Jeff Hiller (born 1975) is an American actor and comedian, best known for his portrayal of Joel on ''
Somebody Somewhere''. He is also known for his role as Mr. Whitely in ''
American Horror Story: NYC''.
Life and career
Hiller grew up in
San Antonio
San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...
, Texas, and graduated from
Texas Lutheran University in 1998.
Hiller started performing improv comedy with the
Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre
The Upright Citizens Brigade (UCB) is an improvisational and sketch comedy group that emerged from Chicago's ImprovOlympic in 1990. The original incarnation of the group consisted of Amy Poehler, Matthew Walsh, Matt Besser, Ian Roberts, Ad ...
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
''Guiding Light'' (known as ''The Guiding Light'' before 1975) is an American radio and television soap opera. ''Guiding Light'' aired on CBS for 57 years between June 30, 1952, and September 18, 2009, overlapping a 19-year broadcast on radio ...
'', ''Ugly Betty
''Ugly Betty'' is an American comedy-drama television series developed by Silvio Horta, which aired on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from September 28, 2006, to April 14, 2010. It is based on the Colombian telenovela ''Yo soy Betty, la fea' ...
'', ''30 Rock
''30 Rock'' is an American satire, satirical sitcom television series created by Tina Fey that originally aired on NBC from October 11, 2006, to January 31, 2013. The series, based on Fey's experiences as head writer for ''Saturday Night Live' ...
'', '' Law & Order: Criminal Intent'', ''Psych
''Psych'' is an American detective comedy-drama television series created by Steve Franks for USA Network. The series stars James Roday as Shawn Spencer, a young crime consultant for the Santa Barbara Police Department whose "heightened o ...
'', '' Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt'', and ''Community
A community is a social unit (a group of people) with a shared socially-significant characteristic, such as place, set of norms, culture, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given g ...
''. Hiller appeared in the films ''Morning Glory
Morning glory (also written as morning-glory) is the common name for over 1,000 species of flowering plants in the family Convolvulaceae, whose taxonomy and systematics remain in flux. These species are distributed across numerous genus, gene ...
'' and ''Ghost Town
A ghost town, deserted city, extinct town, or abandoned city is an abandoned settlement, usually one that contains substantial visible remaining buildings and infrastructure such as roads. A town often becomes a ghost town because the economi ...
''. Hiller was well-received for his performance as John Quincy Adams
John Quincy Adams (; July 11, 1767 – February 23, 1848) was the sixth president of the United States, serving from 1825 to 1829. He previously served as the eighth United States secretary of state from 1817 to 1825. During his long diploma ...
in the hit rock musical
A rock musical is a musical theatre work with rock music. The genre of rock musical may overlap somewhat with album musicals, concept albums and song cycles, as they sometimes tell a story through the rock music, and some album musicals and concep ...
'' Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson''. In 2018, Hiller replaced Drew Droege
Andrew Gerhardt Droege (pronounced ; born February 9, 1977) is an American actor, comedian, writer, and director best known for his online impressions of Chloë Sevigny.
Early life and education
Droege attended and graduated from Lincolnton Hig ...
's solo show ''Bright Colors and Bold Patterns'' off-Broadway and it was directed by Michael Urie
Michael Lorenzo Urie (born August 8, 1980) is an American actor. He is known for his portrayal of Marc St. James on the ABC comedy drama television series ''Ugly Betty'' and Brian on the Apple TV+ series '' Shrinking'', a role for which he won ...
.
From 2022-2024, Hiller played Joel in Bridget Everett’s Peabody Award
The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Foster Peabody, George Peabody, honor what are described as the most powerful, enlightening, and in ...
-winning series ''Somebody Somewhere''.
In 2025 revival of ''Urinetown
''Urinetown: The Musical'' is a satirical comedy musical that premiered in 2001, with music by Mark Hollmann, lyrics by Hollmann and Greg Kotis, and book by Kotis. It satirizes the legal system, capitalism, social irresponsibility, populism, bur ...
'', Hiller played the role of Mr. McQueen.
Personal life
Hiller is gay, and was founder of the all-gay improv troupe Neely O'Hara. Hiller is married.
Filmography
Films
Television
Podcasts
Awards and nominations
References
External links
*
Jeff Hiller's personal website
1970s births
21st-century American male actors
American gay actors
American LGBTQ comedians
American male comedians
American male film actors
American male television actors
Comedians from San Antonio
Gay comedians
LGBTQ people from Texas
Living people
Male actors from San Antonio
Place of birth missing (living people)
Texas Lutheran University alumni
Upright Citizens Brigade Theater performers
Year of birth missing (living people)
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