Actor, writer, comedian, and director Bill Hader never thought he’d be able to break into show business. In an extended chat with Collider, Hader talked about what it was like growing up in Tulsa, Oklahoma and being so far removed from the entertainment hotspots in New York and Los Angeles. When he wasn’t studying films and reading about directing and writing, the self-proclaimed “movie nerd” could be found spending time with his sisters, mother, and grandmother, or hanging out at his father’s Oklahoma stand-up shows, a hobby he had in between his real job as a truck driver. Hader’s mother, who was a dance teacher, gave him his very first job at a young age running the cash register at her dance boutique.
When he was 16, he went to his friend’s house for Thanksgiving, and it just so happened that Ben Stiller was also at the dinner table. (Hader's friend’s mother was close with actress and Tulsa native Jeanne Tripplehorn, who you might know from projects including Basic Instinct, Waterworld, and Big Love.) “I had made, like, a little short film, and I ran home and I got it,” Hader said in a separate interview. The two not only took the time to watch Hader’s film, but they took him and his friend to see the movie Casino. After those interactions, Hollywood felt a little less far away.
Fast forward a bit to 1999: After getting rejected by The Groundlings, he started taking classes at popular improv theater Second City, where he performed in a comedy troupe with Matt Offerman, brother to comedian and actor Nick Offerman. One night, Nick’s wife, Will & Grace star Megan Mullally, came to one of Hader’s shows and liked him so much that she recommended him to Saturday Night Live head honcho Lorne Michaels. By 2005, he was hired as a cast member, and would stay with the show until 2013.
Let’s take a look at some of Bill Hader’s funniest moments from Saturday Night Live.
Dateline: The Mystery of the Chopped Up Guy
Though we might not want to admit it, we have an insatiable thirst for true crime. Sometimes, the bloodier the better. No one embodies that desire for mystery more than long-time Dateline host Keith Morrison (Hader), whose slow-talking fascination with all things murder, manipulation, and deceit can’t help but overpower the devastating story at hand.
The Californians: Stuart Has Cancer
As with every episode of The Californians, there are lies, revelations, and lots of directions. Right after Stuart (Fred Armisen) catches Karina (Kristen Wiig) and Devin (Bill Hader) together, his doctor Greg (Josh Brolin), who tried to go through Westwood, but ended up on Beverly Glen, pops by to tell Stuart about his test results. The cast has a harder time than usual getting through this specific sketch. In classic Californian fashion, each line comes with a newly exaggerated voice fluctuation, pushing each actor to their limits. On an episode of Late Night with Seth Meyers, Bill Hader explained how Fred Armisen and SNL writer James Anderson created the sketch from their long-running inside joke.
Firehouse Incident
Fire! Okay, there’s no fire. But firefighter Bryce (Hader) is absolutely heated when he notices that Jerry (Adam Levine) is talking to his ex-girlfriend, Rula (Nasim Pedrad) at the fire department fundraiser. This comes as a surprise to Clem (Taran Killam) and Mario (Kenan Thompson), who swear they’ve never heard Bryce say more than a few words. No one is safe as Hader’s extremely flamboyant firefighter character totally loses it and does, quite possibly, the best yell you’ve ever heard. Things reach a whole other level of bonkers when Bryce finds out his favorite show got canceled.
Herb Welch: Falling Ice
Ice has fallen from the roof of an Upper East Side co-op, and here to give you the latest at the site of the incident is the incredibly old local news reporter Herb Welch (Hader) who’s celebrating his 71st year at the station. Herb’s failing senses along with his lack of patience for anyone younger than him (so, everyone) makes him a real treat for those he comes in contact with. Just ask “some lady” (Emma Stone) who gets repeatedly smacked in the face by Herb’s microphone. And wait until you see what Herb does to the co-op president (Kristen Wiig), who he assumes is a man.
Puppet Class with Seth MacFarlane
In this introduction to puppetry class, the teacher (Seth MacFarlane) walks his students through the basics of character development. The session takes a sharp turn down a dark path when Anthony Peter Coleman (Bill Hader) uses his puppet Tony to detail his past experiences on the battlefield. No matter how hard the instructor tries to lighten the mood and keep the class fun, Anthony recounts in detail his traumatic memories from war.
Daniel Plainview’s I Drink Your Milkshake
If one thing’s for certain, it’s that he’s Daniel Plainview and he’s going to drink your milkshake! In this ultra-specific sketch (the best kind of sketch) Hader plays Daniel Plainview, an oilman (as he explains several times) who, when not searching for oil, spends his time travelling the country with his son, H.W. Plainview (Amy Poehler) on a quest for the best milkshake. Adding to the creativity of this sketch is the fact that Hader is spoofing a scene from There Will Be Blood, in which Daniel Day Lewis’ Daniel Plainview screams about reaching a straw across the room to drink Eli Sunday’s (Paul Dano) hypothetical milkshake. So, if you ever wondered what it would be like if Daniel Plainview had a show on the Food Network (and who hasn’t wondered that), then this is exactly what it would be like. Oh, and throw in Fred Armisen as Anton Chigurh, Javier Bardem’s hitman and coin toss aficionado character from No Country For Old Men, for some reason.
Weekend Update: Stefon’s Farewell
The Season 38 finale of Saturday Night Live, hosted by Ben Affleck, was an emotional one. After 8 delightful years and many memorable characters, Hader was exiting the show. The character that Hader is most associated with is city correspondent Stefon, who, over the years, developed a flirtatious rapport with Update anchor Seth Meyers, who always asked him for the latest on NYC hotspots. But in his final episode, Stefon told Seth that he found someone that appreciates him for who he was, and was going to run off and marry him. After Stefon abruptly exits the stage, Seth does his best to hold back tears. Thanks to some encouragement by guest star Amy Poehler, Seth follows his heart and tracks down Stefon right before he ties the knot. Filling the pews of the church where Stefon was about to get married were all of the strangely (and wonderfully) specific people (like DJ Baby Bok Choy) that Stefon referenced during each appearance at the Update desk. If you’re a fan of Stefon, this sendoff will make your heart smile.
Short Term Memory Loss Theater
In order for a show to run smoothly, each department must be on top of their responsibilities. But everything will start to crumble if an actor forgets their line. Or another line. Or, well, all of their lines. As you might be able to tell from the title, that’s exactly what happens in this sketch. Dr. Arnold Kitos (Hader) swears he has found a cure for his actors who suffer from short term memory loss, though, it doesn’t quite seem to be working. Okay, um, what’s the next line of this article supposed to be?
Hollywood Dish with Scarlett Johansson
One of the (many) cringey parts of gossipy Hollywood entertainment shows is watching the hosts try to befriend their celebrity guests, just to trash talk them a few episodes later. Or how they will ask totally invasive questions out of nowhere. Kristen Wiig and Bill Hader perfectly parody these forced interactions as they play goofy hosts Anastasia Sticks and Brady Trunk. Not only does the interview get weird fast, it also gets very...sticky.
Vinny Vedecci Talks to John Malkovich
In this sketch, Italian talk show host Vinny Vedecci (Bill Hader) welcomes American actor John Malkovich (as himself) to his show, only to get aggravated when he realizes that Malkovich doesn’t speak Italian. This miscommunication leads to an Italian screaming match between Vinny and his producer (Fred Armisen), who’s busy off to the side twirling spaghetti and meatballs. As usual, practically everything Vinny says about his guest is factually inaccurate (or insulting) and the viewer learns more (too much) about Vinny’s professional life than of his guest. Ah, grazie, grazie!
Hollywood Game Night
Game show parodies on SNL are perfect opportunities for the cast to show off some of their impressions. When Hader hosted in 2014, the show imitated Hollywood Game Night, which puts everyday people on teams with random celebrities to compete in various minigames for a chance to win $25,000. In this sketch, Jane Lynch (Kate McKinnon) jokes her way through hosting duties and introduces guests which include everyone from Christoph Waltz (Taran Killam) and Morgan Freeman (Jay Pharoah) to Al Pacino (Bill Hader) and Kathie Lee Gifford (played by Kristen Wiig, who made a surprise appearance during Hader’s show).
Dress Rehearsal: Renaldo and Alexi
Hader and Armisen proved time and time again that they are masters of silly voices and unique accents during their tenure at SNL, and if any sketch was going to embody that, it was this one. The two play New York City doormen Renaldo (Fred Armisen) and Alexi (Bill Hader), who, in between complaining about the garbage man (Tim Robinson) clumsily explain through their thick accents classic Christmas stories to the children coming in and out of the building. This dress rehearsal sketch has Hader and Armisen laughing to the point of tears, as their accents continue to get more extreme and their lines become more and more silly. If you ever need something to brighten your day, just watch Renaldo and Alexi talk about Rudolph. “UCB!”
As you anxiously await Season 3 of Barry on HBO, you can hear Bill Hader in The Addams Family 2, which is currently in theaters.