Bill Hader facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Bill Hader
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Hader in 2016
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William Thomas Hader Jr.
June 7, 1978 Tulsa, Oklahoma, U.S.
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| Education | Art Institute of Phoenix Scottsdale Community College |
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| Years active | 1999–present |
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Works
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Full list |
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| Children | 3 |
| Awards | Full list |
William Thomas Hader Jr. (born June 7, 1978) is an American actor, comedian, writer, producer, and director. He is well-known for his time on the NBC sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live from 2005 to 2013. During this time, he earned four Primetime Emmy Award nominations and a Peabody Award. He became famous for his impressions and especially for his character Stefon, a funny New York City nightclub guide, on the Weekend Update segments.
Hader also co-created the HBO comedy series Barry (2018–2023) with Alec Berg. He starred as the main character, Barry Berkman. He also worked as a producer, writer, and director for the show. His work on Barry earned him eight Emmy Award nominations. He won two Emmys in a row for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series. He is also a star and producer of the IFC comedy series Documentary Now! (2015–2022) with Fred Armisen and Seth Meyers.
In movies, Hader has played supporting roles in films like Hot Rod (2007), Superbad (2007), and The BFG (2016). He had leading roles in The Skeleton Twins (2014) and Trainwreck (2015). He also played an adult Richie Tozier in It Chapter Two (2019). Hader has done a lot of voice acting for Pixar films such as Inside Out (2015), Finding Dory (2016), and Toy Story 4 (2019). He also voiced characters in Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (2009) and its 2013 sequel, The Angry Birds Movie (2016) and its 2019 sequel.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Bill Hader was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on June 7, 1978. His mother, Sherri Renee, was a dance teacher. His father, William Thomas Hader, owned an air cargo company and was sometimes a stand-up comedian. Bill has two younger sisters, Katie and Kara.
Growing up, Hader found it hard to focus in class and was always joking around. He felt like he didn't fit in, so he spent his time watching movies and reading. He loved Monty Python and films by Woody Allen and Mel Brooks, which his father showed him. He made short films with his friends and acted in a school play.
Hader wanted to go to film school but couldn't get into the top ones. So, he went to The Art Institute of Phoenix and later Scottsdale Community College. His first job was selling Christmas trees. He also worked as an usher at a movie theater, where he could watch movies for free. He was fired for telling people the ending of Titanic (1997). In May 2024, Hader gave a speech at Chapman University and received an honorary Doctor of Arts degree.
Career Beginnings
Becoming a Filmmaker
In 1999, Hader left college and moved to Los Angeles to become a filmmaker. His parents supported him and let him use his college savings for living expenses. He worked as a production assistant (PA), hoping to become an assistant director. He often worked very long hours, leaving little time for his own creative ideas. He was a PA on films like James Dean (2001) and Spider-Man (2002). He eventually quit being a PA after a difficult experience while working on The Scorpion King (2002).
After quitting, Hader got a job as an assistant editor. He tried making his own short film but was too shy to release it. Feeling like he needed a change, he started taking comedy classes in March 2003. He quickly realized that comedy was what he loved to do.
Starting in Comedy
Hader and his friends formed a sketch comedy group called Animals from the Future. They performed for small audiences in backyards. Actor Nick Offerman heard about them and told his wife, Megan Mullally, who is also an actress. Mullally saw one of their shows and told Hader that she wanted to talk about him with Lorne Michaels, the creator of Saturday Night Live (SNL).
Hader was invited to audition for SNL producers in New York. He was nervous and didn't have anything prepared. He ended up doing an impression of an Italian man he had once heard. This impression later became Vinny Vedecci, one of his many characters on the show. Because of this audition, Hader got an agent and a manager. Before joining SNL, he worked as an assistant editor on Iron Chef America.
Breakthrough on Saturday Night Live
Hader joined SNL as a featured player and first appeared on October 1, 2005. He felt like he went from "preschool to Harvard" because of how big the show was. He became known as the "impressions guy," like his hero Phil Hartman. Hader said he used to impersonate teachers and friends when he was young, but not famous people until his SNL audition.
His impressions included Vincent Price, Keith Morrison, Harvey Fierstein, Al Pacino, and John Malkovich. In 2012, Hader received his first Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series nomination for his work on SNL. He was the first male SNL cast member since Eddie Murphy in 1986 to get this nomination.
One of Hader's most famous characters was Stefon, the flamboyant New York correspondent for Weekend Update. Stefon would recommend strange nightclubs with unusual characters. He was also in love with and married to Seth Meyers on the show. Stefon was based on two people that SNL writer John Mulaney and Hader had met.
Early Film Roles
Hader made his movie debut in You, Me and Dupree (2006). The next year, he had many roles, including Officer Slater in Superbad (2007) with Seth Rogen. His role in Superbad helped him become more widely known. He also appeared in Knocked Up and Hot Rod.
Hader also worked as a creative consultant, producer, and voice actor on South Park starting in 2008. He became involved because of his friendship with Matt Stone, one of the show's creators. Hader wanted to learn about story structure. He was part of the team that won a 2009 Emmy Award for Best Animated Series for South Park. Hader also won a 2008 Peabody Award for his political satire on Saturday Night Live.
In 2008, Hader starred in and co-wrote the web series The Line. He also lent his voice to the audiobook of The Wordy Shipmates. He appeared in other films like Forgetting Sarah Marshall and Pineapple Express. He also starred with Ben Stiller and Robert Downey, Jr. in Tropic Thunder. Hader worked again with Superbad director Greg Mottola in Adventureland (2009) and Paul (2011). He voiced a character in the video game Grand Theft Auto IV.
Hader and SNL castmate Seth Meyers wrote a Spider-Man comic book called The Short Halloween in 2009. Hader also had a small role in the comedy film Year One. He lent his voice to the Sony Pictures Animation film Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (2009) and its 2013 sequel. He played the main character, Flint Lockwood, and also voiced his invention, the FLDSMDFR. He voiced a gazelle in Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs and appeared in Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (2009) as Major General George Armstrong Custer. In April 2009, Vanity Fair magazine listed Hader as one of "Comedy's New Legends."
From 2011 to 2014, Hader hosted Essentials, Jr. on Turner Classic Movies. He chose 13 classic films each year to show to younger audiences. Some of the films he picked included Singin' in the Rain (1952), Bringing Up Baby (1938), and King Kong (1933).
Hader decided to leave SNL after eight seasons in February 2013. He felt it was time to go because he and his wife were traveling a lot for work, which made it hard for their children. His last episode was on May 18, 2013. He returned to host SNL on October 11, 2014, and again on March 17, 2018.
Film Roles and Barry
Hader starred in a dramatic role in the 2014 film The Skeleton Twins, alongside Kristen Wiig, who he worked with on Saturday Night Live. The film won 'Best Screenplay' at the Sundance Film Festival. In 2015, Hader voiced the character of Fear in the Disney/Pixar film Inside Out. He also appeared in Brooklyn Nine-Nine as Captain Seth Dozerman. In 2015, Hader reunited with fellow SNL stars Fred Armisen and Seth Meyers for the IFC series Documentary Now!, where he was an actor and writer.
In December 2015, it was reported that Hader and Ben Schwartz provided the voice for BB-8 in Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Their voices were changed using special effects. Hader also voiced characters in Bad Lip Reading's parodies of the Star Wars original movies. Hader had his first main role in the romantic comedy Trainwreck (2015) with Amy Schumer. He also voiced Alpha 5 in the 2017 film Power Rangers.
In 2018, Hader co-created and began starring in the HBO comedy series Barry with Alec Berg. For this show, he received eight Primetime Emmy Award nominations as a producer, writer, director, and actor. He won Emmys for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series in both 2018 and 2019. In 2019, Hader starred in the horror film It Chapter Two as Richie Tozier. He received praise for his performance. In 2019, he voiced Leonard in The Angry Birds Movie 2 and Axel the Carnie in Toy Story 4.
In June 2023, Hader was invited to become a member of The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. He also had a small role as a UPS driver in the 2023 film Beau is Afraid. In March 2024, it was announced that Hader will star in the upcoming animated remake of the Dr. Seuss children's book The Cat in the Hat, where he will voice the main character. He is also an executive producer for the film.
Influences
Hader has shared that his comedy influences include Woody Allen, Monty Python, Alan Alda, Mel Brooks, and Eddie Murphy.
Personal Life
Family and Relationships
Bill Hader married writer and director Maggie Carey in 2006. They have three daughters. They divorced in 2018. Hader later dated actress Rachel Bilson and actress Anna Kendrick. Since late 2022, he has been in an on-and-off relationship with comedian and actress Ali Wong.
Interests
Hader loves to read. He has said that he enjoys reading classic books. He is a fan of the Chicago Cubs baseball team. He also loves movies, especially films from the Golden Age of Hollywood and those directed by the Coen Brothers, Stanley Kubrick, and Akira Kurosawa.
Health
Hader has an anxiety disorder. During his time on Saturday Night Live, he had anxiety and trouble sleeping. He often felt nervous before shows. During one show in 2010, he had a panic attack live on air while impersonating Julian Assange. He also gets migraines and has a severe peanut allergy.
Acting Credits and Awards
Images for kids
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Hader in 2016
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The main stage of Saturday Night Live
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Hader at the 2013 San Diego Comic-Con
See also
In Spanish: Bill Hader para niños
