There are a few things you need to know before you read this interview with Bill Hader…
1. Hader is legitimately terrific in Trainwreck as Dr. Aaron Conners, a surgeon who specializes in a knee procedure for world-class athletes. Dr. Conners’ clientele includes LeBron James, who has a reporter from a men’s magazine (played by Amy Schumer) following him around to do a story on him. After some time together, Hader’s character and Schumer’s character develop a relationship.
2. First you will read an interview, then you will read a meta dissection of that interview between the interviewee and the interviewer. This is not normal.
3. Being interviewed may not seem like an exhausting process – let’s face it, no one involved is shoveling coal – but they do have a way of turning the human brain into spaghetti. When you’ve been subjected to non-stop interviews over the course of a few weeks — between Trainwreck and Inside Out, Hader has been on a non-stop and exhausting press tour for the last month — it takes its toll. That said, Hader is one of my favorite people to interview — between SNL and his film career, I’ve had the pleasure of interviewing him a few times — and knowing what he’s usually like, I could tell he was exhausted. I promise there’s no real awkwardness here, even though it might read like there was at a certain point. (Print interviews don’t always capture the tone accurately.)
First, thank you for bringing Anthony Peter Coleman back to SNL when you hosted last season.
Oh, I’m so glad you liked that. The whole reason we brought that sketch back when I hosted was that I had done Stern that week – and Howard Stern was saying how much he liked that sketch. And I went, “oh my gosh, why don’t we do that again?”
It can be influenced that easily?
Yeah! I had forgotten about doing that sketch; I forgot that we did it. And then Howard Stern was saying how much he enjoyed it and I went in the next day and we were writing and I said, “What about that one?” And they were like, “Oh yeah.”
With Trainwreck, are you in a position where they come to you and say, “This is perfect for you,” or do you still have to audition?
Oh, no, I audition all the time. I still audition. Because you don’t know what the chemistry is going to be like between two people. You have no idea. I went in and read for the movie. I read with Amy.
I’m assuming it went well.
[Laughs] Yes, I got the part. I didn’t think it went well.
Why didn’t you think it went well?
I thought I bombed it. I don’t know why.
Is that a neurotic thing? Like, do you think that every time, or was this truly, “This one didn’t go well.”
Yeah, I just thought it wasn’t good and I thought I could have done a better job. I left and then I called my manager and said, “Well, that didn’t work. I’ll get ‘em next time.” And then I got a phone call a week later from Judd saying, “Do you want to come out to New York and test with Amy?” And I thought, “well that’s interesting.” So I flew to New York and Amy and I did a screen test. And then Judd took us out to dinner and Amy and I kind of had a date in front of him. We ate dinner and Judd sat and watched us eat and didn’t say anything – and then, every once in awhile, he would take a picture of us on his phone and it was very creepy and weird. And then we went to the Girls premiere party…And we were walking around and Judd was saying, “Do you buy these two as a couple?” It was very strange.
Did people say yes?
I don’t know! I would just hear the question and I would get embarrassed and walk away because I didn’t want to hear the answer.
I believed you as a doctor.
Oh, that’s good.
Most doctors I’ve been around are very nonchalant about everything.
Yeah, I met with a couple of doctors and that’s what they said – you want to keep it positive and low-key and you don’t want people to get nervous. Especially working with these athletes, this is their livelihood. So you’re dealing with their livelihood and injuries, so you want to keep them calm.
Did you know these doctors, or were they provided?
No, no, the production put me in contact with them. And then when I’m doing the surgery in the movie, the guy standing next to me is actually this amazing surgeon. All of the people in that scene, that was his team; they perform that surgery a couple of times a day. So they were whispering, kind of guiding me through the surgery. So, now I know how to do some knee replacement surgeries.
You can put that on your resume.
Yeah.
You had a lot of scenes with LeBron James. Did you become friends?
No. [Laughs] We haven’t really spoken since. That’s just making movies.
So you offered no consolation after the NBA Finals?
I don’t know of anything I would say to him that would have any affect at all.
Amar’e Stoudemire will be overshadowed, but he’s great.
Amar’e was wonderful.
He had to do a real fall.
He did do a real pratfall and it scared me when it happened.
Really?
Yeah, it was one of the first takes and he could tell he was bracing himself before he fell, so he just went, “F*ck it, I’m just going to do it.” And he really just threw himself. And my reaction is very genuine. It was like, “Oh my gosh, we lost Amar’e.”
The song “Uptown Girl” by Billy Joel is a recurring joke in the movie. Do you have an opinion on that song?
We went to a concert of his during the shoot. I like that song. You know, it’s a song you listen to on the radio. I don’t know if I own any Billy Joel records, but that song is good. I felt bad because Judd wanted me to know the song to sing it and I never fully learned the song.
You are now in a Spielberg movie, The BFG. In the future when people discuss his characters, your name might get mentioned in the same sentence as Robert Shaw.
Yeah, I don’t know, but that would be cool if it did. I don’t think my performance in anything will overshadow Robert Shaw in Jaws [laughs].
I went for it all in that comparison.
I’m more like, I would be lucky if people said, “Oh, he’s like Bob Balaban in Close Encounters. I’d be lucky if it was that…
Bob Balaban in Close Encounters of the Third Kind is pretty good though.
He’s great!
That’s would be a good compliment.
No, I’m saying it would be a good compliment.
Do we know who you are playing yet?
No, I can’t say.
I hope it’s Fleshlumpeater.
I cannot say.
I know you can’t, but I’m just saying I hope it is.
[Hader laughs, but remains silent.]
I’m getting the impression you���ve had a lot of long work days recently.
[Laughs] Yes!
You sound exhausted.
I am beyond exhausted. This is day two, but I’ve also been doing press for Inside Out for a few weeks, so my brain is just melted. You’re actually asking really interesting questions, but a lot of the times you get asked the same things over and over again and you don’t know how to respond.
I knew this interview was later in the day, so I tried to avoid the obvious questions, but I messed up with the “Uptown Girl” question. That wasn’t a good one. I bet you’re getting that one a lot.
No, it was great — don’t feel self-conscious, it was great.
See, I now feel like you after you had your audition for Trainwreck.
“I thought I bombed this.” You’ve interviewed me too many times! How can you bomb something with me? I know you! I don’t know a lot of people who interview me.
But those people get to ask about your SNL stuff, but that’s ground well covered for us, other than the new Anthony Peter Coleman.
Well, I think you’ll like Documentary Now!, maybe, when it comes out.
Oh yeah, I’ve seen the trailer.
It’s the IFC show I did with Fred Armisen and Seth Meyers, the trailer is online right now. It’s pretty fun.
You need some sleep. This is my recommendation for you.
Yes! Thank you.
Mike Ryan has written for The Huffington Post, Wired, Vanity Fair and New York magazine. He is senior entertainment writer at Uproxx. You can contact him directly on Twitter.
