Bill Hader (justifiably) hating being interviewed for 10 minutes

"Press junkets are not fun." - William Thomas Hader Jr. (2022)
ETA 6/4/23: This is a quickfire compilation of amusing moments involving Bill Hader doing media publicity. If Sally's press junket montage in Barry 3x03 made you laugh, you'll hopefully enjoy this, but it is not an indictment of any of the individuals who appear. All the original interview videos are publicly available and searchable on KZbin. Peace be with you.
0:00 "This is so boring"
1:08 "That's not nice, Tracy"
2:16 "That's not funny"
3:12 "Do it again"
4:24 "That's not true"
5:42 "Next question"
7:23 "We're taking audience questions"
8:29 "So hard to leave"

[@auser6789]

2:44 that poster in the back is exactly like Sally’s show “Joplin”

[@lnfreeman]

OMG you're right. I never made the connection. That's hilarious.

[@kaikai9122]

I think that might’ve been intentional

[@92brunod]

@@kaikai9122 ya think!?

[@caseyhamm4292]

it might be because conan knows how to be a human being and not alienate his guests

[@92brunod]

@@caseyhamm4292 It might be that you replied to the wrong comment, Casey.

[@maxmonas7131]

"What do you think of the new Batman?" Holy shit he referenced this in Barry when Sally was doing the press junket and they asked her who should be the new Spiderman.

[@jiaaa0402]

he confirms this in the Prestige TV podcast episode on that Barry episode and talks a little about his frustration with interviewers, I recommend listening!

[@rachels9776]

ben mendelsohn

[@thrillcollectors]

He referenced a lot of this experience of doing press junkets in that episode

[@agedgouda8809]

I think that was the point of that story. He was asked if the Sally scene was based of his personal experience

[@frambojan]

And then he goes on Conan and has ten minutes conversation on subjective camera moves and building suspense in Hitchcock movies. The joy of people having real conversatuions.

[@rjmq433]

Conan’s a real one all the comedians seem comfortable af around him

[@CASEMSTR]

@@rjmq433 He is just a really good interviewer. His podcast is great too

[@publicoutlaw1731]

I love that I just listen to that podcast

[@daveidmarx8296]

@@publicoutlaw1731 Was fortunate enough to be in the audience two weeks ago when Conan was with Paul McCartney.

[@s2Capacidade2s]

But then you see Hader with Conan and he is having a blast :D

[@lnfreeman]

He seemed to have a good time with Kevin Pollak and Jason Bateman as well. People that can relate to the work.

[@s2Capacidade2s]

@thunderWolf actually it's because Conan engages with Hader's shenanigans and they get on well because they have similar kind of humor.

[@adriancampbell431]

he gets along well with anyone who treats him like a person not like an entertainment piece

[@Afterfect]

Conan? The one that took Bill's arm and girl over a sword duel?

[@johnavernia1026]

@@Afterfect I see, that you listened to the podcast :)

[@Christopher-md7tf]

This shit is the inspiration for Sally's idiotic press junket in S3 of Barry lol

[@debbiedoodiedandi]

Absolutely 😂😂😂

[@Who_Does]

3:02 That Batman question was like the Sally's spiderman lmao

[@ScringleScrobble]

Considering that Sally is based off of Bill, that's more than likely the case.

[@advait03]

@@ScringleScrobble ?? no ??

[@ScringleScrobble]

@Advait actually yes. Bill Hader has confirmed to several pieces of the press that Sally Reed is based of himself. Especially in season 3 when Sally writes and directs her own show. Hell there's even a clip where a fan of the show asks if Sally was meant to be annoying and unlikable and Bill only followed up with "well she's based off of me... sooo..."

[@voiddistortion7937]

"I was devastated to learn that you were married with 3 kids..." jesus, do these people think about how this stuff sounds before they say it?

[@krusher181]

Objectification at its finest. “You’re hot and I want you so I’m upset I can’t have you” Like… bruh don’t say that out loud lol

[@im9550]

And bill just awkwardly thanked her. She was maybe the most unhinged

[@tedros6917]

​@@krusher181it's not much better but it doesn't look like she said she wanted him to end up with herself, rather him and his costar.

[@lgilbert756]

“I have no idea I didn’t pick it” killed me 😂

[@landminehopscotch3617]

Almost zero context

[@badluckrabbit]

that Daybreak interview for Skeleton Twins where the interviewer was thinking of a different movie gave me the worst case of 2nd hand embarrassment I've ever had

[@jairkerker2821]

"Does Stephen Root have a comedy background?" Good grief.

[@TheAcridCorpse]

Yeah, that ones rough.

[@neiloch]

Honestly thought it was a joke at first. Its like a question a comedian would ask to screw around. "Was Henry Winkler in anything else before this?"

[@pseudotasuki]

Seriously. How does someone so out of touch get an interview?

[@user-jl8yn7og7b]

Right? They may as well have asked him "Did you ever do comedy before Barry?"

[@cairocowboy05]

like wikipedia is free do ur own research first at least god

[@dereklangston9]

He absolutely hated that dude from The Atlantic😂

[@lnfreeman]

That whole panel is an exquisite cluster'

[@kissinger2867]

I feel bad for him, he was just doing his job. Bill should have a little patience like the other comedians sitting with him at least.

[@checkle1]

@@kissinger2867 nah, he was a clown. He shot himself in the foot every chance he could. "what's life like as a comedian?" everyone on the panel is laughing at how vague and stupid the question is, he drowns while interrupting the laughter "it just sounds miserable!". He was trying to give them a space to show their depth as people which means he was insinuating that their public image had no depth. On top of it, the question was so vague it was pathetic from an interviewer.

[@lnfreeman]

@@kissinger2867 He was doing his job very, very badly. Then he'd talk over Seth and Alex when they tried to get back on the rails.

[@dumpsterjedi6148]

​@@kissinger2867 ok Boomer, go to sleep, take your pills, you clearly aren't thinking clearly

[@grahamistearingup]

"Did Stephen Root have a comedy background?" has to be one of the dumbest questions I've ever heard.

[@Archivist82]

Somewhere in Arlen, Texas, Bill Dauterive sheds another tear in his ocean of sadness.

[@sirbrewzalot]

"Mr. Strickland got under more balls than a midget hooker!"

[@krusher181]

Yeah like… do a google search lol

[@turkishjanitor3666]

"Excuse me, I...I believe you have my stapler"

[@leighsher-mcgrath]

How do these people get jobs

[@JDMimeTHEFIRST]

Kristen Wiig and Bill should interview themselves as the Hollywood Reporters. 😅 “Cloudy with the Meatballs”

[@TheMapa888]

The "I can hear him fine..RELAX!!" totally got me, Hader finally cracked lol

[@treefok19]

The "No I'm dead inside." was so quick and perfect timing. I hurt my side laughing.

[@leddmask]

“Why is this the best place to have this event?” “I don’t know I didn’t pick it” 😂💀😭

[@jackbauer408]

I love how bill always says “Hilarious.” Whenever death comes up

[@BigSirZebras]

Ok, everybody thinking he hates being interviewed. It is not that, it is that he hates being asked questions by completely uninformed people who should have done a smidge of research before interviewing him. That is why he is great on late night shows. Those guys know his work old and new (and the new is what they should be focused on). You can see he is just annoyed by how out of touch some people are and instead of talking about the thing he is there to promote they bring up things he did two decades ago. And "hating" is a strong word. I think it is just more that he is totally surprised how out of touch people who are doing daily shows are from the comedy world.

[@Mason-lr5dz]

"Did [Stephen Root] have a background in comedy?" Didn't even bother to do a cursory look at the guy's IMDb.

[@over8124]

k

[@janeeyre1990]

To me, it seems like the ADHD trait of struggling to focus or stay still when you get bored. He's always been focused on his anxiety, but I wouldn't be surprised if he is an ADHDer as well. Source: have ADHD

[@janeeyre1990]

And I know that struggling to focus when you're bored is a human trait, but neurotypical adults can usually hide their boredom People with ADHD cannot hide it so easily. We start twitching and fidgeting or looking all around the room or doodling or ANYTHING to keep us from dying of boredom.

[@colinhoag703]

@@Mason-lr5dz I was livid at that question. Office Space and Dodgeball immediately popped into my head, followed by King of the Hill. Even his serious roles tell you this man can accomplish comedy, like Get Out. Its not a funny character, but there is almost a comedic edge in the eccentric way the character is performed. The incompetence of these hosts is wild.

[@THUNGUNS]

Cloudy with meatballs

[@jossypoo]

Cloudy with a meatballs

[@em0_tion]

Hottest place in town! 😂

[@user-jl8yn7og7b]

To be fair, he doesn't hate interviews, as evidenced by his many entertaining appearances on Conan and Craig Ferguson etc, he just hates the monotony of being asked the same one note, boring questions. Honestly press junkets are so stupid. They could just issue a document with answers to the ten most frequently asked questions and save everybody a lot of time.

[@TupacHasMyBike]

That synchronized clapped kills me, you know they homies😂 9:20

[@young__blacksmith]

“…and I’m sure that’s annoying” “YES”

[@corancoranthemagicalman]

what was in the water for the skeleton twins interviews hot damn

[@lnfreeman]

They were very early in the morning, Pacific Time, so probably coffee grounds.

[@pseudotasuki]

That "full frontal" question was unbelievably inappropriate. Holy shit.

[@gabrielfranco5573]

I didn’t think I could appreciate Bill Hader more than I already did

[@carasara2514]

My mom approached him in a restaurant to tell him she was a fan (after we told her to leave him alone, lol) and he was SUPER nice and gracious, fwiw.

[@tomoakley760]

The American daytime show hosts always have the most braindead lines of questioning. Rule #1 of interviewing is to put your interviewee at ease. They can't even manage that, they just wanna hear themselves talk and grab a soundbite they can print in tomorrow's gossip rags.

[@AxeMan808]

6:18 "Is he... Is he used to the comedy? I mean, coming into Barry, did he have a comedy background?" "Stephen Root!??! Oh, yeah, Office Space -" "Oh! Yeahyeahyeah." "And a- and a- Newsradio, my God!"

[@jukeboxfandango]

let's not forget 12 seasons of King of the Hill, though that's a little less obvious

[@randymagnum143]

​@@jukeboxfandangohis character in Oh Brother was priceless.

[@guyvizard549]

Adam Scott is another one. he's always super professional, but you can see him slowly dying inside over the course of the junket. By the end of the one for Krampus, he's stuck on a small YT podcast, and he tells them, "I've been doing this for two weeks... I just really wanna go home..." They keep him on for 45 minutes, and make him play a trivia game.... He looks deflated. The laughter sometimes just comes from being exhausted.

[@krusher181]

Well yeah also he was on a show called party down where his character is haunted by vapid people being impressed with his fame. So it’s probably something he’s thought about in depth. Every job has parts that suck tho I guess Adam Scott is great on podcasts and any long form interview tho. Very funny, very chill, can riff with stand ups very naturally.

[@Roomfordesserts]

Bill Hader is difficulty level “difficult” for interviewers. If you’re not prepared and skilled Game over.

[@IXthCircle]

Bill: “I don’t want to kill people” *1 second later* Bill: “Don’t read into that”

[@FrydaWolff]

"Did Stephen Root have a comedy background?" Carry yourself with the confidence of a man who doesn't do any homework or research.

[@TrumbullComic]

Oh, so Larry King?

[@bradenjuengel9104]

By far my favorite was when he had to deal with someone asking "Has Stephen Root ever been in comedy before this?"

[@chrisdalton5646]

3:48 Oh my god, he didn't even want to do impressions while promoting Barry and they're making him do it twice. This video is an anxiety nightmare of a Thanksgiving dinner. I'm an extrovert and this is still making me fold into myself in discomfort.

[@caitlinbelforti870]

"My goal is to take my daughter to school" Jesus christ that kinda made me sad.

[@AC3handle]

And then there's the Seth Meyers show, where they never fail to crack each other up. The best bit is where Seth tries his impessions on Bill, and actually cracks bill up with the buddy buddy buddy' vince vhaun bit.

[@AC3handle]

@sun diver It's seth meyers?

[@greentaigo2552]

​@sundiver9074you're obnoxious

[@colleengibbs2405]

It's pure gold.

[@RundliiGaming]

Yeah I couldn't imagine the annoyance of constantly answering the same dumb questions all the time or having to speak with people that couldn't do about 10 mins of research prior to the interview.

[@jayce8001]

Here is the problem. Bill doesn't like it when people deviate from the project he is there to talk about. Or when they don't come prepared. The side effect of that is when fans come in to do an interview and then ask to experience his tallents that are not project related, it is driven off the rails. It is doubly bad because Bill is not there to do the same impressions 100 times for a promotion he is trying to do. He is trying to promote a project. When on SNL, do you think the directors are making him do impressions all day? No, he prepares and reherses for a week and then performs live once and then it is done. He isn't a DVD you can rewind. He is a human being trying to make a living.

[@clicheguevara5282]

6:18 This _professional interviewer_ at GOOGLE of all places can't glance at Stephen Root's Wikipedia page really quick before committing that question to his script? Lmao

[@wfly81]

He doesn't hate being interviewed, he just hates being interviewed by idiots. Don't ask the guy if Stephen Root has ever done comedy before "Barry" and you'll probably be alright.

[@SavCorp]

The “Hollywood showbiz” scenes in Barry were so realistic and funny and surreal for a reason

[@bippityboppity6969]

I watch this whenever I feel sad and it always never fails to pick me up and make me feel better. Thanks to the guy/gal who created this

[@hotfudgecake]

Fred armisen couldnt get a word in to that atlantic interview lol

[@lnfreeman]

He actually highjacked a lot of it to do bits with Bill, but when Steve Clemons got going, I think he straight up disassociated through the rest of it 😅

[@severngamingnetwork]

2:43 utterly unrestrainable and perfect mirth from the two of them!

[@ColombianThunder]

This video needs to include the IGN "It: Chapter 2" interview. That was a disaster.

[@meelachotube]

This comp made me love him 1000000 times more lol

[@soyitiel]

This is all too funny, but I particularly died of laughter and a little bit inside at 5:58

[@joemagnus5085]

Skeleton Twins, he delivers a hilarious line "I've never taken a shit in my life". I still laugh at that just randomly it pops in my mind.

[@daveidmarx8296]

8:25 "Lorne, you see... You see what we're doing up here for you??" cracked Seth right the fuck up.

[@moi5219]

Wtf is wrong with some people? I’m not even a Boomer, but journalism used to have integrity and decorum. He seems like such a lovely man and they like vultures.

[@JennyHendrix69]

He should do Hot Ones , he would appreciate Seans questions

[@user-fp5vf9qh3i]

0:31 Bill’s off Camera “who the f*#k is this lady?” while the woman is introducing them has me rolling! 🤣🤣🤣

[@gracel1847]

loved this u killed it

[@fullmetalb5241]

That guy really asked if Stephen Root had a background in comedy...WHAT?!

[@dollarsaurus01]

God just when I thought I couldn’t love this dude anymore lol

[@magicmole]

People don't always understand just how intelligent someone like Bill Hader or Kristin Wiig or Fred Armisen really is. To see them subjected to these idiotic interviews is painful. The people doing the interviews don't take their own work seriously, they just crank it out and go to the next one.

[@salgiudice125]

The way you describe the interviewers is the same way I view these hack comedians you seem to venerate. Make shallow, trash content, and get asked trash questions

[@WhoIsIanMcGovern]

the guy who asked if Stephen Root had a comedy background, they guy has been some of the most quotable characters in TV and film comedies for the past 20-30 years.

[@scabillis]

bill's dislike of these types interviews made its way into barry with the scene where sally sits down to talk with all these different reporters who ask her irrelevant questions, and don't let her go into detail about her show

[@jukeboxfandango]

5:19 - "And it did a bit of and Amsterdam, did it?" .....what the fuck does that mean?!

[@jackdavidson2205]

The thing is, he is the smartest one in the room compared to the interviewers. The banality of it all must get so intolerable, especially when, if you say and act how you want, it can negatively impact your career you worked hard for.

[@cdasteez]

He looks like he's just having fun with it and bring candid

[@Beavernator]

I wish Bill and Norm could have been in the same room tearing into people...

[@sneezewax3567]

He was on Norm's podcast

[@johnnyfree]

Cloudy with the meatballs

[@lnfreeman]

and also with you

[@davidhurtado2725]

Just put the whole The Atlantic interview. 😂

[@Hellbunnyfelicia]

“And it did a bit in Amsterdam for a minute?” “What?”

[@CatastrophicTV]

5:15 what a creepy thing to say, just everything that was said.

[@justingarrett2239]

Bill has the perfect Waluigi voice for Super Mario Bros 2

[@johnuhelski8613]

Half the time he is saying inside WTF !? Great guy , love his acting.

[@cuticlemuncher]

i love this community

[@neebatron]

The IFC lady actually did great with the documentary now panel. Worth a watch, if that’s what you’re into

[@Charlottes_WorldWideWeb]

Where to watch

[@13strong]

Alex Wagner was also excellent on the Atlantic panel but totally derailed by the other host.

[@beepbeepcasucha]

i'm very confused by why bill went 'who the fuck is this lady' though.. do they know each other or was she rude or something? it made me cringe really hard

[@13strong]

@@beepbeepcasucha I think he struggled with intense praise, especially from people he doesn't know who are simply reciting positive reviews from a list? I guess he didn't understand why that was necessary, given the cast and creators are there to be interviewed and the audience are already fans of the show, presumably?

[@lnfreeman]

Bill, Fred, and Seth were all doing bits as she introduced them and she played off them. I assumed the fact Bill's doing a voice and Seth and Fred are giggling would give enough context that it was a bit, but apparently it isn't for a number of viewers. OP is right, it's actually the best DocNow! panel and you should watch it if you like them.

[@katemae1076]

For some reason the Stephen Root question pisses me off the most 😂

[@mrwassef]

YES

[@byronic-heroine]

That made me want to set the building on fire.

[@lnfreeman]

Honestly same. I had to pause the interview when I saw it the first time 😅

[@thehubbleton]

"I was devastated to learn you were married with three kids..." There's no sweeter or more thoughtful comment.

[@krusher181]

That’s such crazy objectification. Like… don’t say those things out loud lmfao

[@RivalGem53]

Bill Hader is a mood. 😂

[@meangothlesbian]

the clips with him and finn are so cute lmao

[@AquaticSkipper]

His Norm show appearance was his best of the best

[@crispybatman480]

Bad interviewers are always painful. At least Bill, Hader and Burr, have some fun with them.

[@krusher181]

Bill Burr in the past woulda been the worst, he really didn’t give a shit if he made a scene. Reminds me of my dad, terrifies me - and I love him.

[@amylomo9793]

love how this has been edited where it shows him making a joke about what interviewers do and then you show multiple clips of the interviewers doing exactly that

[@generaldecker9971]

This just shows us how Bill knows how fake and idiotic the film industry is.

[@CinemascapeReview]

I love Bill so much man lol

[@boydudeman]

i'm not gonna lie, 4:00 is just straight up embarrassing lol

[@lnfreeman]

They literally threw a box at his head without warning. smdh.

[@mineyabidness3467]

Oh my god he’s having all the aloud thoughts I want to have all day at work

[@mineyabidness3467]

Kristen Wiig trying to do a bit of damage control while also knowing exactly why he’s laughing and trying not to laugh herself is hilarious 🤣🤣

[@ManubibiWalsh]

“Cloudy with Meatballs” 😂😂😂😂

[@fwcdisciple9271]

I bet he’d LOVE the Eric Andre show

[@lnfreeman]

I think it'd probably give him a heart attack

[@DanArnets1492]

​@@lnfreeman - Nah, he'd probably ask Alec Baldwin to shoot him for real 😂

[@michaeldoliveira720]

It's refreshing to see a celebrity not loving attention, at least in these examples.

[@redfullmoon]

Because theyre performers/actors/comedians first, not promoters/endorsers.

[@jomarsantiago978]

"Ohhhh thats not nice tracy" 😂😂😂

[@seanbanthamilkco791]

Ooofff that Atlantic guy

[@jeromethemechanic6871]

It’s like LA traffic for him

[@FatalFord]

And it did a bit in Amsterdam, did it? wuut?

[@evancelata4161]

“Why is this the perfect location for this premiere?” “I don’t know I didn’t pick it” What a dumbass question😂

[@mayonnnnnaise]

To be fair, Stephen Root plays such diverse characters and disappears so effectively, I wasn't aware he was the stapler guy or the guy from News Radio. That said, do some research if you're doing an interview like this.

[@stratafm]

He's also the blind radio station owner in O Brother Where Art Thou. One hell of an actor

[@cassun603]

​@@stratafm jesus that's range

[@One-eo5lj]

i wanna meet this guy so bad he seems so chill

[@brians2300]

I'm surprised there aren't many clips from the It 2 junket lmao

[@noidea26]

The story about the Australian interviewer sounds suspicously like something Richard Wilkins would do.

[@JayEojojo]

“Woman who Irons my shirt” LMAO

[@LanaDelGato]

My favorite skit of his is The Alan skit for SNL. I'm not an snl fan but that skit always gets me laughing

[@JoeyMartz]

@Firmament Syndicate -- No... youtube it.... kinda funny.

[@lovikkyio7868]

This is me today

[@goldenhog]

we need a drink

[@Ninaagabi]

This like the extroverted version of cillian murphy

[@thaatsriight]

I’ve been dying to ask this question… where do you get your ideas from?