Welcome to the latest episode of The Fourth Wall – an interview podcast where I attempt to break down the fourth wall of the film industry, getting a behind the scenes look through my conversations with filmmakers, actors/actresses, and other industry professionals. Today’s guest is one of the most exciting creatives working in the business today, Bill Hader.
Bill became a comedic icon entering people’s homes every Saturday night during his eight-season run on “Saturday Night Live” birthing such beloved characters as Stefan and numerous impressions ranging from Vincent Price, Al Pacino, Alan Alda, James Carville and more. His ‘SNL’ performances garnered him an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series in 2012 making for the first male cast member nomination since Eddie Murphy in 1984.
After leaving ‘SNL,’ Hader went on to stretch his creative muscles even further creating and starring in HBO’s hit series “Barry.” His work on “Barry” earned him an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series along with back to back nominations for Outstanding Comedy Series, Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series, and Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series. There’s nothing quite like “Barry” on television at the moment and it speaks to how Hader’s interests outside of comedy influence his art.
“The kind of movies and things that I liked were in that world [of ‘Barry’],” said Hader. “I love sketch comedy and I like comedy, but if I had to sit down and watch a movie most likely I’d be watching something on Criterion Channel or an old movie. The movies in my life that I go back to are movies like ‘Taxi Driver,’ ‘Last Detail,’ these sorts of things. I just watched ‘The Firemen’s Ball’ and ‘Loves of a Blonde’ like two nights ago. I just decided to watch both those and I was like man, these movies are great. And so that’s kind of where my head’s at usually as opposed to whatever’s big at the moment.”
Hader’s latest work is playing the adult version of Ritchie in Andy Muschietti’s horror epic “It: Chapter Two,” on which the actor speaks about the alterations made to the character, getting injured on set, and the similarities and differences between horror and comedy. We also dive into his work on “Barry,” transition into becoming a filmmaker, directing a new feature film, his relationship with Kombucha and why exactly, “Hader loves the booch.”
As always, The Fourth Wall is part of The Playlist Podcast Network—which includes The Discourse, Be Reel, and more –and can be heard on iTunes, AnchorFM, Soundcloud, Stitcher, and now on Spotify. To listen on this page, you can stream the podcast via the AnchorFM embed below or up top. Follow us on iTunes, and you’ll get this podcast as well as our other shows regularly. Be sure to subscribe, and drop us a comment or a rating as we do appreciate it. Thanks for listening.