Bill Hader returns as Barry Berkman in the fourth and final season of Barry. Photo / HBO
Bill Hader returns as Barry Berkman in the fourth and final season of Barry. Photo / HBO
From impersonating Prince Philip and Al Pacino to playing comedic characters like Greg the Alien and “city correspondent” Stefon - it’s his eight-year stint on Saturday Night Live that Bill Hader is best known for.
But now he’s revealed the comedy show left him in a dark place that ultimately inspired him to create his hit show Barry, whose fourth and final season will premiere on April 17 in New Zealand.
“Acting was never a thing that I was interested in. And doing comedy - I never thought I could perform comedy. And then through massive luck and a lot of things happening I ended up on Saturday Night Live and took that opportunity. I was able to do impressions and I had this natural ability to do that, but what I wanted to do was write and direct. And when I would try to make short films, they never came out that great.
“What if the thing that you’re naturally good at is hurting you, but the thing you strive to do, [the thing] you love, you’re not that good at? The character came from this idea, that I always wanted to be a filmmaker.”
With Barry, he finally got to “actually do the thing that I love doing, that I’ve always wanted to do”, he adds - and his earlier self-doubt ended up inspiring the character.
“It’s been better than anything I can experience.”
The fourth season of Barry is the last time we’ll see the hitman turned acting student, who’s still killing people but acting like he’s the good guy. The show opens as Berkman finds himself jailed for his crimes and facing a reckoning - is this his moment of redemption?
Henry Winkler plays Gene Cousineau, acting teacher and mentor to Barry who later turns on him. Photo / HBO
“He’s at his lowest point at the beginning of this season, and it was interesting watching him coming into his character where the gig is up, in a way,” Hader notes.
“We’ve only seen him playing this part of a good guy. And now in the first episode he admits to somebody, ‘I’m nothing but a piece of s*** killer’.”
Hader wanted to put the character in prison because it was a kind of “pressure cooker” - it forces him to take stock of his past and of his actions.
“I think he’s always trying to reach out for sympathy from people,” he notes - from his handler Fuches, from his ex-girlfriend Sally, from his acting coach and mentor Gene Cousineau.
“And then when he feels rejected, he gets incredibly angry.
“You ask the question, what would it be like for him to be in prison? How would he respond to that? And it’s self-pity. He goes through the whole gamut. He’s not really listening to people but he hears what he wants to hear, which is funny and annoying and human.”
Bringing the show to an end after four seasons was emotional, he admits - co-star Henry Winkler, who plays Cousineau on the show, earlier revealed Hader made him cry when filming wrapped. But it wasn’t so much saying goodbye to the character, or even the show itself, that brought on the tears.
“It was just these people that you work with and this amazing crew, and they work so hard. They don’t get to see their families. We’re all up on a mountain shooting and it’s cold and rainy and awful, and they’re out there laughing and having a great time, and working so hard,” Hader says.
“So I just felt really indebted to them and I gave a speech thanking them, and I started crying, and everybody was like, ‘oh no, the boss is crying’,” he jokes.
“I walked away from that a bit embarrassed, but it was very beautiful. It was very sweet.”
As the show wraps up, what’s next for the SNL alum?
“My goal after the show ends is to sleep,” he deadpans.
“And I haven’t had a vacation in 12 years, so I need a vacation. And then write some scripts for movies, and then maybe create another TV show ... we’ll see.”
The final season of Barry will stream on Neon and Sky Go from April 17
