Bill Hader is enjoying a pretty good run right now. The fourth and final season of “Barry,” which he directed all eight episodes of, is earning strong reviews and delighting audiences with unexpected cameos. He also makes a scene-stealing appearance as a nervous delivery driver who stumbles on some very bad news in Ari Aster’s acclaimed “Beau Is Afraid.”
Of course, lending his voice to a small part in a big movie is nothing new for Hader. Alongside Ben Schwartz, he was credited as a vocal consultant on “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” for helping voice the spherical droid BB-8. In a new interview with The Independent, Hader reminisced about the experience of working in a galaxy far, far away.
“My kids love ‘Star Wars’ and I was so into it when I was young” he said, adding that he spent a lot of time playing with his toy Millennium Falcon as a child. “I was flying it around my house… I caught the edge of a wall and it bounced back and hit me in the face. It knocked a tooth out!”
Hader said he believes his minor role in the beloved franchise had more to do with J.J. Abrams doing him a solid than his actual skills. But that doesn’t mean he wasn’t thrilled about the opportunity.
“I mean, that’s the weird thing. It was just J.J. Abrams being a nice guy. It was like something you would do for someone who won a contest,” he said. “But it’s pretty cool seeing your name in blue at the end.”
Hader hasn’t made many genre films outside of the “Star Wars” franchise, but that could soon be changing in a big way. He recently revealed that he is developing three feature films, and could end up directing and starring in a horror movie as his next project.
“The horror one, I would star in. The other two, as of now, I would not be in,” he said. “But I’ve done this before, where I’ve talked about things, and then once it gets out there, you’re almost really jinxing it. So, we’ll see. Always, the thing you’re concentrating on is the thing that kind of goes well, and then this thing over here that you’re half thinking about, that’s the thing that [takes off]. I mean, that’s what happened with ‘Barry.’”
Of course, lending his voice to a small part in a big movie is nothing new for Hader. Alongside Ben Schwartz, he was credited as a vocal consultant on “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” for helping voice the spherical droid BB-8. In a new interview with The Independent, Hader reminisced about the experience of working in a galaxy far, far away.
“My kids love ‘Star Wars’ and I was so into it when I was young” he said, adding that he spent a lot of time playing with his toy Millennium Falcon as a child. “I was flying it around my house… I caught the edge of a wall and it bounced back and hit me in the face. It knocked a tooth out!”
Hader said he believes his minor role in the beloved franchise had more to do with J.J. Abrams doing him a solid than his actual skills. But that doesn’t mean he wasn’t thrilled about the opportunity.
“I mean, that’s the weird thing. It was just J.J. Abrams being a nice guy. It was like something you would do for someone who won a contest,” he said. “But it’s pretty cool seeing your name in blue at the end.”
Hader hasn’t made many genre films outside of the “Star Wars” franchise, but that could soon be changing in a big way. He recently revealed that he is developing three feature films, and could end up directing and starring in a horror movie as his next project.
“The horror one, I would star in. The other two, as of now, I would not be in,” he said. “But I’ve done this before, where I’ve talked about things, and then once it gets out there, you’re almost really jinxing it. So, we’ll see. Always, the thing you’re concentrating on is the thing that kind of goes well, and then this thing over here that you’re half thinking about, that’s the thing that [takes off]. I mean, that’s what happened with ‘Barry.’”