Following his Emmy triumph for his performance in Somebody Somewhere, Jeff Hiller’s schedule remains packed with exciting projects. He recently completed a standout guest appearance on NBC’s cheerleading mockumentary, Stumble. This series, produced by Monica Aldama—known from Netflix’s Cheer and former coach of the acclaimed Navarro College Bulldogs—features Coach Courteney Potter, played by Jenn Lyon. After being ousted from her previous position, Potter assembles a group of underdogs to establish a new team at Headltston State Junior College.

To secure financial backing for her squad, Potter turns to the enigmatic town benefactor, Augustus Blimpfh. Hiller shines in this role as the eccentric German proprietor of a candy button factory, whose family background is shrouded in mystery. Discussing his character’s voice, Hiller shared that the creative team envisioned a “Willy Wonka-esque” figure with a hint of a German accent. “I told them, ‘I can either do no accent or go full cartoonish Bond villain,’” Hiller recounted with a chuckle. His exaggerated delivery perfectly complements the comedic exchanges with Lyon, whom he regards as the “queen of comedy.” Hiller praised Lyon’s ability to deliver jokes with a poker face, enhanced by her signature bold red lipstick.

Hiller also credited Aldama for his casting in the role, revealing that she was a fan of Somebody Somewhere and recommended him for Stumble. “I adore her,” Hiller stated. The success of the HBO comedy has significantly boosted Hiller’s popularity, thanks to his award-winning portrayal of Joel, the loyal friend to Bridget Everett’s Sam. When asked about the possibility of the show’s return, Hiller eagerly expressed his enthusiasm, saying, “If you called me today, I’d drop everything to do it again.”

In a Zoom interview with Decider, Hiller discussed his experience working on Stumble, his recent role on Pluribus, and the special place he keeps his Emmy statue.

DECIDER: Jeff, I’m curious about how the role of Augustus Blimpfh, the candy button factory owner, was first introduced to you.

JEFF HILLER: They said we want to have someone who’s a little Willy Wonka-esque with maybe a slight German accent. I was like, “I have no accent or a cartoonish Bond villain accent and that’s it.” Turned out, they liked the cartoonish Bond villain one. It was so much fun.

Did having that accent help you find the character?

Yes, but it’s funny. Initially, they were like, “we want this to play as grounded and real.” [Laughs] I was like, “really?” We did it a couple of times, and they’re like, “we’ll just try one with the thick accent for fun.” Now that I’ve seen the episode, I’m like, “well, you didn’t choose any of the grounded or real ones.”

You go toe-to-toe with the great Jenn Lyon. What was it like working with her?

Listen, I could speak for days about how great Jenn Lyon is. I am so happy that she is the lead of a television show. She’s so good. She was so laser focused and so brilliant when her character Courteney is in coach mode. She was clearly inspired by Monica [Aldama] as is obvious to anyone who watched Cheer on Netflix during the pandemic. Jenn’s also the queen of comedy. She manages to be so subtle and straight faced, but lands every single joke. And she does it in a bold red lip. Please sign me up for ten seasons and a movie [laughs].

You mention Monica Aldama who is an Executive Producer on the series. Did you get to meet her?

I love her. I’m also from Texas, and I know that woman quite well. She’s the type of woman who is like, “I know how to get things done, and I’m not going to make a big spectacle about myself, but I am going to demand excellence.” I really admire her. It turns out she watched Somebody Somewhere and was the one who recommended me for the show.

During the filming of the Buttons’ routine at Button Day, you had the best seat in the house! Were you impressed by the cheerleaders’ routine? Do you yourself marvel at the flyer’s flight?

So good! Monica was like: “Oh, this is nothing. NBC won’t let us do anything because of safety!” [Laughs] Some of the actors who had no cheerleading experience were being lifted up and saying, “that’s easy.” I was like, “it seems pretty hard to me!” Taylor Dunbar, the young woman who plays Peaches, just graduated from Juilliard about three weeks ago. She’s not a cheerleader, but she was doing everything so well! They brought in a ringer to do the backflips and stuff, but she did a lot of those moves herself. I was so impressed. There are two kids who are actual cheerleaders on Monica’s squad. Those are the ones you mostly see effortlessly flying through the air.

You’re not the only guest star in this week’s episode. Busy Phillips appears as Peaches’ “slightly” older sister. What did you think of her performance?

I met her at a Rachel Antonoff fashion show. You know, one of those ones where the comedians are the models [laughs]. I read her book, so I was like, “oh, I like you.” It was fun to just hang out with her on set during the Button Day festivities. She was about to go to the Bette Midler Halloween party and she was showing me her Moonstruck costume. What I really love in her performance is this really goofy dance she does in the audience during the cheer routine. She’s such a glamorous human being, but she is able to turn on, turn off the glamor. She made me laugh really hard.

This was Augustus Blimpfh’s first appearance in the series. Would you be open to reprising the role later down the line?

Of course! Playing a wacko character on a show that shoots in New York? Yes, I will be back.

Stumble is not the only show you’ve guest starred on recently. You also were on Pluribus. Given the secrecy surrounding that show, I’m interested in how the role of Larry was pitched to you?

When I auditioned, they said, “you’re Carol’s father, and you’re talking about her dead mother.” I was like, “oh my God, they think I’m old enough to play Rhea Seehorn’s father?” I had no idea what the show was about. None. So, I showed up for my fitting, and they pulled out some bicycle outfit, and I was like, “what is this show?” They were like, “oh, we don’t know if we can tell you.”

Rhea texted me, which was the first time that the lead of a show ever texted me out of the blue, and was like, “hey, do you want to rehearse this week?” I showed up on Friday for fitting and we were shooting on Monday and Tuesday, so we met up on the weekend with the episode’s writer/EP Alison Tatlock and director Zetna Fuentes. They were so generous to give up their Sunday to help me understand what the heck was going on. I knew the general concept, but now I’m watching the show as a fan, and I’m like, “oh, I didn’t realize that was what I meant.” However, I did already know that Miriam Shor played her wife because I saw photos in the house [laughs]. I’m a detective!

Obviously, you’re now an Emmy winner for your work on Somebody Somewhere. Where do you keep your statue?

It’s sitting right there on my bookshelf. It’s not a good spot where I have it. I live in a one-bedroom apartment. What would make sense is to put it in an office, but I do not have an office [laughs]. So, I don’t know where it’s going to end up. I tried to hide it there so that when you walk in the door, it’s not the first thing you see. It feels a little ostentatious to be like, “hello, welcome to my award winning home.” I tried to put it on the toilet because I thought that’d be so funny, but my toilet is too small. Plus, I didn’t want poop dust getting on it.

Is it too soon to talk about a Somebody Somewhere revival? How eager would you and Bridget Everett be to return to that world?

If you called me today, I would cancel my plans tonight. We would be there in a heartbeat. We love those characters. Every time we get together, we think about what they would be doing. I just Marco Polo’d Bridget this morning, and we were talking about how it’s been a year. Those characters are real people to us, and life keeps going. So yeah, everybody would come back and do more episodes. There’s nobody who wouldn’t do it.