Actress of a certain age My twenty-year trail to overnight success

Hiller, best known for his role in the HBO show Somebody Somewhere, strikes a balance between heartfelt and hilarious in his winning debut. Bringing a self-deprecating perspective to the account, Hiller describes himself as "an actor who isn't famous... who clawed, scraped, and fought their way to the lower-middle rung of the ladder." Each chapter shares a title with an A-list celebrity memoir: "Out on a Limb by Shirley MacLaine," for example, covers Hiller's struggles to get an agent, and offers the tongue-in-cheek advice, "If you are an actor and you want to get an agent, put in five to ten years of free work while you hold down multiple survival jobs, then meet an agent at a party." "Don't Stand Too Close to a Naked Man by Tim Allen" is an account of the time Hiller had to stand nearly naked in front of a bus of tourists for a small role in the film Ghost Town. It's balanced by "My Life So Far by Jane Fonda," a touching thank you to actor Bridget Everett for creating Somebody Somewhere and suggesting him for a role in it. Hiller's humanity and vulnerability are front and center, making for a touching account of the uncertainties that accompany an acting career. This hits all the marks. Agent: Robert Guinsler, Sterling Lord Literistic. (June)

Queer actor and comedian Hiller reflects on his long road toward eventual success in Hollywood. Most notable and recognizable for his work on the HBO seriesSomebody Somewhere, Hiller gets candid about the lean years prior to the upswing in his popularity and desirability as an actor. With passionate candor and humorous self-awareness, the author discusses the midlife crisis that made him consider purchasing a toupee and then seriously contend with an unhealthy relationship to food and his feelings of career underachievement and low self-esteem. As a "middle-aged homosexual," Hiller, 49, confesses to being a voracious reader of Hollywood actress memoirs, adoring the salacious secrets they spill, and conceding that "there is only so much fighting it before you just have to lean in and admit that you can't get enough of Candice Bergen talking about her life." This love of celebrity autobiography lends itself to the book's chapters, all named for bestselling celebrity memoirs (e.g.,My Life So Far by Jane Fonda), and celebrates the pitfalls of an openly gay struggling improv comic and television actor who "clawed, scraped, and fought their way to the lower-middle rung of the ladder." After having moved to Los Angeles in 2011, Hiller, armed with lofty career goals, soon realized the ill-fated struggle of endless auditions and the humiliation of low-paying bit parts, but his hysterical depiction of a Pilgrim in a Snickers commercial proved surprisingly lucrative. He describes the exasperation in trying for decades to score an agent to represent his talent, and the jobs he took in the meantime to make ends meet, like being the awkward "Naked Guy" standing on Manhattan's bustling Fifth Avenue in the 2008 filmGhost Town. Elsewhere, Hiller is raw and real in his gushing gratefulness to actress Bridget Everett for recommending him for the career-uplifting role of Joel inSomebody Somewhere. Suffused with charm and sparkling real-life anecdotes on the grueling Hollywood machine, Hiller's book is a must-read for any performer trying to make it in the entertainment industry. A chatty, hilarious, effervescently entertaining autobiography anchored by self-deprecating humility and humanity. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.