Bill Hader (born 7 June 1978; age 46) is an American comedian, actor, voice actor, producer, and writer who provided the voice of the Vengeance Computer in Star Trek Into Darkness; he is credited under "Additional Voices" in the film. [1] He is best known for his work as a cast member on the long-running NBC sketch comedy and variety show Saturday Night Live.
Early years[]
Hader was born, raised, and educated in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and attended college in Phoenix and Scottsdale in Arizona. He moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in comedy, joining the improv troupe Second City. Other Star Trek alumni who were members of Second City include Larry A. Hankin, Andrea Martin, and Todd Stashwick.
During his early years in show business, Hader was a production assistant on several projects, including the films Collateral Damage (executive produced by Nicholas Meyer and featuring Michael Cavanaugh, Raymond Cruz, Ethan Dampf, Don Fischer, and Rick Worthy) and The Scorpion King (starring The Rock and featuring Branscombe Richmond and Joseph Ruskin). While performing with the comedy troupe "Animals from the Future," Hader was brought to the attention of Saturday Night Live producer Lorne Michaels.
Saturday Night Live[]
Moving to New York, Hader made his first appearance as a featured player on SNL in 2005 and was promoted to a full cast member the following year. During his time on the show, he became known for portraying a variety of characters as well as his frenetic impersonations of such celebrities as James Carville, Al Pacino, and Vincent Price. His most popular character is that of Stefon, the flamboyant city correspondent for the regular "Weekend Update" sketch.
In 2012, Hader earned an Emmy Award nomination as Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series for his work on SNL, becoming the first male cast member to receive this nomination since Eddie Murphy in 1983. Hader left SNL in May 2013 after nearly eight years on the program (which from 2008 included Bobby Moynihan). During his time on SNL, Dwayne Johnson and Seth MacFarlane were among those who hosted the program, while Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Leonard Nimoy (appearing together to promote Star Trek on Weekend Update – Hader himself had played former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer earlier in the segment, while Moynihan would later plat one of two costumed Trekkies who were initially furiously dismissive of Pine and Quinto but quickly changed their tune once Nimoy blessed the film) and William Shatner made guest cameos. In 2013 he also appeared, as an in-universe SNL cast member (shown lampooning a viral video of one of the main characters) in the final episode of The Office (starring Rainn Wilson), which featured Spencer Daniels (the executive producer's son) and Ed Begley, Jr. as well.
Hader is one of several SNL alumni to appear on Star Trek. Others who have done so include Michael McKean, Joe Piscopo, Charles Rocket, Sarah Silverman, Noël Wells, Melissa Villasenor, and the aforementioned Moynihan.
Film work[]
Hader has worked on several films over the years as both an actor and a voice actor. He and Whoopi Goldberg were part of the voice cast of the 2006 animated feature Doogal. Hader made his live-action film debut that same year, appearing in the comedy You, Me and Dupree; his fellow Second City and Star Trek alum Todd Stashwick also had a role in the film.
Since 2007, Hader has appeared in many of the hit comedy films written, directed and/or produced by Judd Apatow. These include Knocked Up (with Andy Dick and Adam Scott), Superbad, Forgetting Sarah Marshall (with Branscombe Richmond), Pineapple Express (2005, starring Gary Cole, with Ed Begley, Jr.) and This Is 40 (2012, with Spencer Daniels).
Director Greg Mottola has cast Hader in most of his films. In addition to the aforementioned Superbad, Hader also appeared in Mottola's Adventureland (with Josh Pais) and Paul (starring Simon Pegg and featuring John Carroll Lynch). Other films in which Hader has appeared include Tropic Thunder (also featuring Reggie Lee), Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (2009, with Clint Howard and Robin Williams) and Men in Black 3 (2013, with Star Trek Into Darkness actress Alice Eve as well as Keone Young).
Hader voiced the lead character in Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (2009 and Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 (2013). His voice can also be heard in such films as Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (with Simon Pegg), Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (featuring an appearance by Clifton Collins, Jr.) and Hoodwinked Too! Hood vs. Evil (with Andy Dick and David Ogden Stiers). Hader and Kurtwood Smith were Turbo (2013). Among Hader's most famous performances is that of Dr. Aaron Conners in Trainwreck (2013) as the headlining male lead where he worked alongside Star Trek: The Next Generation guest actor Norman Lloyd.
External links[]
- Bill Hader at Wikipedia
- Bill Hader at the Internet Movie Database