Moments of brightness are few and far between in our current landscape, but we were lucky enough to experience a couple earlier this week.
If, on Tuesday morning, you heard high-pitched squeals from your neighbourhood, sorry, that was probably me after tuning into the Emmys broadcast just in time to see Jeff Hiller’s name announced. He had won Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series for his role as Joel on the beautiful and underrated TV show Somebody Somewhere.
Partly, the squeals were from pure shock. I don’t think anyone on god’s green earth considered that he might win, least of all Hiller, who on the red carpet before the announcement muttered to an interviewer: “We both know I’m not going to win.” He was up against big-name actors, including Harrison Ford, and Somebody Somewhere was tiny compared to the juggernaut shows his competitors starred in.
Hiller was asked beforehand what it would be like for him to win. It was not the usual false modesty from actors about the honour just to be nominated when he said: “For me, getting nominated is the prize – I was playing people without names before this.”
When his name was read out, my squeals were mirrored around the globe, including by the three other gay men in his category, who all looked first shocked and then genuinely delighted for him.
Bowen Yang, Michael Urie and Colman Domingo react to losing the Emmy to Jeff Hiller pic.twitter.com/7zVJwybXL7
— Principe (@Pri_Letterman) September 15, 2025
Part of that response is because of how great he is on the show, playing the pure-hearted Joel. He is so gangly and giggly and full of love, a perfect foil to Bridget Everett’s more dry and down vibe. Joel is a big change from Hiller’s previous roles, which he described as “mean waiters and flight attendants that took away your bag”, but turns out he’s brilliant at both. He is finally getting the moment he deserves.
It’s been a long, long, long time coming, almost as long as he is (nearly 2 metres). Jeff is 49 and has been a working actor for decades, churning out a career piece by piece. As he said in his speech: “I feel like I’m going to cry, because for the past 25 years, I have been like, ‘world, I want to be an actor!’ And the world was like, ‘maybe computers?’”
We were treated to two incredible moments in one night: 58-year-old Katherine LaNasa won Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for her excellent performance as nurse Dana in The Pitt. Similar to Hiller, she has been steadily working away as an actor for decades, all to appear “out of nowhere” and win the Emmy. Now her career is set up, or at the very least, she has a few years of security and well-paying work ahead. The dream.
For me, a 42-year-old comedy writer who aims high and continues to hobble and cobble pieces of a career together, these moments are priceless to witness. It sometimes feels like if you haven’t gained huge success by 30, you should think about walking into the sea. Seeing Jeff and Katherine up there will keep me on the shore for a while. Sorry to my enemies, but little boosts like this help stop me from abandoning my dreams (along with my girlfriend threatening to break up with me if I do) and moving to the woods to fulfil my destiny of becoming a scary hag woman.
It’s not that I then assume I’ll “make it”, whatever that even means in the dwindling landscape of television and art and needing 2m TikTok followers to get jobs. But it is a helpful reminder that there are still people out there getting their just rewards for The Slog. The people who don’t fit a template, who struggle to find their place, but who keep showing up, do get rewarded occasionally. The rest of us who also exist outside a mould feel it too.
It’s the dream not just because these two actors have been working hard, chipping away at the industry and have now gained success, but also because they achieved this success with work that is meaningful. LaNasa’s win comes after she underwent treatment for breast cancer in 2023, which gave a special tinge to her role in medical drama The Pitt. To see her have this moment, and to see a lanky 49-year-old gay man rewarded for a show like Somebody Somewhere is heartwarming.
There’s something deeply affirming, borderline medicinal, about seeing these wins. Like countless others trying to “make it”, I have worked hard and will keep working hard. When Hiller and LaNasa won, it wasn’t just a victory for them. It was a victory for all of us on the grind – and I will be there squealing next time too.
• Rebecca Shaw is a writer based in Sydney
