'Stranger Things' star Paul Reiser never plays it straight when it comes to his career

Paul Reiser never had a plan.

Looking at his long and diverse career, it is indeed hard to see many straight lines between, say, the roast beef sandwich-coveting Modell of the Barry Levinson classic "Diner" and the author of three books of homespun wisdom - "Couplehood," "Babyhood" and "Familyhood." Or to find the links tethering his entertaining villain Carter Burke of "Aliens" and the musician-composer who released 2010's "Unusual Suspects," a lovely album of ambient piano pop with singer-songwriter Julia Fordham.

And that's not even mentioning the New York native's launching pad stand-up career - which he has returned to in recent years - his acting and producing role on the long-running '90s sitcom "Mad About You" - which netted him six Emmy nominations for lead actor - and his current state as