New York Film Academy alum Bill Hader picked up an impressive five Emmy nominations for his work on the comedy-drama Barry and his return to Saturday Night Live.
Barry, HBO’s dark comedy, recently wrapped up its first season. The former SNL cast member co-created, directed, wrote, executive produced, and starred in the eight-episode first season. In it, Hader plays a conflicted hitman who discovers a love for acting and decides to move to Los Angeles.
Hader is nominated for Lead Actor in a Comedy Series for Barry and Guest Actor in a Comedy Series for his appearances on Saturday Night Live. Barry is nominated for the Comedy Series category. Hollywood legend Henry Winkler is also nominated for his work in Barry, for Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series.
Of the show’s nominations, Hader told Entertainment Weekly, “It’s a weird concept, so it’s cool that people are on board.”
For Barry, Hader was tasked with playing a mid-level midwestern hitman who decides to move to Los Angeles and become an actor. This led to the unique dilemma of needing to act well in some scenes, and poorly (on purpose) in others. He told IndieWire, “For bad acting, watching reenactments in true crime shows was helpful … I would watch those and imagine, ‘OK, they’re doing too much with their hands,’ or ‘they’re locked onto somebody,’ or ‘everything is overly thought out.’”
Alongside Hader, Barry stars veteran actors Stephen Root (No Country for Old Men, Office Space), Sarah Goldberg (Hindsight, The Dark Knight Rises), and NYFA guest speaker Henry Winkler (Happy Days, Arrested Development).
Critically acclaimed from the start, Barry’s debut season boasts a 98 percent on Rotten Tomatoes and an 83 rating on Metacritic, which the site considers “universal acclaim.” Washington Post’s Hank Stuever said of the first season, “From start to finish, it’s just one hell of a show.” The show has already been renewed for season 2 and Hader has said it will be “somehow darker.”
The Tulsa, Oklahoma native studied Filmmaking at NYFA in 1996, just four years after the school was founded. He is still arguably most well-known for his 160-episode stint on Saturday Night Live as a repertory player and writer from 2005 to 2013. He has also starred in Tropic Thunder (2008), Paul (2009), The Skeleton Twins (2014) and many other films and television series over the years. Additionally, Hader co-created and stars in Documentary Now! alongside fellow SNL alumni Fred Armisen and Seth Meyers.
See the full list of Emmy nominations at Hollywood Reporter. For more NYFA-related Emmy nomination stories, click here. The New York Film Academy congratulates Bill Hader on his Emmy nominations!
Please note: NYFA does not represent that these are typical or guaranteed career outcomes. The success of our graduates in any chosen professional pathway depends on multiple factors, and the achievements of NYFA alumni are the result of their hard work, perseverance, talent and circumstances.