[MUSIC PLAYING]
BILL HADER: How's
it going, guys?
ALAN SEALES: Thank you
for coming out today.
BILL HADER: Oh, no,
thanks for having me.
ALAN SEALES: It's unusual to do
press at the end of a season.
BILL HADER: Well, no.
Yeah, man, I wish we just did
it at the top of the season.
No, it's like I always do
press, and I'm like, oh, good,
I'm done.
And then before the show
airs, it's like, no, no, no.
You've got to do press every
week while the show's airing,
you know, to get people going,
like, there's a new episode,
you know.
So New York is, like-- because
the finale is this Sunday.
So that's why I'm here.
ALAN SEALES: Yeah.
[LAUGHTER]
Has everybody seen it?
Yeah, all right.
Cool.
So we can talk about season
two, and you guys won't get mad.
BILL HADER: Oh, yeah,
there's going to be spoilers.
So if you guys haven't seen
it, you're shit out of luck.
We're going to--
[LAUGHTER]
Sorry.
ALAN SEALES: It gets dark.
BILL HADER: Yeah, it
was dark to begin with.
It gets really dark.
ALAN SEALES: Given
what we've seen
of you and our
preconceived notion of,
like, oh, it's Bill Hader.
It's comedy.
And then I started watching
"Barry," and I was like--
I scratched my head halfway
through the first episode,
and I didn't get it.
And then all of a sudden,
I started thinking about it
as a drama instead of a comedy.
And then I loved
the shit out of it.
BILL HADER: Yeah, yeah.
ALAN SEALES: And do you
get that reaction a lot?
Do you classify this as,
like, a drama with comedy
or a comedy with drama?
BILL HADER: My favorite
stuff doesn't have
any sort of classification.
It's kind of just--
it's a story, you know?
And there's elements
of all those things.
But we did have a
very conscious--
Alec Berg, who I created this
with-- we had a very conscious
of the very first
shot of the pilot
be something that
was more disturbing,
which is Barry in a room
and a man's been killed,
and he's just getting
his gun and leaving.
That almost was
there for a purpose,
not only to say this is what
he does, but also to give you
a sense of here's the tone.
I think you hear Alec and I
are doing a show about a hit
man who wants to
be an actor, you
kind of think this kind of
glib, kind of comedy thing.
So we were like, no, we
want to make it very real,
lead with the drama, lead with
his kind of existential crisis
and the emotion, and
then have the comedy
be behind that, and that'll
work a little bit better.
ALAN SEALES: So did this
come from any real life
existential--
BILL HADER: No, that I
want to murder somebody?
No.
No, no, no.
I mean, I think it
came a bit from--
I don't know.
I don't know where it came from.
I mean, Alec Berg
and I were always--
[THUNK]
Did someone just die?
Like [INAUDIBLE].
ALAN SEALES: Fainted
with excitement.
BILL HADER: Someone
fainted, like Alec Berg--
[LAUGHTER]
I don't know where it came from.
I mean, Alec and I always are--
we just kind of
talked it through.
And I personally have
always been interested in--
ALAN SEALES:
There's another one.
BILL HADER: Someone
else just dying.
ALAN SEALES: Yeah.
BILL HADER: But I've always
been interested in kind
of people's, like, violence
and people's propensity
of violence, and how it affects
you, and things like that.
I just have been.
I don't know why.
But it's just that thing that--
you know, and from someone
who watches a lot of movies
and a of genre type movies,
you do kind of go, like, well,
what's that guy like,
though, in reality, you know?
What would he be like--
you know, the hit man
you kind of see in a movie, and
then he's, like, being dashing
or whatever.
I'm like, isn't he fucked up?
He's murdered people.
What if he actually
thought about that,
and what he's doing,
and the amount of people
that he's affected,
and all that?
And if he became aware of
that, what would do to him?
ALAN SEALES: It's kind of
like Liam Neeson in "Taken."
Once he's done getting
his daughters back,
is he a normal guy again?
BILL HADER: Yeah.
There was this great
movie, "The Act
Of Killing," this documentary.
I don't know if
you saw that movie.
It was really great.
But there's a moment in that--
it was very hard to watch in
the film, where they recreate
these executions-- that
these guys recreate
their executions that they
did in the Philippines.
And these two guys who murdered
all these people in the '60s
are driving, and they're kind
of talking to each other.
And then one guy goes,
do you get nightmares?
And he goes, oh, yeah,
I get nightmares.
And it's like, yeah,
no shit, you know?
[LAUGHTER]
That affects you in some way.
And so yeah, exactly.
It's like the "Taken"
guy is like, yeah, he's
not with his kids.
Like, it's Christmas,
you know what I mean?
He hasn't slept for--
how do you handle that?
So I think everyone was a bit
surprised when the show aired,
and they were expecting that.
They were like, oh,
whoa, this is something
a little bit different.
ALAN SEALES: Well,
it's interesting.
Because the trailer we just
watched, it's upbeat music.
And Henry Winkler is also
known for comedy and whatnot.
And so obviously,
you went into this--
or whoever did the casting, I
assume you had a part in it--
BILL HADER: Yeah.
ALAN SEALES: --went in
looking for the certain type
of characters and
certain type of people.
And even NoHo Hank is one of the
audience's favorite characters,
aside from Barry, of course.
BILL HADER: No, he's
better than Barry.
I'm a bigger fan of him.
No, we did not pick the
music in the trailer.
No, I was actually back
there, just going like,
what is this music?
No, but Henry Winkler was kind
of like casting against type.
It was like we knew we
had this acting teacher.
And I'll be honest.
Alec Berg and I
wrote it very arch.
I mean, he was, I
think he had a cape.
It was very John Barrymore,
like, listen, you, like me.
It was just too much.
And we kind of knew that, but
we were like, I don't know.
It's making me laugh, but
this is probably wrong.
And then Henry Winkler
came in and read,
he auditioned, which was crazy.
And then when he read and--
he merely brought
this humanity to it
because he's an
incredibly nice man.
And immediately was
like, oh, failed actor.
That's who this guy is.
He's a failed actor.
And inside this studio, inside
this building where he teaches,
he's the star that
he wanted to be.
But the minute he leaves this,
he's just an out-of-work actor.
So he's got to stay
inside this place
and he has all the
status that he wants,
and it was like, oh,
that's a good character.
But that all came from
his read, you know?
And Anthony Carrigan, when
he came in to read NoHo Hank,
he said, you know, I don't
really have an accent.
I'm working on it, or you know?
And it was one of those
auditions where we had more--
like in the audition, he
didn't have a lot of lines
in his auditions, so it
was a lot of listening.
But the way he listened was
so funny that that got him.
He was just like--
[LAUGHTER]
--doing that, and Alec
and I were like, what?
So funny, yeah.
So, yeah, we loved
him from there.
ALAN SEALES: Yeah,
he's wonderful.
I was telling you backstage
that my friends on Facebook were
like-- they had this whole
thread about how great "Barry"
is, the show, and how
much they love NoHo Hank--
Anthony.
But in the scenes, you're often
looking down or looking away
because he's making you laugh.
BILL HADER: Well, yeah.
If anybody's seen
episode 6 this season,
there's a scene where he
yells at an accordion player.
If you watch, I'm going like--
I'm fully turning away
because, yeah, he's--
every time he would yell, he
would say something different.
You just-- you just
whipped out your accordion
and just fucked this moment.
[LAUGHTER]
And I started laughing because
if you saw last episode that
followed it, that leads them--
I started laughing, and he's
like why are you laughing?
I go because this leads
you to be put on a bus
and almost set on
fire this moment.
[LAUGHTER]
Because you were, like, fuck
you to this accordion player,
you're going to
get burned alive.
That's just so funny to me.
ALAN SEALES: So does
he do a lot of improv,
or do you do improv with him?
Or how does--
BILL HADER: Yeah, he
provides a little bit.
And sometimes, a lot of it
is, like, we'll write it,
and then Alec and
I'll get there,
and then we kind of immediately
go what the heck were we doing?
You know, this isn't
good, you know?
There is a scene in
the end of episode 2
when I come back
to my apartment,
and Stephen Root is there
and we get in an argument.
That whole scene
we rewrote on set.
Hiro Murai, the director of
that episode, sent me a picture,
and it's me and Alec
on the set of that.
I'm in the Barry costume,
and Alec has a laptop,
and we're rewriting it.
And Stephen Root is just
staring at us so angry.
He's like get your
shit together.
Like, I have to learn all
new lines now, you know?
But yeah, we tend to like it
right up until we shoot it.
And then we go, wait,
wait, wait, no, no, no.
You should say this and then you
say that, and then, you know,
that's what we kind of do.
ALAN SEALES: Does that speak
to sort of the sketch comedy
background that you come from?
BILL HADER: Yeah, and
Alec comes from a big--
he was a writer on
"Seinfeld" forever
and did "Curb Your Enthusiasm"
and "Silicon Valley" and stuff.
So I think it is
like a comedy thing.
You want the immediacy,
and also how everyone's
relating that day,
or it might be
just the set or the costumes or
something will spark something.
And you go, oh, yeah, you
should do this instead of that.
Or it's the intention
of this scene, you know?
We wrote it in a vacuum, and
then you're playing it out
and I'll go--
or one of the other actors
will go, well, wait.
We just played this where
I kind of already answered
this question.
Are we saying the
same thing twice now?
And it's like, shit, yes.
OK, yeah, yeah, yeah, Let's--
OK, you know, that was what that
scene was with Stephen where
he initially said a bunch of
information we already knew.
And we were like,
well, this is no--
and Barry was acting
shocked by it.
And I'm like, no, Barry knows
all this stuff, you know?
So it's constant--
it's just banging
your head against the
wall all day basically.
ALAN SEALES: Is he
used to the comedy?
Like, I guess
coming into "Barry,"
did he have a comedy background?
BILL HADER: Stephen Root?
ALAN SEALES: Yeah.
BILL HADER: Oh, yeah.
"Office Space."
I mean, yeah--
ALAN SEALES: Oh,
yeah, yeah, yeah.
BILL HADER: And "NewsRadio"--
oh, my God, he's great.
But yeah, he's really good.
I mean, everybody-- the
only person who didn't have,
like, a big comedy background
was Sarah Goldberg,
but she's, like, a theater
actor, and she's amazing.
So she's really funny.
She's incredibly funny.
But everyone else had been
on, I think, comedy shows.
Like, capital K comedy shows.
ALAN SEALES: Yeah, it's
so fascinating to me
to watch them, watch you, and
everybody who is in the acting
class with Henry Winkler.
Because everybody else in--
their main characters
in Barry are very just
kind of like ditzy, I guess,
for a lack of a better term.
BILL HADER: For actors?
ALAN SEALES: Yes.
[LAUGHTER]
And then for the most
part, they get on stage.
They go into character,
they're really good.
BILL HADER: Yeah.
ALAN SEALES: Like, in real
life, they're real good actors.
BILL HADER: Yeah, yeah, that's
the only way it's interesting.
It's like he is a good--
Cousineau is a good teacher.
ALAN SEALES: Yeah.
BILL HADER: Like
that's the thing
I learned when you're writing.
It's like it's more
interesting if they're flawed,
but they're actually good
at something, you know?
When they're kind of
shitty at everything,
you're like why am I
hanging with this person?
ALAN SEALES: And then Barry
is the complete opposite.
BILL HADER: Yeah.
ALAN SEALES: Barry--
you're a great hit man.
BILL HADER: Yeah,
yeah, that was the--
that's the thing
he's terrified of
is is this the only
thing I'm good at?
ALAN SEALES: Right.
BILL HADER: And that was the
thing that we talked about.
I remember being on
"Saturday Night Live"
and I could do
impressions, but I
wanted to write and direct
and do all these other things.
But I was like I
don't know if I can--
I was trying to
write screenplays
and they weren't really good,
and showing them to people,
and they were like,
you know, just
go learn an impression
of somebody.
That was there no on my script.
That was interesting.
My only note is you should
stick to impressions.
But I didn't-- you know, so I
had this kind of security and I
was still working.
I went and worked
at "South Park"
to try to learn how
to write better.
And I've been hanging
out with the Pixar guys,
like, how to work better.
And then I was telling
Alec Berg that,
and we were talking
about in terms of Barry.
I was like, well, you know,
you can write towards that.
Maybe that's what his thing
is, that emotion of what
if this is the only
thing I'm good at?
And I was like,
well, I can write
that because I can
relate to it, you know?
And so it's funny that that
weird very small thing--
we did a whole show about a
guy can only do impressions,
but wanted to write and direct.
That's a boring show, you know?
[LAUGHTER]
So I was like he
should be a hit man
and wanted to be
in an acting class.
ALAN SEALES: It's
very gory, too.
I mean, in a not
over-the-top way.
BILL HADER: Yeah, we
want it to be real.
Yeah, but we didn't
want it hand-held,
but we wanted the aesthetic
to be somewhat real.
Except for the karate
episode we did that--
ALAN SEALES: Can we
can we talk about that?
That's season 2, episode 5.
You wrote and directed that
entirely yourself, yeah?
BILL HADER: Yeah.
ALAN SEALES: So was that a
different experience for you?
Why did you decide to do that
for that particular episode?
BILL HADER: Well-- again,
spoilers, I'm sorry, everybody.
Barry has to kill--
we knew Barry
had to kill this guy,
Ronny Proxin, for Loach.
And initially, it was
just going to be this,
I think, just one
part of that episode.
It'd be like a scene, or
the end of the episode,
is he has to do this hit.
And then I remembered that
our stunt coordinator,
Wade Allen said, you know,
I have this little girl
who could do martial arts.
[LAUGHTER]
ALAN SEALES:
They've all seen it.
BILL HADER: Yeah, and he's like
she can do crazy martial arts,
and he showed me
this video of her.
And she was, like,
running along a house,
and then she jumped
onto a moving car.
And it was her doing
all these crazy kicks,
and her parents are
stunt performers,
and I was like, whoa, cool.
Why do you have
this on your phone?
[LAUGHTER]
But Wade was like,
well, you know, I
don't know if you ever need
a little girl or somebody
to do some crazy shit.
Let me know.
I was like, well, thanks, man.
And so then when we were doing--
what was it, episode 5, and
where I was thinking about it,
I suddenly went, oh, what if
he wanted to kill that guy?
He doesn't want to kill him,
he inadvertently kills him.
And then as he's
leaving, the girl's
daughters there-- his daughter
is there, and you're like,
oh, God, Barry
has to kill a kid,
and then she kicks
the shit out of him.
[LAUGHTER]
And so, I kind of
went off-- we usually
write in a writers' room, and I
kind of went off and wrote that
and came back and
presented it to the table,
and they were like, what?
But they were into it.
They dug it.
And so yeah, it was just a
matter of getting her and then
finding the guy to play Ronny.
Initially, Ronny was written
as a very short fat guy
who's bald.
And so it was a
bigger reveal that he
was like a Taekwondo master, and
apparently that does not exist.
[LAUGHTER]
Because I went to the stunt
coordinator, the casting
director, and they were
like, no, that doesn't exist.
And so I was like, well,
let me meet somebody.
And they bring in
that guy, Daniel,
and he's like--
looks like Jon Hamm.
He's like a crazy
gorgeous-looking guy.
Our casting director,
Sherry Thomas,
was like I think we should
have him be a series regular.
[LAUGHTER]
I think we need him to come
into my office every day
and read with everybody.
And so I said--
and so I just talked
about the character,
and initially he was
this kind of uptight guy.
And I said, can you
put on some weight?
And he was like I can put
on 20 pounds in two weeks.
And I was like, all right.
You're still going to be you.
You're still going
to look like you.
So he told me a
lot of those guys,
you know, they compete, and then
they make a lot of their money,
and then they retire.
And they're in such
pain that they get--
they take a lot of pills and
they smoke weed and drink
a lot because of all the pain.
And I went, oh, let's do that.
So you're smoking
weed and you're
kind of high the whole time.
That works great.
So when Barry shows up, you're
a little confused, you know?
Like why is this guy
in there, you know?
And so that helped.
But yeah, I mean, the
rest of that episode
was just kind of
like just following
the instinct and just a stream
of consciousness of writing it.
And going like, all right, so
he should walk into a room,
and what's the worst thing
that should be in that room?
Taekwondo trophy, you know?
And yeah, but that one is
definitely one that I think
surprised people.
And then it played right after
the Battle of Winterfell.
We're right after
"Game of Thrones."
So we're--
[LAUGHTER]
So we go and see this "Game
of Thrones" screening,
Alec and I do, and they
had a Battle of Winterfell,
like, at the Mann's
Chinese Theatre.
And we go there and
we're watching this,
and we're like no one
is going to stick--
like we have to follow this?
And then they have a little
girl with a knife jump on a guy
and stab him, and Alec and I
are like fuck, what the fuck?
[LAUGHTER]
Like, how did we not--
what are the chances
that a little girl at 9
is just going to jump on the--
and we were like, oh, no.
No.
Thank God we cut the
scene where, yeah, we
had a witch self-destruct.
[LAUGHTER]
ALAN SEALES: Well--
BILL HADER: It just sucks, yeah.
But anyway, it didn't seem
to bother people too much,
I don't think.
ALAN SEALES: No.
No, I mean, it got-- its gotten
the most critical acclaim
out of all the episodes
so far, I believe.
BILL HADER: That episode?
ALAN SEALES: Yeah.
BILL HADER: Well,
you know what's
funny too is that we had
the, what you call it,
like "Game of Thrones" started--
we started playing
after "Game of Thrones"
after our third
episode this season.
And so then episode 3--
suddenly we had like 2.5
million more viewers.
And Alec and I had a
funny text exchange going.
I go I don't think it's--
I think it's because people
just got into the show.
I don't think it's anything--
I was asked of this
text exchange at HBO
where Alec-- and they didn't
realize that we were joking.
They were like, no, no, no.
They were trying to be nice.
Like, we're pretty sure
it's Game of Thrones.
[LAUGHTER]
And Alec and I were like no, no,
no, I think people, you know--
like this happened to me
on Seinfeld, you know?
It just they finally
kind of catch on
and you just don't know
when they catch on and--
[LAUGHTER]
Like we think it's dragons.
And they're like,
nope, it's not dragons.
ALAN SEALES: Hit men.
So I've got a
couple of questions
that I guess I should get to.
I actually want to go
back to the very beginning
of young Bill Hader, and you
grew up in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
BILL HADER: Yeah.
Nothing.
People from Tulsa don't
make it to Google, I guess.
AUDIENCE: I'm from Oklahoma.
BILL HADER: You're
from Oklahoma?
ALAN SEALES: Oklahoma.
AUDIENCE: [INAUDIBLE].
BILL HADER: Oh, I'm sorry.
You're at Google.
Yeah, that's good.
Good job, man.
[LAUGHTER]
ALAN SEALES: How did
you get it into comedy?
How'd you make it-- you
made it to LA originally.
BILL HADER: Yeah, as a
production assistant.
I wanted to write and
direct, and then I
was a PA like all these
low-budget movies.
And then I worked on a movie
called "Collateral Damage"
with Arnold Schwarzenegger.
I was a PA on that, which was
crazy because he's just weird.
And then-- nice.
ALAN SEALES: Nice weird?
BILL HADER: I just realized
we're being filmed,
so I'm going to say that.
He's very nice.
Because I don't need
that in my life.
Ding-dong--
(IMITATES ARNOLD
SCHWARZENEGGER) Get out here.
I saw you on Google.
You're fucking dead, man.
Get out and fucking
say it to my face.
(NORMAL VOICE) Now that he--
and then, yeah, I did that.
And then I did--
and then I was a PA and
I did stuff I like that.
And I started classes
at Second City LA,
and then Megan Mulally
saw me in a show
and recommended me
to Lorne Michaels.
And I got onto "Saturday
Night Live" totally fluky.
Like, just-- yeah.
I don't know how--
I owe my whole
career to her, Yeah.
ALAN SEALES: Wow, and
your whole audition
was impersonations for
the most part, right?
BILL HADER: Yeah, yeah,
yeah, all impersonations.
I did them as a character
I do on the show.
I used to do this Italian talk
show hosts, Vinny Vedecci,
and so it was him
doing impressions.
[LAUGHTER]
Yeah.
ALAN SEALES: Do you
have a favorite one?
BILL HADER: From that?
ALAN SEALES: Yeah.
BILL HADER: They were all like--
you know, it was like
James Mason and Al Pacino.
And I don't know, it was
all stuff that people--
like Lorne Michaels
is always like,
can you do anybody
who's a five, you know?
So yeah, I always did
just impressions of people
that people had
done impressions of
ALAN SEALES: One
of my favorites--
BILL HADER: Over the years
ALAN SEALES: I mean, one of
my favorites of the sketches
from "SNL" was Greg the Alien.
BILL HADER: Oh,
Yeah, Greg the Alien.
ALAN SEALES: Yeah,
BILL HADER: Oh, that's funny.
Yeah, I forgot about that one.
That one came from
this guy-- it's
Simon Rich and John Mulaney
and I worked on that.
And it was so--
I was like, oh, we
should do an alien thing,
and it was like a
sports talk show
where it was like the guests
would be like The Rock.
Like, welcome back to Sports
Center, blah blah blah,
my co-host is Greg.
Greg is not an alien and
they have no eyebrows.
[LAUGHTER]
And I'm just like this.
And then the callers, those
are the people calling in
and, like, hey how's it going?
Hey, I don't know
about the Patriots.
[CHATTER]
So Greg, he's an alien, right?
Like-- he don't know
much about Earth.
You know, and he was like,
no, Greg's not an alien.
He's not.
And all this little stuff.
And then it was just like
I barely said anything.
And at some point, water--
he knocks water on me
and I start smoking,
and I'm like, [MUFFLED VOICE],,
and all this smoke
starts to come out.
ALAN SEALES: Well, I brought
it up because the actual voice
itself is so unusual
and so unique.
And I was just wondering
how you approach
a character-- a unique sort
of character like that.
Like it sounds like
you're inhaling.
BILL HADER: No, I don't know
where that stuff happen.
I mean, it's just
they want-- initially,
Greg was, like, normal
and he would talk normal,
but he would say, like, how
much does your brain weigh?
Like he was-- he just wasn't
he clearly wasn't from Earth.
And then I heard with John
Mulaney was, like, yeah,
what if did you just like
grunted or something?
What if it was more
like a character.
I was like, oh--
[GARBLES]
--kind of thing?
I'm just, like, yeah, yeah,
yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Let's do that.
[LAUGHTER]
I mean, I wish I had a
better story, but there was--
it was just John going,
like, doing other noise.
[LAUGHTER]
ALAN SEALES: Well of course,
I think everyone's favorite's
probably Stefon.
And you would crack a
lot because the writer--
was it the writers?
BILL HADER: Yeah, John.
John Mulaney, yeah.
ALAN SEALES: Swap
out the cue cards.
BILL HADER: John would sometimes
tell me as I was walking out,
or he would put
little things on.
It was like one little
thing was off that I--
and then that would set me
off, or he would add something
to the club list that
wasn't on there before,
and it was one thing.
And the first time was
when I first went out,
we had a club promoter.
Her name was Amnesia Bernstein.
That was it-- that's
what it was at dress.
And it didn't get a laugh.
And then John was, like,
I'll change that club.
I'll change Amnesia Bernstein--
that didn't get anything.
And then he went off, and
then I was walking up there
and I was really nervous.
And he goes, I changed
it to Gay Liotta.
[LAUGHTER]
And he just kind of threw it.
He's like, I changed it to Gay
Liotta, and he walked away.
And then I was just
thinking about that,
and then when it
came up on the cards,
like I'd start laughing
because, like, that's so dumb.
[LAUGHTER]
So I was just saying insane
shit, and then it was part--
the reason that
made me laugh was
I was imagining John laughing,
and that is like the most--
it's the most personal
thing that the entire nation
is watching.
Not the entire nation,
but people are all across
the nation are watching
it, and it really
is just a moment between John
Mulaney and I of him messing
with me, and me
finding it funny,
and me trying to make
him laugh and he's
trying to make me laugh.
And it's just, like, this,
you know, us being friends.
[LAUGHTER]
SEALES: Did you look forward
to that all the time?
Because Stefon recurred
on "Weekend Update,"
like, over a dozen times.
BILL HADER: Yeah.
No, and I never made it
through a single one.
[LAUGHTER]
John made sure of that.
One time, he put an
entire joke on it.
He did once, where he'd put
a whole new joke, which was,
hey Seth--
it was Halloween, and
he said, hey Seth,
do you know there's
Blackula the black Dracula?
Well, there's a Jewish one.
And he said, oh,
what's his name?
And I said, Sidney Applebaum.
[LAUGHTER]
Oh my god, That was funny.
Sidney Applebaum.
ALAN SEALES: Do you
miss the "SNL" days,
or do you like the chapter
that you're in now?
BILL HADER: Yeah.
I mean, I love the people there.
I miss the people there.
Like, I'm doing "Seth
Meyers" later today.
It's on the eighth floor.
And I did a thing when
John Mulaney hosted last.
I did a sketch on that.
So I like being back for that,
but working there and having
to do the live show is really
hard on me after a while.
I get very anxious.
Yeah.
ALAN SEALES: Really?
BILL HADER: Yeah.
ALAN SEALES: Do you have a
lot of anxiety in general?
BILL HADER: Yeah.
ALAN SEALES: Yeah?
BILL HADER: Yeah.
Yeah, just in general, yeah.
[LAUGHTER]
But it's just me.
It's gotten better.
Like, I do TM, and now
it's like I work out
not as a vanity thing, it's
just to, like, be sane.
ALAN SEALES: Endorphin release.
BILL HADER: Endorphin release.
Like, all this shit when
in my 20s, I was like,
endorphin release.
Fuck you.
Fucking idiots.
[LAUGHTER]
Now I'm like, I need
my endorphin release.
But yeah, and you
know, it's always
been a thing I've
always dealt with.
You know, just very, what
could happen or want and make
sure I'm prepared
and things like that.
ALAN SEALES: Well, the thing is,
I mean, you're good at improv,
and when we're watching it,
you roll with the punches.
So if things happen,
you're loving it.
BILL HADER: Yeah.
It's the anticipation of it.
It's the anticipation of
going out just like that.
ALAN SEALES: Like, once
you're out it's fine.
BILL HADER: Yeah.
Once you're out
you're like, oh good.
But even there, when
the thing's playing
I start to go like, [EXHALES].
You know what I mean?
Because it's just the
anticipation of it.
ALAN SEALES: Of this room
full of wonderful Googlers?
BILL HADER: Yeah.
But that's just me.
I've learned to accept it.
You don't push it away, anxiety.
Like, the more you push
it, it's like quicksand.
And it's like, if you just let
it attack you and go hey, hey.
And it's like [GROWLS].
And you're like, hi buddy.
OK, OK, just right here.
Just stay here.
It goes away quicker.
ALAN SEALES: And
you've kept in touch--
you're still working with Matt
Stone and Trey Parker, yeah?
BILL HADER: Yeah.
Not as much, but we did--
I would go and help out some
in the "South Park" room, yeah.
ALAN SEALES: Do you still
write or do you still produce
for them or anything?
BILL HADER: No, just
because "Barry" happened,
that's my whole life.
But I just had dinner with
Matt a couple weeks ago,
and they're doing
fine without me.
[LAUGHTER]
I don't know how big
of a help I was there.
The first one I
worked on was this one
with Kanye West
"Fishsticks" episode, where
he says he's not a gay
fish, and at the end
he has sex with a fish.
ALAN SEALES: Oh, I
remember that episode.
[LAUGHTER]
BILL HADER: So on "My
Dark Fantasy," because he
says fuck "SNL", the entire
cast, and then he says,
I want to choke a South Park
writer with a fish dick.
So he tells me to
fuck off twice.
So I'm like, slick,
that's awesome.
ALAN SEALES: I love that
Matt and Trey, they both--
they're outspoken about
disliking actors in general.
BILL HADER: Yeah.
ALAN SEALES: And
so they do a lot
of their own voices themselves.
They do most of the
voices themselves.
Have you ever gotten to do VO?
BILL HADER: Yeah, I
did a couple of voices.
They did a "Yo Gabba Gabba" one.
I was Plex.
I did Alec Baldwin
on there, where
Alec Baldwin kept getting
in trouble on Twitter,
so he cut off his thumbs.
[LAUGHTER]
He blamed his thumbs.
It wasn't him.
He was like, it's
clearly these thumbs.
And I can't remember what else.
Oh yeah, we did this one
where it was like these two--
Trey and I did these
two farmer characters.
It was weird.
Yeah.
But what happened
is, you would write,
and then you would come
up with two characters,
and then Trey would go, OK,
me and Bill will do that.
Here, come on.
And you go right next
door and you record it,
and you come right back
and you keep writing.
And then, it's animated
by the time we're done,
you know what I mean?
It's, like, so fast.
ALAN SEALES: Yeah.
The completion process on a
weekly episode is ridiculous.
BILL HADER: They turn
it around so fast.
Yeah.
I don't know how they do it.
ALAN SEALES: I think one
of the biggest things
that I read about
was when Hillary
lost the election, because
they had to rewrite everything
that night.
BILL HADER: Yeah, they fully
thought she was going to win,
and they were all ready,
and then she didn't.
And it was like, shit, and
they had to completely rethink
the whole thing while crying.
[LAUGHTER]
ALAN SEALES: Right.
Well, that was a downer.
And you have a very long
history, and a very successful
history, and a career now of
working with so many others.
And like you yourself an
"SNL" alum who have gone
on to a lot of great things.
But, like, Fred Armisen you've
worked with in "Portlandia,"
And of course, like, "Inside
Amy Schumer" and "Trainwreck"
with Amy Schumer, obviously.
And "Skeleton Twins"-- it
sounds you and Kristen Wiig
are very good friends, yeah?
BILL HADER: Yeah.
We don't see each other as
much, because we're so--
running around so much.
But yeah, when we see each
other it's always fun.
ALAN SEALES: Do you prefer to--
I mean, is that like reliving
the glory days of "SNL"?
And like you said,
you miss the people.
So do you like those projects?
BILL HADER: I miss the
people who work there.
I always liked the
people-- my friends there.
Like, I just had dinner the
other night with Will Forte.
We had this awesome dinner.
It was Will Forte, Tim Meadows,
Molly Shannon, and David Spade,
and Jorma Taccone.
And we all were just hanging
out, and just being like--
Gilbert Gottfried when I
saw him at the "SNL" 40th,
he looked at me and
he goes, I know.
It's like we have
the same disease.
[LAUGHTER]
We had never met each other,
and he's like, I know,
we got the same disease.
But it is, I mean,
you kind of have
this experience that
other people haven't had,
and you're like,
remember this and that?
I know I'll see Seth, and
the minute he'll sit down,
we will start
talking immediately.
John Mulaney and I did this
92nd Street Y thing for "Barry,"
and it just immediately
devolved into us talking
about "SNL" sketches
that didn't get on
that we are still mad about.
And you know, you could tell
John would be like, anyway, so
"Barry"--
and then, we would
just be like, can you
believe they didn't
pick whatever it was?
Yeah.
ALAN SEALES: Well, it
sounds a little bit like--
not PTSD.
I don't want to go that extreme.
But the weekly process of going
through rehearsing and editing
and rewrites and--
BILL HADER: Yeah,
and having to come up
with new stuff every week,
and every week, every week.
ALAN SEALES: Like, you get close
with these guys and these women
in a way that I don't think you
have an opportunity to possibly
in a normal movies setup.
BILL HADER: Yeah.
And it's nine months a year, and
you just live with each other.
Like, that's the thing.
It wasn't until I did
"Trainwreck" that I
got to see the city, honestly.
ALAN SEALES: Really?
BILL HADER: I was
like, what's that?
And they're like, that's
the Flatiron Building.
[LAUGHTER]
You lived here for eight years.
I was like, my apartment, 30
Rock, 30 Rock, my apartment,
you know?
Yeah, so I never had
a chance to really--
so yeah, you just live there.
ALAN SEALES: Was it hard to
say goodbye after eight years?
BILL HADER: No.
I was kind of ready,
like, for my sanity,
to move on, but just because
of the live performing.
But I missed all
the people there.
Yeah.
I mean, I got really
sad when I left.
We did the final
Stefon, and it's
that thing where Seth Meyers had
to see me cry, which was weird.
Seth was like, oh, he's crying.
[LAUGHTER]
And I just started crying,
because I was like, I'm really
going to miss you guys.
And he's like, uh,
all right, man.
All right, dude.
Oh man.
This is weird.
Bill's crying.
But yeah, it was sad.
ALAN SEALES: Yeah.
We'll start taking
questions in a second,
so if you want to
start lining up,
audience members, please
go to the mics now.
BILL HADER: This is going to be
just like the Aaron Sorkin one.
[LAUGHTER]
ALAN SEALES: Yes.
BILL HADER: Aaron
Sorkin is going
to be just, [FIRING NOISES].
ALAN SEALES: OK, yeah?
AUDIENCE: Hey, how's it going?
BILL HADER: Hey.
AUDIENCE: I was wondering--
it seems like "Barry"
is kind of a departure from
what a lot of your content
previously was.
Like, I'm always thinking of
you as the cop in "Superbad."
Like, that's just the role.
No offense.
It was an amazing movie.
BILL HADER: No, that's cool.
I like that movie.
AUDIENCE: So it was kind
of exciting to see you
go to something darker,
something a little angrier.
Like, oh wow, he's
killing people now.
Like, he shot some guns in
"Superbad," but no one died.
BILL HADER: Yeah.
AUDIENCE: So how do you
avoid typecasting yourself,
or like, making sure that you're
not being Bill Hader in "Barry"
as opposed to being Barry?
BILL HADER: Well,
I try not to be
myself and in hardly anything,
because that's just boring.
But you're right, though.
I mean, it's funny.
After "Superbad" came out,
it was like, the amount
of crazy authority figures.
And I did a movie
called "Adventureland"
after that, which was like,
Kristen Wiig and I were
the bosses of Jesse
Eisenberg's character.
And that was Greg Mottola,
and I love that movie,
but I just kept getting
kind of cast in--
you know, like I was always
the boss to the main character.
Like, the wacky whatever.
And so honestly, I was like,
I need to learn to write.
I need to learn--
Judd Apatow, when I met him,
he was like, learn to write.
You're going to write
a lot of bad scripts.
Learn to write right now
and control your destiny.
And so I did, and I wrote
a lot of terrible scripts.
And that's why,
like I said earlier,
I went to "South Park."
I went to Pixar, because I
just loved how their things had
this great structure to it.
Vince Gilligan was nice
let me go and hang out
one day at the "Better
Call Saul" writers room,
just so I could be like,
how do you guys do this?
And then, so going into "Barry,"
it was a long apprenticeship
to get to that place, you know?
And it's just like anything.
It's just, if you could just
learn to tell this story
and make it about
the story, you're OK.
But yeah, that was it.
You're right, though.
It's so funny.
You do that, and then after
"Trainwreck," it was like, hey,
do you want to be,
like, the romantic lead
guy who likes sports?
I'm not kidding.
The amount of scripts
that were like,
he works with sports people.
And I'm like, I just--
just did that, you know?
[LAUGHTER]
AUDIENCE: Great.
Thank you.
ALAN SEALES: Yeah?
AUDIENCE: So first
of all, thank you
for giving us something
to look forward
to on Sunday nights, especially
us "Game of Thrones" fans.
But second of all--
BILL HADER: Yeah.
Good.
All right.
[LAUGHTER AND GROANING]
Oh wait, does that mean
you guys don't like--
wait, what does that mean?
That "Game of
Thrones" has been bad?
AUDIENCE: Yeah.
The last season was bad.
BILL HADER: Oh, word.
[LAUGHTER]
Yeah.
I've been hearing that a lot,
and I'm always like, what?
What happened?
And then, yeah,
people on the street
will come up to you like,
what the fuck was that?
And I go, I had nothing
to do with that.
It's like, she can change
her face to whatever the fuck
she wants it to be!
[LAUGHTER]
And I'm like,
right, right, right.
And it's like, rocks?
Fucking rocks fell on them?
Fuck you!
And I'm like, fuck me.
I'm not HBO.
I'm just the guy
after that thing.
Anyway.
[LAUGHTER]
I'm not joking.
Both those things
happened to me.
She can change her face to
whatever she wants, and rocks.
And I'm like, I have no
idea what to tell you.
AUDIENCE: When you guys are
writing these characters
on "Barry," do you have some
idea of how the audience might
react to these characters?
Like, when you're writing
and filming the show,
do you sort of have an idea?
Oh, NoHo Hank is probably
going to become a fan favorite
because he's funny or something?
BILL HADER: No.
AUDIENCE: And how do
you react to it when--
[LAUGHTER]
OK.
BILL HADER: You know, we
tried to kill NoHo Hank.
I mean, in the pilot, he died.
You know, when I shoot up
the car in the first episode,
he died.
And then, Anthony was so funny
that Alec and I were shooting
his death scene, and it was
a thing where Anthony said--
it was like, they were
like, where do you
want the squibs to hit him?
And I was like, well, I think
one hits him in the neck
and one hits him in
the head or whatever.
And Anthony was
like, well you know,
maybe if that one was here--
[LAUGHTER]
And this one was
kind of more here.
[LAUGHTER]
Anthony was like, and
instead of the head,
what if it, like, misses?
But yeah, we were just
watching him going, like,
we'd be idiots to kill him.
And so we let him, you know,
live, because he was so funny.
I mean, you have no idea.
You just try to tell
the story, and not
think about it in
terms of what people
are going to want to see.
You just go, well,
what do we want to see?
And hopefully there's
a Venn diagram there.
ALAN SEALES: Yeah, over here?
AUDIENCE: Love "Barry," but
I have a "Forgetting Sarah
Marshall" question.
BILL HADER: OK.
Let me go back to 2008.
AUDIENCE: Yeah.
Yeah, of course.
Just take your time.
A great year.
BILL HADER: "Slumdog
Millionaire" was in the cinema.
AUDIENCE: Let me know
when you're there.
BILL HADER: "Milk" told us
the story of Harvey Milk--
OK, no.
[LAUGHTER]
AUDIENCE: What was
it like to shoot
the vampire musical
Dracula musical scene?
BILL HADER: I'm not being coy.
I don't remember.
AUDIENCE: Perfect.
Well, I'm done here.
BILL HADER: I don't remember.
No, I do remember working
with the puppeteer people.
I had to stay in a hotel because
I was living here at the time,
and a woman came in and she
talked through her puppet
to me.
It was like, hey, oh,
you having breakfast?
Whoa!
So we're going to learn
how to do puppetry!
And I was like, oh,
can you stop that?
[LAUGHTER]
And then, Jason Segel was
like, did you meet the?
[LAUGHTER]
AUDIENCE: Awesome.
Thank you.
BILL HADER: Yeah, thanks.
ALAN SEALES: The guy who
composed that actually
lives on my block.
BILL HADER: Oh, really?
ALAN SEALES: Yeah.
BILL HADER: Oh.
ALAN SEALES: Yeah.
Small world.
The Dracula song.
BILL HADER: Oh, really?
ALAN SEALES: Yeah.
BILL HADER: All of
the questions now
are going to be like,
what block is that?
[LAUGHTER]
AUDIENCE: So first of all,
thanks for being here.
Last year, you were on one
of my favorite podcasts,
"So Many White Guys," and you
said that you made friends
with your anxiety.
And I was wondering, how has
that influenced your ability
as an entertainer, as a creative
person, either positively
or negatively?
BILL HADER: You know,
you have to manage it.
You just kind of go, oh,
this is a thing I have
and it's not going away.
And you can take all the drugs
and all this stuff to kind of--
and it just puts, like,
a lid on it, you know?
Like, people are like, just
take some Klonopin, brah.
Take a Xanny, man.
AUDIENCE: Just a little one.
BILL HADER: And you do it,
and that just put a lid on it.
And then the minute you don't
take it, it's like, [ROARS]..
And you're like, oh, yeah.
So you just kind of,
like, accept it, you know?
Yeah, I do literally--
this sounds crazy--
I do think of it as like
a weird little creature
that's gnawing my face.
And I just go,
OK, we're friends.
And you just accept it.
And you know it's
a thing that's just
kind of great that I learned
was I'm not anxious because.
Take out the because.
Take the narrative out of it.
Just go, oh, I'm
anxious right now.
And I just go, oh,
I'm anxious right now.
I'm being anxious right now.
I'm not anxious because I
have to do this Google talk.
I'm just, oh, this
is me anxious.
And then it kind of dissipates.
And it happens a lot,
like, I'll get angry,
and I get frustrated, and
you just go, I'm frustrated.
And you just kind of
hold it in your hand,
like, oh, that's what
frustration looks like.
And then it kind of goes, bloop.
Like that.
For me it really works,
because it's the narrative.
You know, I'm frustrated
because I can't kill Anthony.
I can't kill NoHo Hank.
[LAUGHS]
But you know, that somehow has
helped me, but it's a process.
And it's like, you never
feel like it's an endgame.
You never go, I got it licked.
You just have to
know, it's like, oh,
this is the new thing.
AUDIENCE: Thank you.
I'm going to try to apply
that right now, because I just
asked you a question.
BILL HADER: Oh, please do.
Yeah.
Oh good.
ALAN SEALES: Thank you.
Yeah?
AUDIENCE: Hi.
So I have a kind
of weird question.
Back in December 2012 on
"SNL," Jamie Foxx was the host,
Ne-Yo was the musical performer.
I saw it, and I kind of
had a conversation with you
in front of the studio audience.
BILLY HADER: Was I nice?
Yeah.
I was just wondering
if you remember that.
BILL HADER: Oh.
[LAUGHTER]
Wait, where?
AUDIENCE: At "SNL."
BILL HADER: No, no, no, where
in front of the studio audience?
AUDIENCE: I was the
second to front row.
BILL HADER: And it
was during the show?
AUDIENCE: It was
the dress rehearsal,
and then afterwards
you came over.
We chatted about Stefon.
You told me a thing about how
John Mulaney changes the jokes.
BILL HADER: Oh, yeah, yeah.
No, I don't remember that.
AUDIENCE: OK.
Cool, cool, cool.
I've been, like, waiting
years to ask this question.
BILL HADER: Oh man.
I probably was like, there's
a super cute girl over there.
I'm going to go talk
to her about stuff.
No, I don't remember.
AUDIENCE: While I
have you, I also
ran into John Mulaney on
the street recently, and--
[LAUGHTER]
As he was going into
Equinox and I did--
BILL HADER: He
went into Equinox?
AUDIENCE: He did.
Yeah.
[LAUGHTER]
I did scream, oh my god,
you're John Mulaney, at him.
And I was just wondering
if you could ask him--
BILL HADER: If he told me that?
AUDIENCE: Yeah.
BILL HADER: No.
AUDIENCE: OK.
[LAUGHTER]
BILL HADER: He
didn't tell me that.
AUDIENCE: All right.
I actually have a real question.
BILL HADER: This is what
social media is for.
AUDIENCE: Right, right, right.
BILL HADER: This is why you
have social media, is to say,
I just had this conversation.
Oh man, no, I don't remember
any of those things.
AUDIENCE: OK, cool.
BILL HADER: But that's cool
that you did that, though,
because I don't have the
nerve to say that to people,
not like--
I just met Keith Morrison today.
I used to do Keith
Morrison on "Dateline,"
and I just met him
for the first time,
and I was so nervous that
I barely said anything.
AUDIENCE: Yeah.
I'm shaking.
BILL HADER: I was like, hey man.
And he was like,
oh, it's just me.
[LAUGHTER]
AUDIENCE: I actually
have a real question.
BILL HADER: Are sitting down?
OK.
Everybody's sitting.
Yeah?
AUDIENCE: Obviously there's tons
of differences between "Barry"
and "SNL," and I
was just wondering,
were there any parallels
you experienced,
or was there something
that you learned
from "SNL" that you applied
to how you approach "Barry?"
BILL HADER: Yeah,
a lot of stuff.
It was like a lot of things.
You know, like at "SNL,"
you're in charge your sketch.
You have to work with
all the department
heads-- makeup, hair, wardrobe.
You have to do all those things.
And without knowing it, I
was producing it, you know?
And it was like, oh,
that's what producing is.
You get all of
these great people
together to make your
thing make sense, you know?
Like, Stefon, the
Ed Hardy shirt, I
remember John just
said he should just
have some sort of shirt.
And Tom Broecker came out
with that Ed Hardy shirt.
We didn't tell him to do
that, but we kind of said,
here's who this guy
is, and do your job.
But no, I mean that.
Like, I do.
And so, like,
"ronny/lily" episode,
it's like, we put music in it.
And I went to the
editor and went,
I don't think we should
have any music in this.
And we'd take it out.
The assistant editors
at the end of that,
where the little
girl screams at us
and it sounds like she's
a raptor or something--
I initially had her doing that
through the whole episode,
and it was our assistant
editor, this guy Frankie,
was like, maybe you should
just have her do it at the end
so it's, like a new thing.
And I was like,
that's a great idea.
So that collaboration
and working with people,
that came from "SNL."
I did not know how to
do that beforehand.
AUDIENCE: Awesome.
Thanks.
BILL HADER: I'll tell
John you said hi.
[LAUGHTER]
AUDIENCE: Hi.
Thanks for coming today.
I was wondering about Sally,
because she's so annoying.
And I love her as a character,
but I hate her as a person.
And I have to pause it,
because she's so cringey.
And I was wondering if you
were ever nervous about having
such a main character
be so unlikable,
especially since she's the
object of Barry's affection,
and she's so
shallow and selfish.
BILL HADER: She's based on me.
[LAUGHTER]
So cool.
Right on.
I thought it'd be
a little bit weird
to base my character on me,
so I said, you know what?
I'll put all my energy into
someone of a different sex
and everything.
But cool.
[LAUGHTER]
Right on.
No.
You know, she's based on a
lot of actors that I know,
and they are very self
obsessed and stuff.
And I give Sarah
Goldberg the plays her,
a lot of credit, because
Sarah is not like that at all,
and Sarah wants to always
play somebody that--
she wants it to be, like,
no, that's not truth.
The truth is, she
wouldn't care about that.
She's just worried
about herself.
But you know, when you're
writing these things,
you have to have a level
of empathy for everybody.
You know, when you're
writing these things,
if you just kind
of hate somebody
or you're kind of talking
down to the characters-- which
we do.
We'll write it that way.
And then, like
with Henry Winkler,
when he came in and read,
he went, oh, failed actor.
Oh, now I kind of have
this weird empathy for him.
And Sally, I mean, this season
she had a terrible-- you know,
her ex-husband beat her
up and all these things.
ALAN SEALES: Barry
got the audition?
BILL HADER: Yeah.
I got an audition.
And Sarah did that amazing
monologue in episode seven.
She did, like, a
three-page monologue.
But I like someone that's human.
And it's interesting
that the people tend--
especially the female
characters-- they always
want them to be kind of
perfect, and we kind of
wanted someone who
was just human.
But it's funny, because
I had people go,
I can't stand that woman, or I
can't stand this, or whatever.
And I'm like, but
Barry kills people.
[LAUGHTER]
But I don't know.
I really feel for Sally,
because I just know her,
because it's based on me.
[LAUGHTER]
No, OK.
So thanks for that.
ALAN SEALES: I
really like Sally.
For what it's worth,
I think she is
an incredibly well-written
character, and the way
that Sarah brings her to life.
BILL HADER: Yeah.
ALAN SEALES: She's,
like, the example
of saying earlier of having
two characters in the show.
She's got the normal,
ditzy, everyday.
And then, like, oh my
god, I'm acting now.
But it's so good.
BILL HADER: Yeah, no.
It's hard to--
I mean, that's the thing
you're always trying
to make sure makes sense.
And especially dealing
with domestic violence
like we did, and Alec and I
are like, we're two white guys.
We don't know what
this is, so we're
going to go talk to women
who've experienced this
so we kind of can have a
real point of view on it
that's truth, because
we don't know.
We did a thing in
the season one where
Barry bought her a laptop.
And he buys her a
laptop after one date.
They slept with each other
once, and he buys her a laptop.
And Alec and I were like,
that's a great gift.
[LAUGHTER]
All the women in the writers
room were like, what?
That's so creepy.
And I was like, no, what
are you talking about?
What a nice thing?
They're like, what?
And they were like, that is
the most creepiest thing.
And we had it laid out that
he gave her this laptop.
And Sally was like,
oh, thank you.
And they were like,
fuck that, you know?
And so we made her go--
it totally changed this thing.
And it made it more interesting,
because she says no,
and then they broke up.
And we were like, well
now Sally and Barry
are kind of on the outs.
Wow.
This is more interesting.
This happened way
quicker than we thought,
and now it made it more a thing.
So I don't know.
ALAN SEALES: I really
found it admirable was
where she's got this big break.
I think it was in episode six
or seven, whichever the latest
one was, where she's got this
big break with Jay Roach,
actually-- real Jay Roach.
BILL HADER: Yeah.
Oh no, Barry has Jay Roach.
ALAN SEALES: Oh, sorry.
No, you have the Jay Roach hit.
But the--
BILL HADER: Yeah, the
guy who made the TV show.
ALAN SEALES: With,
like, stereotypical--
BILL HADER: Yeah,
the payback ladies.
ALAN SEALES: Yeah.
But like, as badly as
she wants to succeed,
as badly as she wants
attention and success,
she still turns it down.
BILL HADER: Yeah.
She wants to be an artist, which
is, like, the hardest thing.
You have to keep your integrity.
But it was so hard.
I have pictures of Alec
Berg when we were trying
to figure out what that was.
We just had this hole in
the script that was like,
Sally has a meeting with this
guy, and he says something.
It's her big break,
and she turns it down.
And it has to be
lame, but he also
has to do with violence
somehow in her experience.
What is that?
And I have all these pictures of
Alec in my apartment like this.
And then, we have one where
he kept changing positions,
and I was just taking
pictures of him,
because he would be
over here like this.
And we didn't speak
for, like, an hour.
We were just sitting in my
apartment, like, what is that?
And then, we both came
up with something.
And then we pitched
it to Liz Sarnoff,
one of our other
writers, over the phone.
So I'd go, Alec has
a thing I don't like,
and I have a thing
he doesn't like.
And so we pitched it
to her, and she goes,
I don't like either of those.
[LAUGHTER]
And then we talked about it, and
she goes, you know what it is?
There's all these shows
of women who were abused,
and so they get a gun, and
then they go and exact revenge.
She goes, which I
find really offensive.
And we were like,
that's perfect.
She's like, so I'm abused.
I'm going to be an
asshole like Barry.
Oh, boom, we got it.
But that's it, you know?
And so yeah, "It's That Time
of the Month for Revenge"
was the--
[LAUGHTER]
Which I think that
could be a real thing.
ALAN SEALES: Yeah.
So we're running out of times,
so we have time for one more
question from each side.
So we'll start over here.
AUDIENCE: Hi.
Thanks for being here.
The puppeteering
question reminded me
of one of my favorite
"SNL" sketches
with the vet puppeteer class.
BILL HADER: Oh, yeah.
Anthony Coleman
AUDIENCE: Yeah, so great.
So on "SNL" you do so
many crazy characters.
You get to kind of
be the crazy man,
and then like "Trainwreck"
and other movies you done,
you can do more at
the voice of reason.
And I was trying to
figure out, like,
where do you think Barry falls?
He's not really wacky,
but he is a murderer.
And then, also what
do you prefer to play,
crazy man or straight
man or voice of reason?
BILL HADER: It's funny.
I don't even think
about it in those terms.
You kind of just go, is this
a thing I can relate to?
And what's the part of me--
like, I can't relate
to being a murderer,
as far as you guys know.
[LAUGHTER]
But I can relate to wanting
a sense of community,
and that feeling of feeling
isolated and wanting
so badly to be a part of a
community like Barry does.
And I think he just wants
connection with people,
and he wants to be normal.
And I've felt that way before,
where you're like, am I normal?
Am I not normal?
What is wrong with me, you know?
Or it's like, I
get anxious, or I
want to do these other things,
and everyone is saying,
I need to be going to--
I remember when I
was in high school,
like, I don't want
to go to college.
My friends were like, what?
Or whatever it is, and you
just feel out of sorts,
and it's those feelings
you can remember
and draw on when you're
writing it and thinking
about how you felt.
And then, those other
movies, anything-- even
"Superbad" is like, I worked
at a movie theater once
and the amount of authority I
had there made me power mad.
I went crazy.
I was like, no, you can't
bring that food in here.
[LAUGHTER]
I was that asshole, just because
it was like, this is awesome.
And so it was that.
Like, I'll bring that to that.
And then all the relationship
stuff in "Trainwreck"
or whatever it is.
In that movie
"Skeleton Twins," it
was a feeling which I
related to of feeling
like you peaked already.
You know, it's like you
did the one thing that
was already good, and
now everything else
is it's not happening for
you, and that fear and stuff.
So I don't know if that
answers your question.
But just again, you just have
to find that part of yourself
and write to that,
or act to that.
AUDIENCE: Thanks.
ALAN SEALES: Cool.
Last question.
AUDIENCE: Hey, how's it going?
You mentioned before
that you would sometimes
meet with your "SNL"
buddies and talk
about skits that never aired.
And I realized
that, you know, what
I wouldn't give
to be in that room
with you guys
talking about that.
And I was wondering--
hoping-- if you could maybe
talk about one of those
"SNL" skits that never aired.
BILL HADER: Never aired?
Oh man, there's
too many of them.
AUDIENCE: One of your favorites.
BILL HADER: Oh man.
There's one called "The Kasems."
Me and John Mulaney wrote this
one where it was Casey Kasem,
and Dana Carvey was hosting.
It was Casey Kasem coming out
of his house late at night,
and he hears something.
And he's in a robe, and
he goes, who's that?
I'm Casey Kasem.
[LAUGHTER]
And then, I come out from
behind the trashcans.
I go, dad, it's not a
burglar or a raccoon.
It's me, your son, JC Kasem.
And he goes, son,
get out of here.
Dad, hear me out.
Son, I want nothing
to do with you.
[LAUGHTER]
And then they had this
very serious conversation,
but we were talking that way.
So there's lines like--
it was the hardest
John Mulaney and I ever
laughed writing something.
One of the lines was like,
you're always telling me,
when are you going to get a job?
When are you going to
move out of the house?
And what recording artist
had more number one hits?
[LAUGHTER]
It's like, and he went,
Mariah Carey with 17.
But seriously, son, I
need you out of here.
And then he said--
what was the other line
that made us laugh?
He goes, dad, why
won't you let me in?
And he goes, here's a letter.
Dear Casey, your son and his
boyfriend owe me $400,000.
And it was this whole thing
about how me and the guy
I was living with, we had ripped
off some Colombian drug lord.
I don't know what it was,
but it really was funny.
And so that didn't get on.
And then Will Forte
and I did a sketch
called Emmy Attire that
was really dumb where
I was like, hey man--
[LAUGHS] it was him and he came
out, and I'm in biking attire.
And I go, hey man, are you
ready to go to the Emmys?
And I go, yeah man.
He goes, what are you wearing?
And he's in another room.
What are you wearing?
I go, biking attire.
He goes, what?
I go, biking attire.
You know, like gloves,
the thing, the hat.
I'm ready to go to the
Emmys in biking attire.
And he goes, go change.
I go, why?
And he comes out
in biking attire.
[LAUGHTER]
And he goes, because I'm wearing
biking attire to the Emmys.
And then, Steve
Carell was the host.
And Steve Carell came
in in Viking attire.
And he goes, oh, I thought
we were doing Viking attire.
I thought you said Viking
attire, not biking attire.
And I just remember reading
this and looking over,
and Tina Fey just
staring at us like.
[LAUGHTER]
And then, Will Forte did a thing
that I think eventually got on.
At that dinner, I said,
did you ever do the thing
where he was a SWAT
guy that he always
tried to get on, who was
this really like SWAT dude.
And he was on a
date with Megan Fox,
I think he said he wrote it for.
And this might have made it
on, where he was this guy,
and she's like, so
you're a SWAT guy?
So what do you do?
And he's like,
[DELICATE VOICE] yeah,
I've been working in SWAT.
[LAUGHTER]
And then it quickly got
into how he raised lambs.
He goes, I raise
lambs on my farm.
It's a really nice time, when
I'm not in the SWAT business.
And the line that
made me laugh was,
she goes, how do
you make your money?
And he goes, well
I sell their hides
and I sell the meat
and all that stuff.
And she goes, so you have
to slaughter the lambs
and he goes, it's really hard.
[LAUGHTER]
I remember he did that at the
table read and I lost my mind.
It's really hard.
AUDIENCE: Thank you.
ALAN SEALES: I hope one day
you go back and revitalize
the Californians.
BILL HADER: Oh yeah,
the Californians.
ALAN SEALES: One of
my all time favorites.
BILL HADER: Yeah,
Californians, especially anyone
who's been to LA or knows LA,
that it's so grossly accurate.
[LAUGHTER]
It's so insanely accurate.
ALAN SEALES: Yeah.
Well, we're out of time.
Thank you so much
for being here.
BILL HADER: Oh man.
Well, thanks guys.
[APPLAUSE]
ALAN SEALES: So the
final season of "Barry"
airs this Sunday, after GoT.
BILL HADER: After got.
ALAN SEALES: After got.
BILL HADER: Everybody
just lay off me.
Just don't yell at me
about "Game of Thrones."
ALAN SEALES: So you can go
back and stream everything
with HBO GO, HBO NOW--
whichever you have.
And now you got picked
up for season three.
Congratulations.
BILL HADER: Season three, yeah.
[APPLAUSE]
We've got to figure it out.
We've got to figure
out how to end this
or how to keep
this thing moving.
ALAN SEALES: The cliffhanger
for the last episode,
I'm still looking
forward to this Sunday,
because I want to know
what happens to Gene.
BILL HADER: Oh, yeah.
I will just say this
episode is really dark.
Yeah, I have friends who've seen
it already, the last episode,
and they're all like, what?
Like, Seth Meyers saw it and
he was like, what the fuck?
That was so fucked up.
So yea.
ALAN SEALES: Well,
everybody help
me thank him again for coming.
BILL HADER: Thanks guys.
Thank you guys so much.
[APPLAUSE]
Thanks, guys.
