Jeff Hiller was supposed to die. The actor, who plays town hall employee Dale in the Apple TV horror comedy Widow’s Bay, was cast in a minor role with a clear warning from creator Katie Dippold: Dale was going to kick the bucket.
That plan didn’t last. After seeing Hiller’s chemistry with the cast and his ability to mine laughs from minor lines, Dippold rewrote the scripts, spared Dale’s life, and promoted Hiller to series regular ahead of Season 2.
“I was initially just there to be a character who reveals that Richard Warren dying didn’t kill the curse. I was just supposed to be in the background. I didn’t really matter,” Hiller told DECIDER over Zoom. “And then in Episode 4, there was supposed to be a bad DJ there who ruined Patricia’s party, and Sam Donovan, who directed that episode, was like, ‘What if it was Dale? And that’s why he’s bad…'”
The show has become a word-of-mouth sensation, earning 19 Emmy nominations, including eight early wins and a nod for Outstanding Comedy Series. Hiller also scored his second Emmy nomination for a guest role on the separate show Pluribus.
The Cemetery Moment
Hiller knew Widow’s Bay was a hit before the awards came in. The moment happened at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery.
“Honestly, not the first time I thought it, but the first time I said it — we were at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery. There was this huge crowd with all these people, and Stephen Root goes, ‘Man, people are excited.’ And I was like, ‘We’re in a hit!'”
The show’s cast includes Matthew Rhys, Kate O’Flynn, Stephen Root, and Dale Dickey, all of whom received individual Emmy recognition.
Dale’s Dark Basement Dreams
With Season 2 promising more Dale than ever, Hiller has ideas about what his character should do next. He wants to explore the mundane horrors of island life.
“I think it would just be fun to reveal what it’s like on this island every day. If Tom is driving down the street and meets a sea hag, what happens when Dale gets coffee at the Salty Whale or whatever?” Hiller said.
He contrasts Dale with his Somebody Somewhere character Joel, who fills his home with “live, laugh, love signs.” Dale is different. “Oh, I didn’t know about art. I don’t have any,” Hiller imagines him saying.
He also floated a darker idea for the basement. “I do think it’d be fun to have some really gross dark secret in the basement, like a twin that he’s hiding down there,” he said. When asked if he’d play the twin, Hiller was ready. “Oh yeah! I would be the twin!”
Working With the Icons
Hiller had long admired Dale Dickey before they shared scenes. He remembers her from Del Shores movies, her role as Patty the daytime hooker in My Name Is Earl, and roles in A Love Song, Winter’s Bone, and Breaking Bad.
“She’s so great, and so down, and just in the pocket,” he said.
Kate O’Flynn was a different story. Hiller didn’t know her at all until the pilot, when a single line made him laugh from the monitors.
“That scene in the pilot when Tom says, ‘We gotta impress this New York Times person,’ and she goes, ‘What are you asking me to do?’ I was watching from the monitors and started laughing so hard because she was so serious and so funny,” he said.
He also noticed the British-Welsh dynamic on set. “Matthew is Welsh, so Matthew will be like, ‘Should we go and run these lawns a bit?’ And then Kate will be, ‘That would be actually wonderful, thank you.’ The best British thing she’s ever said was, ‘Oh, that’s right. Your show’s on HB-ho.'”
| Cast Member | Known For | Emmy Recognition |
|---|---|---|
| Dale Dickey | Winter’s Bone, Breaking Bad | First nomination for Widow’s Bay |
| Kate O’Flynn | Widow’s Bay | First nomination for Widow’s Bay |
| Matthew Rhys | Widow’s Bay | Nominated for Widow’s Bay |
| Stephen Root | Widow’s Bay | Nominated for Widow’s Bay |
| Jeff Hiller | Widow’s Bay, Somebody Somewhere | Second nomination, for Pluribus |
The Beach Reads Party
The beloved standout episode “Beach Reads” features the party of the year, Sunset Cocktails. Hiller remembers a quiet moment before the scene where Patricia realizes she’s wearing a headdress.
“I was like, ‘That is so crazy. Why do you think Rosemary didn’t say anything?’ And Dale goes, ‘I said I had my qualms.’ It was really, really hilarious,” he said.
The karaoke sequence was all scripted, not improvised.
“I loved the dancing. I mean, I cannot say enough about Kate O’Flynn. If you look at the scene when everybody’s supposed to be dancing, you’ll see her, and she’s going crazy. And you’ll see that some of the background folks are just a mess. Cause we had been doing it for so long. But every single time Kate did it, her energy was contagious,” Hiller said.
A Very Good Open Mouth
The episode’s creepiest imagery involved characters with open mouths, and Hiller got a strange compliment about his performance.
“That scene is so creepy, and I have to tell you, they told me that I had a very good open mouth,” he said. “And you don’t even see it in the dancing scene! But we saw it in the water.”
“Right now it’s so rare that people will do anything that’s not an IP. And it’s cool that I’m on these two completely new shows, not IP stuff, and that people are excited about them.”
Hiller sees the success of both Widow’s Bay and Pluribus as a win for original storytelling. In an era dominated by franchises, he’s proud to be part of two new shows that found audiences on their own terms.
Dale will be back for Season 2 with more screen time than ever. Whether he’s hiding a twin in the basement or just grabbing coffee at the Salty Whale, Hiller is ready for whatever Dippold writes next.
Source: decider.com
Get the Notebook.
The day's best stories and every fresh verdict, in plain English, in your inbox by seven. One email a day, no more.