We were losing the light, and also a real storm was rolling in.
The week we were filming the tornado episode, an actual tornado hit the neighborhood we were in.
Bridget and I were living in the same house, and she was so Kansas calm.
I was texting her saying, Theres a tornado.
Should we go in the basement?
Shes like, Eh, its kind of cold down there, so we just didnt.
And there was a lightning storm coming!
You mustve known going in that this would be an important moment for Joel.
How did you prepare for it?Theres a joke answer and a real answer.
It was so nice and so different from every other gay character in mainstream television.
He does want to have a family.
It feels like Joel is always trying to create community and bring people in his life together.
That must be a lovely aspect to play.Ive never played a character whos likable before.
Ive always played the mean waiter or the bitchy flight attendant.
Its so nice to play that.
Its also something I aspire to be.
I want to be the person who throws the dinner party, but I dont have that skill set.
I love that I get to pretend to be that person whos created a whole world at Choir Practice.
Its rare to see a character like that, gay or straight, on TV.
Or maybe Ive just watchedSuccessiontoo much.
This show brings together so many people from what feels like the Joes Pubadjacent downtown New York theater world.
It was like mirroring the show where we were creating a community together and we were really bonding.
But we were shooting like ten scenes a day, so it was actually quite helpful.
With that prep, we could give one perfect take and then give a couple more that had spunk.
In episode four, Joels given an offer to become part of the ministry.
He decides against it, partially because hes anxious about secretly holding Choir Practice in the church.
But he also has this strong moral center that is true to him.
Its not about following church dogma, but what is right to him.
Bridget has talked about Sam as an alternate-universe version of herself if she had stayed in Kansas.
I was a theology major in college, and I was planning on going to seminary.
The only reason I didnt was because I came out.
I had the choice to stay in Texas and be a part of a faith community.
I even found one that accepted queer folks and was a really nice place to be.
The show feels exactly like that, except I wouldnt be the person creating the community.
I wanted that to be my exclusive outlet.
For Joel, its a fun part of a community, not the driving force.
For me, its a driving force.
Im just this gaping hole of need for the audience to clap.
I want to know about Joels vision board.
Before I had been to Europe, that was a big goal.
I just wanted to get to Europe.
Not just the U.K.!
Foreign languages and everything.
Its like dipping your toe into world travel.
Its a very bizarre version of a cabaret, and its also being filmed at 10 a.m.
I dont like conflict, but my whole IMDb page is playing somebody whos mean to the main character.
Ive never really played anyone nice.
I started crying because no other actor had been nice to me in a scene.
They were always giving me side-eye.
That this character is nice is so good.
Id just be like, Oh, fun!
Good for you with the underwear and the wine.
Shes a national treasure!
And I was like, What if I break Isabelle Huppert?
And she was, like, way tougher than me.
She could have plowed me down in a heartbeat.
