On this week’s episode of The Treatment with guest Bill Hader, you’ll note that our host, Elvis Mitchell cites a number of his favorite Hader performances from Saturday Night Live. You can watch them below in the order they are mentioned, plus a bonus sketch of Hader as New York City correspondent “Stefon.”
Best of Bill Hader: Bad Guys Good Conversation
Bill Hader brings an undercurrent of misguided confidence to many of the characters he plays on Saturday Night Live. In this sketch, written by Hader’s SNL castmate Seth Meyers, Hader recalls playing Silence of the Lambs villain Buffalo Bill with the conviction that he was way more messed up than any of the other “bad guys” in the room:
Best of Bill Hader: News Correspondent Herb Welch
Best of Bill Hader: Alan Alda Auditions for Back to the Future
Hader’s vast inventory of pop culture references (accumulated from watching tons of movies with his parents as a kid) has translated into some pretty obscure impressions on SNL. Often, Hader’s more eclectic choices (and his portrayal of old guys) have proven to be the most successful with audiences, but it took him awhile to gain Lorne Michaels trust. At one point, Hader recalls, Michaels asked him “Why now? Can’t you do Robert Pattinson? Can’t you do someone who’s in the news?”
Best of Bill Hader: Vincent Price’s Halloween Special
On The Treatment, the surprisingly self-critical Hader talks about getting it right in this Vincent Price Halloween sketch: “When I look back at the stuff I’ve done on SNL, the majority of the time I’m very hard on it… That one live was one of the ones I watched and went, ‘Man we got that we really nailed that one, that’s perfect.’ The pauses were right… the rhythm of the whole thing worked.” This was despite Jon Hamm’s last minute character change.
Best of Bill Hader: Hollywood Dish
In Hollywood Dish, Hader and Kristen Wiig channel maniacal television hosts for a sketch poking fun at shows like E! News and Access Hollywood. The dress rehearsal (with that week’s host, Jennifer Lopez), went perfectly, especially the part when Hader spits a milkshake all over Kristen Wiig’s face. But when they did the show live, he tells Elvis, he totally missed. As sometimes happens with botched sketches in the live show, they ended up broadcasting the version from dress rehearsal:
Best of Bill Hader: Don’ You Go Rounin’ Roun to Re Ro
Elvis describes this next SNL digital parody trailer as “if Guy Ritchie were to direct Scooby Doo in Ed Brubaker’s Criminal.” Enough said.
Best of Bill Hader: Stefon
Hader has been nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series for his work on Saturday Night Live, and is the first male cast member to receive that nomination since Eddie Murphy in 1983. He is now in his eighth season on Saturday Night Live. The 64th Primetime Emmys will broadcast live on Sunday, September 23rd at 7PM EST/4PM PST on ABC. Bill Hader joins host Elvis Mitchell on The Treatment Wednesday, September 19th at 2:30PM on 89.9 KCRW.
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