Loretta Swit, who played libido-driven Maj. ‘Hot Lips' Houlihan on ‘M*A*S*H,' dies at 87
Swit was found by her housekeeper around 10 a.m., according to publicist Harlan Boll, who said he had been on the phone with her at 11 p.m. local time Thursday night — 2 a.m. Friday in New York. Her doorman saw her drop something in the mail at 4 a.m. Friday, New York time, Boll said, and six hours later, she was gone.
The actor — born Loretta Jane Szwed on Nov. 4, 1937, in Passaic, N.J. — loved playing Hot Lips so much that she was the only performer other than Alan Alda who stayed on the series from its pilot in 1972 through its much-watched finale in 1983. 'M*A*S*H,' set during the Korean War, was a sitcom but also more than that to Swit.
'There is, I think, an intelligence behind the humor,' she told The Times in 1977. 'The audience is huge, and they deserve to be entertained on the highest level we can achieve.'
Though her portrayal of the libido-driven blond in fatigues and Army boots catapulted Swit to household-name status, she had been in acting since before her 8th birthday in stage productions and musicals in New York. She left home at 17 to work in the theater, temping at secretarial jobs while studying at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts.
A confessed workaholic, Swit moved easily from comedy to drama, acting in 'Same Time, Next Year,' 'Mame' and 'The Odd Couple' before moving to Los Angeles to star in 'M*A*S*H.' She appeared in iconic series such as 'Hawaii Five-O,' 'Mission: Impossible' and 'Mannix,' and had a productive television career until very recently.
Her most recent TV appearance was as herself in the 2024 Fox tribute special 'M*A*S*H: The Comedy That Changed Television.'
Her theater work was plentiful, and in addition to Broadway, off-Broadway, regional and national work, included shows in Southern California. She joined Harry Hamlin in 'One November Yankee' at the NoHo Arts Center in 2012, three years after doing a reading of the play with a different actor at the Pasadena Playhouse.
'M*A*S*H' filmed its outdoor scenes at Malibu Creek State Park, where the set was re-created for fans' enjoyment in 2008.
'It's thrilling to be honored in this way,' Swit told The Times that year. 'I think if I had to sum it up, what we're most proud of is that we made everybody come together. And I think this will also bring people together.'
Swit was nominated for five Emmys for her Hot Lips role and won for supporting actress in a comedy, variety or music series in 1980 and 1982. She garnered four Golden Globe nominations for her work on 'M*A*S*H,' in the lead and supporting actress categories, but did not win.
She was given a star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame in 1989, near what is now the home of Amoeba Music.
An animal lover, Swit set up the SwitHeart Animal Alliance to prevent cruelty and end animal suffering. The alliance worked with numerous nonprofit organizations and programs to protect, rescue, train and care for animals and preserve their habitat, while raising public awareness about issues that concern domestic, farm, exotic, wild and native animals.
She created an art book, 'SwitHeart: The Watercolour Artistry & Animal Activism of Loretta Swit,' which includes 65 of her full-color paintings and drawings and 22 of her photographs. Proceeds went to animal causes, and the 2016 Betty White Award from the group Actors and Others for Animals was but one of the many honors she received for her philanthropic work.
Former freelance writer T.L. Stanley contributed to this report.
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Los Angeles Times
34 minutes ago
- Los Angeles Times
‘The Studio' guide to L.A.: Where your favorite characters live, eat, shop, exercise and more
The characters on 'The Studio' — the Apple TV+ hit that recently earned a record-breaking 23 Emmy nominations, the most ever for a freshman comedy — don't have much of a life outside the confines of their high-pressure jobs running the fictional Continental Studios. But they do get out from time to time. And when they do, the show presents a view of Los Angeles that's both sardonic and affectionate, portraying a place where dreams can come true, provided you're not stuck on the 405 at rush hour. (Which, to be clear, is pretty much any time of day.) 'L.A. is a wild, crazy, partially s—, madhouse,' says Evan Goldberg, one of the show's creators and, with Seth Rogen, its co-director. 'But it's also a magical, artistic haven of crazy people with a lot of ambition and/or creative energy they want to share.' We asked the show's Emmy-nominated actors — Ike Barinholtz, Kathryn Hahn, Catherine O'Hara and Rogen — how their characters channel that creative energy into their downtime in the City of Angels. Grab your infrared sauna blanket and pour yourself a sparkling water with three lemons. This is 'The Studio' guide to Los Angeles. Continental Studios' creative exec, a divorced dad, a survivor, albeit one who's anxious (for good reason) about navigating the new sensibilities of Hollywood. Favorite neighborhood: He lives in the Hollywood Hills. Why? It has the name Hollywood in it, and he still thinks that if you're super-successful in this business and single, having a place up is the way to go. You don't need a backyard. You don't need space for your kids to go on walks. You're single, and your kids only come once every other week, so it's just a bachelor living up in the hills. Last concert seen at the Hollywood Bowl: He went on a date with a much younger actress to see Imagine Dragons. And he did not have a great time. Clothing brand that dominates his closet: For Sal, the height of fashion is Tim Robbins' Armani suits in 'The Player,' suits that are ever-so-slightly big. In his downtime, he's the kind of guy who likes to go to Nordstrom and do a lot of damage. Earth tones, no matter what. Go-to date spot: Definitely Sunset Tower. He also has a membership to the San Vicente Bungalows, but he's mad at them because they made a date put the sticker on her phone camera. He got into it with the maître d': 'You don't trust that my date is not going to take pictures?' They finally relented and let her take the tape off, and she took a bunch of pictures of celebrities. So he's not in a great place with the San Vicente Bungalows, which is why he's back at the Sunset Tower. Most-shared wellness tip: He's an IV guy. So when you hit it a little too hard, this guy will come to your office. He hooks you up, the whole thing in and out in 25 minutes, and you feel like you did not drink a bottle of vodka the night before. Favorite place to see a movie: Sal loved the ArcLight because they had great parking and you could smoke weed on the roof and no one ever stopped you. But now that the ArcLight's gone, I could see him doing Mann's Chinese with his daughters. Sal Saperstein is not afraid of Hollywood Boulevard. He loves it. He loves Musso's and he loves the charm of it. And, yes, he still calls it Mann's Chinese. And people are like, 'It's not called that anymore.' And he's like, 'What are you gonna do? Cancel me?' Workout routine: He has hired a guy who comes to his home to do cardio boxing three times a week, but he so often cancels that he's basically just paying this guy $500 a week to do nothing. He has good intentions, but the follow-through is not great. The Grove, adore or avoid? He thinks of it as a gem. It brings him back to when he would go there with his children and they would meet Santa. Also, he's met Rick Caruso and they're friendly. Rush-hour coping mechanism: He has a little weed vape pen that he can hit whenever he's feeling traffic stress. And he has a lot of playlists, classic rock, first wave. He's definitely mourning Ozzy [Osbourne], admiring him for the great music and also pivoting to TV and creating an empire. Local news that would darken his doorstep: He knew people involved in the USC cheating scandal. 'We belong to the Jonathan Club together. He's gone down for that. That really sucks.' What the TikTok / Instagram algorithm serves him most: Vacation spots. People going out on Ritz-Carlton cruises. Plastic surgeons talking about what work Hollywood people have gotten done, because Sal is probably going to be like one of those guys that around 55 starts really f— with his face. Power-lunch order: Grilled chicken paillard with a green salad and two martinis. He's a Vesper boy. It gets him through till 5 o'clock. Most L.A. complaint: Navigating LAX is very stressful, even if you're incredibly wealthy. He's mad that he has to deal with LAX bull—. 'Why are we not moving? Why is traffic completely stopped here?' He just flew back from New York and the driver that they hired for him isn't there, and he has to go up to departures. He believes L.A. is such a great city, it needs to have a better airport. Audacious, profane marketing executive who views herself, quite rightly, as the most creative person in the room. Favorite neighborhood: I'll tell you this, she can't drive 'east of the 405' and has been saying that since the early '90s. In fact, she came up with it. She loves Sycamore Avenue. There's a Tartine and the clothing store Just One Eye, which is insanely expensive but she still loves to shop there. Clothing brand that dominates her closet: Fear of God. Probably her stylist was like, 'It's very niche, uncomfortably raw fashion.' It's very forward, and that's what she likes. Go-to date spot: San Vicente Bungalows. She was one of the founding members. She put her cash down right away because she was so sick of the freaking Soho House. San Vicente Bungalows are cooler and chiller. But honest to God, she hasn't been on a date in two decades, unless you count Raya. Most-shared wellness tip: Ayurvedic, but only because you can s— a lot. For her, it's all about the old-school colonic. A massage takes too long. Favorite place to see a movie: While sweating in an infrared sauna blanket. And she's only watching screeners of upcoming releases. She hasn't watched a movie for pleasure in years. Workout routine: In her office at lunch with Dave, her trainer. She loves to get 'stretched out.' The Grove, adore or avoid? Never. She can't handle the parking garage. It's the same reason she doesn't go to the Hollywood Bowl. The inconvenience drives her crazy. Rush-hour coping mechanism: Matt Belloni — or the sound of her own screaming. Local news that would darken her doorstep: Anything about road closures due to f— marathons. What the TikTok / Instagram algorithm serves her most: Mukbangs. Power-lunch order: The chicken paillard at Il Pastaio — pounded, pounded, pounded. Extra pounded. And a sparkling water with three lemons. Most L.A. complaint: 'I might lose you in the canyon.' Straight-talking former studio head, now a mentor to Matt Remick and enjoying her own production deal at Continental. Favorite neighborhood: Culver City. She likes the history and wants to be close to all the studios. Her work is her life. Last concert seen at the Hollywood Bowl: Oh, it's been a while, I think. She's been busy. Probably Garry Shandling. He was good. God bless him. Clothing brand that dominates her closet: Max Mara. Lots of beige and pumpkin. She definitely got sucked into having her season done, so she knows she's an autumn. The clothes aren't the highest end. She'd rather spend her money on food and booze and travel. Go-to date spot: Chinois on Main. Or Mr. Chow. You can talk over shared dishes. And there's always someone she knows in the room, so if the date goes south, she can call them over to the table. Those places are also good because she can see if they know how to use chopsticks. If they ask for a fork, there's no second date. Most-shared wellness tip: All you need is a solid five hours of sleep. But it's got to be continuous. Favorite place to see a movie: She has a nice home theater, good sound, comfy chairs. Really comfy. Beautiful couches and chaise longues. It doesn't look like anyone else's movie theater. Workout routine: Hiking in the hills. And when I say 'hills,' I mean hilly residential streets, like in Brentwood, so she can look at homes and gardens and in people's windows and get some more good ideas for landscaping and decorating. The Grove, adore or avoid? Avoid. Before the fires, it would have been the one in the Palisades. She hopes it'll come back. Rush-hour coping mechanism: Yacht rock. Michael McDonald. The Doobie Brothers. Christopher Cross. What the TikTok / Instagram algorithm serves her most: She scans it every once in a while if she's bored or if she can't sleep. But social media isn't her thing. She's got people to monitor that. Power-lunch order: A salad with grilled chicken or salmon. It used to be with a glass of rosé, but she's cut back on that. It got her in trouble a couple of times. She's mostly quit the booze and the swearing. Most L.A. complaint: The traffic. Always the traffic. New head of Continental Studios, a people pleaser trying to balance his love for filmmaking with the demands of commerce. Favorite neighborhood: He has a fixation with Old Hollywood — the Chateau Marmont, Musso and Frank. I'm sure he finds himself at the Soho House and the Sunset Tower. Last concert seen at the Hollywood Bowl: One of those nights where John Williams conducts a movie score. Like the 'Jaws' night. It doesn't even have to be John Williams. Hans Zimmer would do. Anything connected with the movies. I don't think he has much taste in music beyond music from movies. Clothing brand that dominates his closet: Brunello Cucinelli, one of the most unbelievably expensive clothing brands there is. It's an Italian brand that makes a lovely double-breasted suit, but, again, just incredibly priced. You have to be pretty vain to make that leap, which Matt is. Go-to date spot: Matt does not date much. I would start there, first and foremost. But if he were to go out, he'd want to go someplace he feels sort of cool and where he feels like they know him. Dan Tana's. Again, Old Hollywood vibe. And the waiters know him by name, so when he walks in, they go, 'Matt!' I think he's jockeying to have a dish named after him. That would be the ultimate accomplishment. Most-shared wellness tip: Matt has a high-end doctor who comes in and does blood work and tells him what he should be doing to be healthier, and then he just neglects everything he heard. Matt likes talking about health and wellness. Like, 'Celebrities are into wellness. This is something we could talk about.' I bet he has a sauna and a cold plunge somewhere, but never uses them. He tells people to meditate, but never meditates. He talks about the importance of sleep, but he doesn't sleep very well. Favorite place to see a movie: If the Cinerama Dome were open, it'd be the Cinerama Dome. But it isn't, so it's the Chinese. Beautiful theater, incredible sound, and the dress from 'The Wizard of Oz' is in the lobby. It's a genuine piece of Old Hollywood that's still functional today. And you can get harassed by a guy in a Spider-Man suit on the way in! Workout routine: Just running up and down those stairs in that office is a large part of his workout routine. He's probably like, 'I stand a lot. That counts.' Like many Hollywood men, he doesn't work out and runs off of eating half a salad and drinking 100 cups of coffee and then having a couple martinis at the end of the day. They're not overweight, but they're not in any way healthy or fit. The Grove, adore or avoid? He's OK with the Grove because he likes the Farmers Market next door. Again, Old Hollywood. He would probably like telling people that James Dean ate his last meal there before he went on his ill-fated car ride. Rush-hour coping mechanism: He's rolling calls in a convertible in 105-degree heat, you know, yelling at someone's agent. Local news that would darken his doorstep: Things like production in Los Angeles is down, California subsidies and tax credits aren't where they should be. He runs an entire movie lot. He wants to see the soundstages full, contributing to the bottom line. What the TikTok / Instagram algorithm serves him most: Film stuff. Letterboxd reviews. Little clips of filmmakers like, say, William Friedkin talking about making 'To Live and Die in L.A.' Power-lunch order: He orders something healthy, probably the salmon, and then doesn't eat it because he's talking through the whole lunch. Like, he goes to the Beverly Hills Hotel, orders the McCarthy salad, and it stays on his plate. Most L.A. complaint: Matt loves L.A., so his biggest complaint is people coming to the city and making disparaging comments. Like, it's an ugly city or it has no history or culture. It's a beautiful city! And it has a storied history and a lot of culture! Matt sees the city's magic and wonder and gets very defensive when people don't like it.
Los Angeles Times
34 minutes ago
- Los Angeles Times
Can Blue Note become the new hot spot for L.A. jazz?
Danny Bensusan opened the Blue Note in Greenwich Village in 1981 and helped it quickly became home to some of the biggest names in jazz. Dizzy Gillespie, Sarah Vaughan, Oscar Peterson and Lionel Hampton are just some of the iconic acts who played there, and Chick Corea, Peterson, Keith Jarrett and James Carter recorded live records there. Now, 44 years later, Danny's son Steven is bringing the Blue Note to Hollywood. The venue, which has locations in Waikiki, Milan, Napa, Tokyo and more, will finally open its doors Thursday, with Blue Note staple and ambassador Robert Glasper doing two sets each Thursday and Friday. 'It's an important market for us,' Steven Bensusan tells The Times. 'A lot of the industry is based there. It's a major city and we want to establish ourselves there as the West Coast hub.' Like everything in L.A. this chaotic year, the club's journey has been tumultuous. Originally scheduled to open in late March, the Blue Note's premiere was delayed because of construction delays following the wildfires in January. 'We were very sensitive to the situation,' Bensusan says. 'We also didn't want to rush at that point, as well. So, it was delayed — construction delays, permitting delays, everything like that. But we didn't want to rush to get it open.' The original March 26 date was so locked in that the club's director of programming and talent buyer, Alex Kurland, had booked almost the whole year out from that date. So, when everything was pushed back by more than four months, Kurland had to rebook the entire schedule. 'It's a balance and it's a puzzle. It's a combination of rebooking, reorganizing when acts are available and what makes sense for acts, Kurland says. 'There isn't one situation or scenario that results from how everything unfolds. Some acts we definitely did lose for sure because they needed to play their market play or they just couldn't make it to the West Coast. Luckily, everyone was very understanding and accommodating.' The one thing they did know was that whenever the venue was ready for opening night, the headliner would be longtime Blue Note favorite Robert Glasper. 'We were not going to open the club without Glasper being the opening talent. We have a very deep relationship and alignment with him, and he wanted to open it,' Kurland says. 'It's a partnership and we're all in it together.' Glasper has become synonymous with Blue Note through his annual October residency in New York City, known as 'Robtober,' and curating the Blue Note Jazz Festival Napa at the end of August. While Glasper takes over the New York City location once a year, everyone involved is adamant that the Blue Note Los Angeles will very much reflect L.A. in every way and be a completely distinct entity. 'L.A. culture itself, the artists that are from L.A. and represent L.A. and the soul of L.A., but that's going to change the vibe of the Blue Note anyway, because we're definitely going to incorporate a lot of that,' Glasper, the cultural ambassador and a partner in the L.A. location, says. 'We want L.A. to feel like it's L.A.'s Blue Note, not like Blue Note New York moved to L.A. We're trying to give L.A. its own voice through the Blue Note.' According to Kurland, that plan is already in effect and will continue to very much be reflected in the booking. 'There are acts that are within the lineup that have not played at a Blue Note previously, and that's really important that we're engaging talent and artists that are having their debut moments within a Blue Note just because L.A. is going to be a very fresh and progressive approach to booking and programming,' he says. 'So not just booking acts that we have pre-existing history with but really focusing on talent that we are building new relationships with and talent that are having their initial new experiences in the Blue Note, maybe acts that you typically see playing in much bigger venues, acts like Charlie Puth, acts like Ben Folds.' A huge part of the Blue Note aesthetic is making unique moments through unique collaborations or unannounced guests, like Stevie Wonder or John Mayer jumping onstage after sitting in the audience. Both Glasper and Kurland are advocating heavily for and expect a lot of those moments with L.A. musicians. 'Collaboration is a huge goal every single day always from a programming standpoint and thinking about the booking more as moments rather than just the transaction of filling dates on the calendar,' Kurland says. 'Really being particular about how to maximize really special bookings that that are not just on tour and not just available, but that are curated and programmed.' Glasper has his dream jam. 'I would love for Stevie Wonder to come in there and just do music he wants to do that's not even his. Everybody gets to see Stevie do Stevie, but I know Stevie would love to just do music he appreciates including jazz music, he can go in there and just do a piano trio night. That's my number one in my mind. Number two is having Stevie join Herbie [Hancock] together.' Bensusan points out the L.A. menu will also differ, with many more vegan options than the New York location, and distinctly L.A. options such as Peruvian scallops and a crispy rice tuna taco. However, the greatest difference, Bensusan points out, is the L.A. location will be the first with two rooms, an A-room for the headliners, and a B-room for developing artists and surprise jams, podcasts, whatever. 'I'm also looking forward to really opening our first club with that second room that we're calling the B side, which we'll be able to experiment with and book younger artists that maybe can't draw in the bigger room and then help develop them so that they can, and giving them the exposure within our marketing and our advertising efforts and help give them more gigs,' Bensusan says. 'That room will serve multiple purposes. Yes, it will be an opportunity to put on and place developing acts that are not big enough necessarily to play the Blue Note, but that can grow to play the Blue Note, or acts that are engaging in underplays,' Kurland adds. 'Also thinking about programming that room next to the Blue Note, and maybe there's a holistic connection between the act playing in the Blue Note. For example, maybe Robert's playing in the Blue Note room, and Battlecat is DJing in the B side. We're thinking intentionally about how to elevate the vibe and elevate the curating. It's connected.' For Glasper, having the two rooms is key for his goal as cultural ambassador — making the Blue Note the spot in L.A. for musicians. 'L.A. is a big a— ocean of talent and legends. It just started lacking a place for everybody to let their creativity out. And I want Blue Note to be that place,' he says. 'I want to start a jam session for a certain night there. So, everybody knows nightly you can go here because they used to have that in L.A. You knew on Tuesday night, you can go to this place or Monday nights you go to that place for jamming, It's going to be an opportunity for so many people, to have a place to be and enjoy all the things.' As much as Bensusan, Glasper and Kurland agree on Blue Note L.A. being a multi-faceted facility, Bensusan's ultimate goal at the end of the day is no different than his dad's 44 years ago in New York. 'We want to create the mecca for jazz in L.A.,' he says proudly.
Los Angeles Times
34 minutes ago
- Los Angeles Times
‘Somebody Somewhere' showed Joel's ‘naked and real' truth — and Jeff Hiller's too
'I know it's a cliche to say I wasn't expecting it, but I was not expecting it,' says Jeff Hiller of his surprise Emmy nomination for his supporting role in the HBO comedy 'Somebody Somewhere.' One could forgive Hiller's low expectations. Starring Bridget Everett as Sam, a single, middle-aged woman navigating small-town life in Kansas alongside her best friend, Joel (Hiller), the critical darling was named one of the AFI's best TV shows of the year in 2023 and won a Peabody in 2024, yet failed to earn attention from the Television Academy. And in a crowded field of comic competitors — Emmy winners 'Abbott Elementary,' 'The Bear' and 'Hacks,' plus the celeb-stuffed 'Only Murders in the Building' and 'The Studio' — it seemed unlikely for the small-town dramedy to break through in its final year. 'No one had said, 'I bet it's gonna happen,'' says Hiller. Which is why Hiller wasn't tuned into the Emmy noms announcement last month, and even ignored the call from his manager that morning. 'I was on the phone with my sister, and I was like, 'They'll call back.'' says Hiller. When that conversation was interrupted by another call, this time from his agent, Hiller assumed that he was in trouble. 'I [was about to] shoot a movie, and I thought, 'Oh, crap. Am I supposed to be in Boston right now?'' As for how he clinched the nom, Hiller's best guess is the timely publication of his comic memoir, 'Actress of a Certain Age: My Twenty-Year Trail to Overnight Success,' which hit bookstores just two days before Emmy voting opened in June. Among his cohort of Emmy-nominated performers, the rest of Hiller's day may have been the most humble of them all: 'I hung up with my agent, went to the airport to go to Boston and spent the night alone in a Residence Inn.' But there's something perfectly thematic about a no-frills Emmy nom celebration, particularly for the actor playing 'Somebody Somewhere's' sweet and lovable sidekick Joel. A local of Manhattan, Kan. — where Everett's Sam returns following the death of her sister and, over time, builds a chosen family of misfits and weirdos — Joel is the best friend everyone would want, someone who is supportive to a fault and often pushes Sam to find joy in the everyday. Just as the show introduces Joel and Sam in the pilot, Hiller was a fan of Everett's before they began their collaboration. Both actors moved to New York and established their own chosen families around performance: Everett in the downtown cabaret scene, centered on Joe's Pub at the Public Theater; Hiller at Upright Citizens Brigade, where he taught and performed improv. While Everett made a name for herself with her bawdy shows blending rock ballads and blue humor, Hiller appeared on and off-Broadway and steadily won bit parts in film and TV, often playing gay waiters, assistants and salesmen. Their worlds in New York naturally overlapped, and it was Everett who reached out to Hiller about an audition for Joel's character in 2019. Compared to the smaller roles that populate Hiller's IMDb page, Joel — one of the more nuanced queer characters on television in recent years — is more finespun. Having grown up in a Lutheran family in San Antonio, Hiller recognized a lot of himself in a 40-something gay man who attends church, even if a queer Christian may seem unfamiliar to metropolitan viewers on either coast. 'I know people in Texas who are gay and who go to church every week, and that's where they found their community — that's the place that is nice to them,' he says. 'I know this guy so well. I would have been this guy if I hadn't moved to New York.' Hiller commends series creators Hannah Bos and Paul Thureen (who, alongside Everett, earned an Emmy nomination this year as writers of the series finale) for Joel's complexity and for building a world in which its marginalized characters aren't constantly burdened by what makes them different. 'I'm sure there are small-minded people in Manhattan, but our show just wasn't focused on that part,' he says. 'That takes a lot of work in the storytelling for a mainstream audience. I kind of [worried] we'd never get picked up.' But Joel is much more than 'a gay guy who goes to church,' as evident in his Season 3 arc, which sees him settling into a relationship with the equally sweet, if more introverted, Brad (played by Tim Bagley). Entering his first real relationship at middle age is bittersweet for Joel, who always imagined achieving the typical milestones — including having kids. 'He's grateful for the life he's had, but he's also mourning the things he dreamed of having that he can no longer have,' explains Hiller. 'I found that to be true to me in my life. It's scarier to portray things that are so naked and real, obvious and truthful.' Joel also has a cathartic reunion with a childhood bully, spun from conversations in which Bos and Thureen asked Hiller what he would want to hear from his own past tormentors. 'That's for me and my therapist to discuss,' he jokes. While he's still processing his Emmy nom and planning for the HBO after-party ('Do they let you in even if you don't win?'), he treasures the experience of making 'Somebody Somewhere' as its own reward. 'If I could play a role like that for six weeks once a year, for the rest of my life? I'd be more than fulfilled.'
