Why Being a Production Assistant Was One of Bill Hader’s Most Important Jobs in Hollywood

Bill Hader stars in, writes and produces his hit show Barry, but he says his early days as an entry level production assistant was one of his most meaningful jobs. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Direct from Hollywood with Ryan Seacrest.

Speaker 2 (00:03):
Funny Man, and Barry star Bill Hayder took a unique
and longer path to a successful acting, writing, and directing career,
which really took off after being cast on SNL. But
before that big break, he spent about half a decade
as a production assistant on movies, shows and commercials, and
Bill actually feels like that experience turned into a blessing
when he got to run the ship on Barry. He
tells The New Yorker. I'm really happy that I went

(00:23):
that route because it was nice when I have my
own set to understand what everybody did. I had or
helped with all those jobs. I know what it's like
when someone at the top is miserable, yelling and screaming.
It just makes everybody's life miserable. The crew have families
and lives. Yeah, they're being paid, but nothing's worth keeping
them up for twenty hours because you can't make up
your mind. It's stressful, but that doesn't mean you get
to take it out on people. Barry's on HBO Max Streaming.

Speaker 1 (00:45):
Now that's direct from Hollywood.