One of the entertainment industry’s most charming and effortlessly funny actors, Bill Hader has been making audiences laugh for nearly two decades. The gifted performer first made a splash when he became a cast member on the popular, long-running television series Saturday Night Live, where he spent eight seasons delighting fans with his quirky characters and spot-on impressions of celebrities like Clint Eastwood, Vincent Price, and Al Pacino, nabbing a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for his impressive efforts. During this time, Hader would find success on the big screen with supporting roles in comedies like Superbad, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, and a hilarious bit part in Adventureland, as well as on fellow television programs like 30 Rock, South Park, and Funny or Die Presents.
After leaving the hit series in 2013, the funnyman took Hollywood by storm by headlining both critically acclaimed movies and shows. Hader proved he could capture the hearts of audiences everywhere as a leading man, starring alongside Amy Schumer in the 2016 blockbuster comedy hit Trainwreck in addition to lending his voice for Inside Out and taking on more dramatic roles in movies like The Skeleton Twins and the horror hit It Chapter Two. The performer currently stars on the HBO dark comedy series Barry, where he also writes and directs, in which he has garnered widespread praise and an Emmy as a low-rent hitman turned aspiring actor. These are the best Bill Hader performances.
9 Adventureland
Featuring an impressive ensemble cast including Jesse Eisenburg, Kristen Stewart, Ryan Reynolds, and Bill Hader, the underrated 2009 dramedy Adventureland takes place in Pittsburgh during the summer of 1987 and centers on recent college graduate James Brennan as he is forced to take a job at the run-down titular amusement park, where he develops close bonds with its quirky and colorful staff. In the endearing picture, Hader portrays Bobby, the boisterous, litter-loathing assistant manager at Adventureland (alongside his wife, a humorous Kristen Wiig), who will do anything for his employees and is hilariously diligent in running the park.
Adventureland premiered at the Sundance Film Festival to rave reviews, garnering praise for its dynamite cast and heartwarming premise and performances. The dramedy earned a nomination for the Gotham Independent Film Awards for Best Ensemble Cast, with Time Out writing, “As a sweet-natured character comedy – and a subtle exercise in generic boundary-pushing – this is a real charmer.”
8 Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
Bill Hader showcased his immense talent as a voice actor when he took on the lead role in the 2009 animated science fiction comedy Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, which follows ambitious yet down-on-his-luck inventor Flint Lockwood as he creates a wondrous machine that can make food fall from the sky. Screenwriters Phil Lord and Christopher Miller set out to pay homage and parody popular disaster films like Twister, The Core, Armageddon, and The Day After Tomorrow, while also instilling a generous dose of heart and inspiring optimism to the script.
The fantasy flick was both a critical and commercial success and displayed Hader’s ability to embrace any genre brilliantly, receiving praise for its vibrant visuals, voice acting, colorful humor and score. A sequel, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2, was released in 2013 to similar acclaim as the original.
7 The Skeleton Twins
Joining his fellow Saturday Night Live alum on the big screen, Bill Hader teamed up with the wonderful Kristen Wiig again for the 2014 dramedy The Skeleton Twins, in which the dynamic duo portray estranged twins Milo and Maggie Dean who reconnect after experiencing near-death experiences on the same day. In the poignant picture, Hader’s character Milo is a depressed and kind-hearted gay man desperately seeking acceptance while struggling to find his self-worth.
The actor opened up to Esquire about getting in the headspace of the emotionally wrecked Milo, having expressed, “I think I sympathize with him and understand where he was coming from. I related to a guy who moved out to L.A. to make something of himself. Milo was way more confident than I was, but I related to that, and it’s a hard pill to swallow when everything doesn’t work out. He wants so desperately for someone to tell him he’s good and talented…” The Skeleton Twins was a smash hit with both critics and audiences, and truly showed off Hader’s vulnerable and dramatic skills as an actor.
6 Trainwreck
Comedy empire king Judd Apatow directed the 2015 romantic comedy Trainwreck, which Amy Schumer wrote and starred in alongside Bill Hader, appearing as a free-spirited, commitment-phobic magazine writer who must face her relationship fears when she meets an orthopedic surgeon and all around good guy. Hader portrayed Dr. Aaron Conners in the uproarious flick, marking his first leading man role and a shift in his on-screen persona.
The actor had no idea he was being considered for the romantic lead and spoke out about its challenges to Collider, saying, “It was hard. You want to get the balance right. I couldn’t be funny, in the way that I am on SNL. You just can’t be that funny, in this movie. I have to see a side in her that she doesn’t even see in herself. I’m in love with her, and I’m accepting of her, in some way, and not accepting in others. There’s this balance you have to have.” Trainwreck went on to earn positive reviews and two Golden Globe nominations, with Schumer and Hader’s delightful on-screen chemistry garnering widespread appreciation.
5 Inside Out
Pixar’s Oscar-winning animated film, Inside Out is a heartwarming tale that centers on the five personified emotions of a young girl named Riley, as she adjusts to her new life in San Francisco after moving from Minnesota. In the refreshingly honest and sad but endearing film, Riley’s emotions battle to gain control over how best to navigate all the changes she’s experiencing, with each feeling unique and voiced by sensational stars: Joy (Amy Poehler), Sadness (Phyllis Smith) Fear (Bill Hader), Anger (Lewis Black), and Disgust (Mindy Kaling).
Hader is the perfect choice for Fear, exceptionally exposing the positive and negative repercussions of Riley’s decisions while adopting a charmingly nervous exterior that smartly captures the character. The recipient of the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, Inside Out earned critical acclaim upon its release, with Vulture declaring, “This teeming, tear-duct-draining, exhaustingly inventive, surreal animated comedy is going to be a new pop-culture touchstone. In all kinds of ways it’s a mind opener.”
4 Superbad
Widely regarded as one of the greatest comedies of the 2000s, the coming-of-age flick Superbad stars Jonah Hill and Michael Cera as two codependent teenagers on the cusp of graduation, who decide they want to party and lose their virginity before heading off to college. Comedy duo Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg wrote the screenplay and loosely based the premise of the movie on their own personal experiences growing up in Vancouver during the 1980s; Rogen was initially supposed to play Jonah Hill’s role but by the time Superbad went into production he aged out of the part.
Instead, the funnyman joined Bill Hader as two hilariously irresponsible cops who observe and enjoy the wild misadventures of the teenagers, appearing as Officer Michaels and Officer Slater. Their relationship with Fogell A.K.A. McLovin (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) is a constant source of laughter and endearment for the flick, and Rogen and Hader’s comedic styles brilliantly compliment one another’s. As a result, they made one of the best movies of 2007.
3 It Chapter Two
The highly-anticipated follow-up to the terrifying remake of Stephen King’s It, 2019’s supernatural horror flick It Chapter Two is set 27 years after the events of the first installment and follows the Losers Club as they once again reunite to eliminate It once and for all. With an A list ensemble cast including James McAvoy, Jessica Chastain, Bill Hader, and Bill Skarsgård, the sequel chronicles a murderous spree the deranged evil clown Pennywise goes on once again in the town of Derry, Maine, and depicts the attempts of the now adult characters to take him down.
In the chilling picture, Hader takes on the role of the loud-mouth Richie Tozier (sharing the part with Finn Wolfhard), delivering a layered and emotionally-driven performance that demonstrates the actor’s exceptional range and vulnerability. Hader’s portrayal in the horror film was singled out by both critics and audiences as its finest, with The A.V. Club declaring the star “picks up the whole movie, puts it in his pocket, and walks away with it.” Combined, the films made $1 billion, becoming the highest-grossing horror movies of all time.
2 Saturday Night Live
Undeniably one of the greatest and most gifted comedic performers to ever walk through the famed halls of Studio 8H, the exceptional Bill Hader made his Saturday Night Live debut in 2005, quickly becoming the go-to impressions guy and providing a utility-player role “like his hero Phil Hartman.” Known for his spot-on impersonations of famous stars like Vincent Price, Al Pacino, Clint Eastwood, and Alan Alda (among countless others), Hader became the first SNL cast member to receive a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for the series since Eddie Murphy in 1984.
One of the actor’s most beloved and sidesplitting original characters was Stefon, Weekend Update’s flamboyantly surreal New York City correspondent who recommended bizarre tourist destinations and was completely in love with anchor Seth Meyers. Hader bid adieu to the iconic show after eight impressive seasons, having told reporters, “It was a hard decision, but it has to happen at some point. It got to a point where I said, ‘Maybe it’s just time to go.’”
1 Barry
Masterfully blending both dark comedy and drama, HBO’s award-winning series Barry stars Bill Hader as hitman-turned-wannabe actor Barry Berkman, a man who becomes disillusioned with his life of violence and crime after he gets swept up in the improv theater scene in Los Angeles. Hader co-created the critically acclaimed show alongside Alec Berg, having drawn on his own experiences at Saturday Night Live for inspiration for Barry and his character development; the performer channeled the camaraderie he felt on set of the sketch comedy series, comparing that to Barry’s acting classes.
To prepare for his Emmy-winning role as the low-rent assassin, Hader told Washington Square News, “I watched a lot of true-crime shows because the reenactments on true-crime shows are pretty bad. That was helpful. But mostly it’s just playing whatever the reality of that would be and not think too much about the comedy, in a weird way, and it kind of works.” Hader dazzles in the dark dramedy, showing off both his innate comedic talents and dramatic skills in the series, proving there’s no genre he can’t conquer. The third season of Barry recently premiered to continued acclaim.