Tag: Bill Hader

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Bill Hader Mental Health Saturday Night Live SNL

Bill Hader skipped SNL 50 because an anxiety sketch hit too close to home

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Earlier this year, Saturday Night Live celebrated its 50th birthday with a special live episode featuring cast members and hosts. Stars like Will Ferrell & Ana Gasteyer, Adam Sandler, Steve Martin, Eddie Murphy, Tom Hanks, and more took part. It was a really fun weekend for SNL fans.

Bill Hader was not at any of the SNL50 festivities. People noticed and noted that he’d been outspoken about his difficulties on the show. Bill’s rep said that he had a “scheduling conflict” while Puck got a quote about how he’d politely declined it. Most people just accepted that Bill was busy with other projects and moved on. As it turns out, Bill’s rep wasn’t being truthful. He *was* asked to participate in Andy Sandberg’s digital short about pre-show jitters. However, he turned it down because – ironically – he was too anxious to do it.

Between the concert on Feb. 14 and the special episode on Feb. 16, pretty much everyone who’s ever been on SNL or hosted it in its history showed up to celebrate. Guests included the likes of Robert De Niro, Kim Kardashian, Will Ferrell, Scarlett Johansson, Keke Palmer, Lady Gaga, Jimmy Fallon, Billy Crystal, Pedro Pascal, David Letterman, Sarah Jessica Parker, Drew Barrymore, Meryl Streep, Seth Meyers, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Bad Bunny, Chris Rock, Jon Hamm, Eddie Murphy, Mike Myers, Paul McCartney, and Tom Hanks. Like, I’m not sure more famous people have ever been in the same room, ever.

And while there were A-listers in abundance, viewers couldn’t help but notice the absence of a couple of the show’s most beloved alumni, including Bill Hader, who was an SNL cast member from 2005 to 2013.

As even casual SNL viewers will know, Bill is behind some of the show’s most iconic sketches, and so, fans were incredibly disappointed to see that he was one of the only former cast members not to make a comeback for the 50th anniversary.

“Ok not gonna lie, it feels wrong watching the SNL 50th anniversary without Bill Hader,” one X post read at the time.

“This show had everything. Except Bill Hader’s Stefon,” added someone else, referring to his iconic recurring character on the show.

“Nah, how are you going to celebrate SNL 50 weekend update without Stefon. That’s a crime. Where tf is Bill Hader,” echoed another user.

At the time, the intrigue surrounding Bill’s absence was so widespread that his representative spoke out, telling Variety he was unable to make it due to a “longstanding scheduling conflict.” And now, Bill has addressed the matter himself, revealing that his lack of involvement was down to something a little more personal.

Appearing on Late Night with Seth Meyers on Tuesday, Bill explained to his fellow SNL alum that he was invited to take part in a short with Andy Samberg, but turned it down due to his struggles with anxiety — which was ironic, because the sketch was all about how “everybody had anxiety at SNL.”

“Andy called me and was like, ‘Hey, so we’re doing this short about how, you know, everybody had anxiety.’ And when he told about it, I was like, ‘I don’t know if I want to do that,’” he recalled. “And he was like, ‘Why?’ and I was like, ‘Because I’m anxious!’”

Andy’s “Anxiety” short went ahead anyway with Bowen Yang in Bill’s place, and it seems he has no regrets about how things played out. “I was like, really shaky and everything,” he told Seth. “I was really anxious.”

[From Buzzfeed]

I’m really sorry that Bill deals with such terrible anxiety. As someone who also suffers from anxiety, I relate and sympathize with him. I was disappointed to not get a Stefon appearance, but I completely understand and accept that Bill would turn it down for mental health reasons. I bet he felt such a weight off of his shoulders and could breathe/sleep easier once he made that decision to opt out. He’s probably made so many strides over the last several years without being put into that high stress position, so I don’t blame him for not doing it. He made the right call, too. That digital short was fine, but nowhere near on that legendary level as other digital shorts, like the Natalie Portman, Captain Jack Sparrow, or Lazy Sunday ones. Don’t get me wrong; it was entertaining! I’m just saying that if it hit too close to home for Bill, then good for him for knowing his own limits.

Here’s the anxiety sketch that Bill turned down:


photos credit: Xavier Collin/Image Press Agency/Avalon, Jeffrey Mayer/Avalon, Getty and via Instagram and YouTube

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Bill Hader Mindy Kaling

Why didn’t Mindy Kaling & Bill Hader sign on to ‘Inside Out 2’?

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Pixar films have the reputation of being gut-punching tearjerkers so I generally avoid them. That being said, I’ve seen Inside Out a few times and I cry every time. It’s a really beautiful movie about growing up and being a kid and trying to figure out your own sh-t. The first film featured voice work from Amy Poehler (Joy), Mindy Kaling (Disgust), Bill Hader (Fear), Phyllis Smith (Sadness) and Lewis Black (Anger). The trailer for the sequel was just released this week:

It’s basically like… okay, this girl has to navigate puberty now, with some new emotions and anxiety. It should be great and moving. We’ve known for more than a year that Mindy and Bill Hader were not returning for Inside Out 2, but until this week, I had not heard why that was. Mindy especially was so proud of Inside Out and she was so moved by the story. So what happened? Pixar only offered Hader and Kaling 2% of what they offered Amy Poehler.

If you watched the trailer for Inside Out 2 released on Thursday and wondered why the voices of Mindy Kaling and Bill Hader were nowhere to be heard — here’s the answer. A report from Puck News published in 2022 revealed that Kaling and Hader, who played Disgust and Fear in the first film, were offered just 2% of Amy Poehler’s salary for voicing Joy.

“Star Amy Poehler is making $5 million (plus additional fees and bonuses), but Disney originally offered the other main voice cast just $100,000 (with no bonuses) to return, an insult that was politely declined,” the outlet explained.

Disney reportedly tried to up their initial offer after it was declined but Hader and Kaling still said no. As for Fear and Disgust? Tony Hale stepped in to replace Hader, and Liza Lapira will be taking over Kaling’s role.

Kaling confirmed that she would not be reprising her role in the film while speaking to TheWrap in January. “I had a great time working on Inside Out and am sure Inside Out 2 will be great,” the actress said. But I’m not working on it.”

[From The Messenger]

This really should have made more news at the time because WTF??? I get that you can make a solid argument that Amy is the “star” with her voice work as Joy, but the first film was truly an ensemble and it’s insane that Pixar thought they could get away with making such a low-ball offer to Hader and Kaling. If it had just been Kaling, I would say racism was at play (and maybe it is), but they treated a white guy like sh-t too.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.

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Bill Hader Television

Bill Hader talks about that plot change on Barry (spoilers)

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**SPOILERS FOR BARRY**

The last season of Barry is underway. There are only three episodes left in the series. When the trailer for this season came out, we had theories about what was going to go down. But episodes four and five showed us: We. Had. No. Idea. Proceed only if you are okay knowing what happened.

So episode four was bonkers. Barry had escaped from prison and there was an intense manhunt for him as the cast found out he’d escaped. Everyone who wasn’t Barry was so wrapped up in his escape, it wreaked havoc on their lives. But the real WTF moment was the end when Barry and Sally were in some pastoral setting with their son at the end of the episode. Some theorized it might be a dream but no, episode five confirmed, this is where we are now in Barry’s timeframe. Ep. Five began eight years in the future and Barry and Sally are parents to John. Barry has found religion while Sally waits tables for money and drinks away her demons. Whew boy. So folks asked Bill Hader – what the what? Why the jump without explanation? Bill said the eight years of how’d they get there bored him, so he just skipped over it.

Barry star Bill Hader didn’t care how Barry and Sally got to where they were going; his only concern was that they were there.

Written and directed by Hader, the fifth episode of Barry’s final season confirms that the ending of episode four was anything but fantasy. It’s now been eight years since Barry and Sally (Sarah Goldberg) decided to run away together and the couple, who are now known as Clark and Emily, are living with their son, John (Zachary Golinger), in the middle of nowhere. Barry is suddenly a man of faith who perpetually stays at home to school his son and shelter him from the truth of who his parents actually are. Meanwhile, a wig-donning Sally is working as a server at a diner, and she routinely drowns her sorrows in a bottle to get through the days. She may have had dreams of being a working actor, but her real-life role as Emily is a nightmare in every way.

In an era where so many stories obsessively show their work and over-explain every last detail, Hader was indifferent to the idea of spelling out how Barry and Sally evaded what was likely a nationwide manhunt for the hitman-turned-fugitive, as well as how they set up their new identities and residence.

“I didn’t find [watching them be on the run in real time] very interesting. In season one, he has a daydream about he and Sally and a boy taking a family picture, and so I was like, ‘Well, maybe that’s what he wants,’” Hader tells The Hollywood Reporter. “So, it was more about them being there. It’s been eight years, and this is where they’re at. That was just more interesting to me.”

[From Yahoo!]

The longer interview in The Hollywood Reporter has a lot more about what’s behind the episode. There’s a Whitey Bulger connection and it talks about the imagery and why Barry’s suddenly religious. Honestly, I respect Bill’s take on the jump. I find shows and films sometimes take too much time trying to explain something fantastical when the audience has already agreed to an absurd premise. Barry is about a hitman who tries to change his life and become an actor. So much of the show asked us to bend reality already so, yeah. Just say it’s eight years later and they eluded the manhunt. We know Barry’s clever. The ‘how’ would have bored me too and taken too much time. Granted, the sudden introduction in ep four was jarring, but it was a different approach, so I appreciate that.

The real question is where do they go from here? Bill said that they evaded the police didn’t interest him but that doesn’t mean they are ultimately successful. There’s always a chance he’s discovered and now Sally’s an accomplice. And there’s apparently a whole story about Cousineau’s personal journey in that time. There is actually a lot to pack in to the last three episodes, even with the eight-year gap.

Photos via Instagram and credit Getty

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Bill Hader Television

Bill Hader confirms ‘Barry’ is ending after season four, hints at Barry’s fate

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Spoilers for already aired episodes of Barry


All good things must come to an end, and that goes for TV shows as much as anything. In addition to Ted Lasso and Succession, we will be saying goodbye to Barry after season 4. The reason? Series creator and star Bill Hader said the ending came to him and it just felt right to close it out. I found it interesting how the ending came to him. Apparently, when Covid shut down production of season 3 in 2020, Bill used the time to write season 4, which is when it occurred to him that was the end of the show. But he went back and rewrote season 3 to set up the ending better. That leads me to believe season 4 is going to be so flushed out, I’m going to have to go back and play catch up now. The new teaser for 4 is out. I posted it below and we’ll talk a little more about it below. Here are a few quotes from Bill’s Variety interview about the ending.

On why there’s a season 4: Yeah! It was very much in the writing and the storytelling. I mean, a lot of people after last season were like, “Why are you doing another season? It should have just ended.”

But to me, there are still so many questions with the other characters, and with Barry — and there’s so many things unsaid. What happens in Season 4 is structurally radical in some ways, but it made sense for what I think the characters needed to go through, and what I think the whole show is always kind of headed towards.

You realize, well, we could pad a lot of stuff, and just make story. But if we’re going forward, it ends in Season 4.

Why he rewrote Season 3: Well, Season 3 was always pretty dark. Actually, in some parts it was darker, and we cut it back! I think naturally the show just gets darker by virtue of what’s happening with the characters, and people knowing this thing that Barry’s kept hidden. This whole show has been about him trying to better himself, and change himself. And I think a lot of people — maybe us included — thought, “Oh, that gonna happen.” And then as you write it, you go, “Oh, no, that’s never — I don’t know if that’s gonna happen!”

Season 3 was solidifying that, and then setting up stuff that we wanted to happen in Season 4. So 3 and 4 to us felt like one big season — those 16 episodes were all kind of conceived together. And then, like I said, there’s something that happens in 4 that is kind of strange, though thematically it makes a lot of sense.

What series finales inspired him: To be honest, I don’t watch a whole lot of television. But I get excited by good endings to books — things that have a really satisfying ending.

I’ve never seen it in terms of a TV show, I guess — even though it is a TV show. Even when we’re cutting right now, I don’t even think I’ve ever referred to it as the “series finale” when we’re working on the last episode. It’s just the end of the story, you know what I mean?

[From Variety]

I’m one of those people who absolutely thought that the series should’ve ended with Barry being led out in handcuffs at the end of season 3. I was really disappointed they were going to try to drag another storyline past that. However, knowing now that Bill and Alec Berg rewrote the whole season to set-up the final season makes me trust the decision.

In the teaser, it looks like Barry is coming unraveled. While that might seem like a cop out, if you layer it over the whole redemption arc he’s been striving for while further digging his own grave, it makes sense. And the phone call at the end, trying to figure out who he’s threatening, it gives you chills. It would be interesting if Barry does a full snap back to the person he was before he came to LA. It would also be brilliant (and very Sopranos) if we don’t ever find out who was on the other end of that phone call and the final shot was Barry on the other side of the jail wall, cocking a gun and heading off into the night to find his victim. But I love that kind of thing. I also love that Bill knew when to end Barry and did so. It’s hard to say goodbye to good TV but it’s harder to watch good TV go bad. I’m glad he got to end his series on his terms. I’m definitely intrigued to see what he does with it.

Complete left turn but just fyi, Barry co-star and America’s Grandpa Henry Winkler has written an autobiography. You can pre-order it now.

The teaser:


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Ali Wong Bill Hader Breakups Relationships

Bill Hader and Ali Wong had a fling earlier this year

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Bill Hader and Ali Wong were a thing for a hot minute earlier this year, but it’s done now, so don’t get too excited. Ali divorced her husband of eight years, Justin Hakuta, last April. Bill split with Anna Kendrick sometime before last summer. Between then and now, Bill and Ali coupled up for what sources are saying was at least two months. But they were just too busy to be together. Also, according to sources, all their comedy friends who knew about it were super-stoked about the pairing. But they also agreed not to say anything out of respect for Ali’s divorce. So I guess the statute of limitations is lifted? And now we know it was, it was great, but it’s not anymore.

Ali Wong and Bill Hader had a brief rebound romance with each other after she divorced Justin Hakuta and he split from Anna Kendrick earlier this year.

Sources tell Page Six the funny couple started dating “at least two months ago,” but the romance has already ended.

“They’re no longer dating. They dated very briefly. They’re just super busy with things, but [the split] was certainly amicable. They’re certainly friends,” an insider told us.


Stand-up star Wong and “Barry” co-creator Hader kept their fling under wraps in light of her divorce, we’re told.

“Only a small circle of A-list comedians know and everyone was thrilled about it. [Their friends] helped them protect the relationship in light of Ali’s divorce,” another source said.

[From Page Six]

It’s so weird reporting on Bill’s love life because it’s always in the past tense. Granted we knew he was married to Maggie Carey, but they were so low key, we didn’t talk about them until they were signing their papers. Then we reported on his thing with Rachel Bilson when that already had one foot in the grave. Only we didn’t know it was on life-support until – you guessed it, years after the fact when Rachel talked about it on her podcast. We only learned about his two-year relationship with Anna Kendrick when they broke up. And here we are getting confirmation of his thing with Ali now that it’s hit the skids. This article said the hush-hush was about Ali‘s divorce, which I’m sure was a factor, but it’s also Bill’s MO. Ali probably asked Bill if it was cool if they kept things on the down low and Bill was all, “trust me, no problem.” After all, it was Rachel who dished their split. Neither Anna nor Bill ever spoke about their thing. Not sure why this thing with Ali is coming out now, though. Two months really is a fling, especially when one of them just got out of an eight-year marriage.

Anyway, there you have it. Bill was dating Ali. They were great together. But now, Bill may or may not be single. Who knows, we’ll find out if he was available after his next breakup.

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Photo credit: Instagram, Getty Images, Cover Images and Xavier Collin/Image Press Agency/Avalon

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anna kendrick Bill Hader

Anna Kendrick & Bill Hader have been ‘quietly dating’ for about a year

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Anna Kendrick is one of those rare celebrities who just does good work, gives charming interviews and stays quiet. She works all the time and she mostly stays under the radar, gossip-wise. So here’s one of the rare gossip stories about Anna: she’s apparently been quietly dating Bill Hader for the better part of a year. Hader was married from 2006 to 2018 and he shares three daughters with his ex-wife. The last we heard, he was quietly dating Rachel Bilson in late 2019 and early 2020. Hader and Bilson broke up in the summer of 2020, and it looks like he began dating Anna months later.

Anna Kendrick and Bill Hader have enjoyed a budding relationship for more than a year, a source tells PEOPLE.

“Anna has been dating Bill quietly for over a year,” says the source. “They met years ago. She’s hosted Saturday Night Live and they’ve done a movie together, but they got together well after the movie.”

“They are both very private people, and with the pandemic it was easy to keep it quiet,” adds the source. “They’re both hysterical so they must keep each other laughing all of the time. She’s really, really happy.”

Reps for both actors declined to comment for PEOPLE. The Oscar-nominated Pitch Perfect actress, 36, and Hader, 43, costarred in the 2019 Disney Christmas movie Noelle together.

PEOPLE confirmed in July 2020 that Hader and former girlfriend Rachel Bilson amicably broke up six months after making their relationship public at the Golden Globes. Bilson and Hader had starred together in the 2013 romantic comedy The To Do List. Maggie Carey, that film’s director, was married to Hader from 2006 to 2018. They share three daughters: Hayley Clementine, 7, Harper, 9, and Hannah Kathryn, 12.

[From People]

People had a follow-up with a source explaining how Anna and Bill kept their relationship quiet for so long: They “are both very private people, and with the pandemic, it was easy to keep it quiet. They’re both hysterical so they must keep each other laughing all of the time. She’s really, really happy.” It’s interesting! So many people are surprisingly hot for Bill Hader, which I’ve never really understood? He’s mega-talented, for sure. He’s very funny. But… I don’t know. Not my type, I guess! But I’ll buy that he is Anna’s type. Good for them for keeping it quiet too.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.