The 2008 dramatic performance Bill Hader called the best he’d ever seen by a comedy actor: “Wow”
At some point in every comedy actor’s career, they’re going to fancy themselves as a dramatist. A lot of them have proven to be very good at it, including Bill Hader, which took many people by surprise.
After all, he’d risen to fame as the man of a thousand voices on Saturday Night Live, and when he followed the well-worn path of taking his talents to the big screen, most of his most notable performances came in scene-stealing supporting roles in comedy movies.
While The Skeleton Twins showcased that he had some solid dramatic chops, it wasn’t until Barry premiered that everyone sat up, took notice, and realised that Hader was actually one hell of a thespian, with his standout work on both sides of the camera turning the show into an awards season magnet.
For every Hader, Jim Carrey, or Adam Sandler who can walk both sides of the line, there’s always a Mike Myers or a Chevy Chase who can’t cut the mustard, and never let it be forgotten that Jimmy Fallon and David Schwimmer were in Band of Brothers, either, which is a casting decision that continues to boggle the mind more than 25 years later.
The old saying suggests that comedy is harder than drama, so it makes sense that successful comedians tend to make for great dramatic performers, with Robin Williams arguably the textbook example. While they may not have been a comic by trade, an actor who was best known for their rib-tickling exploits left Hader blown away when they turned to the dark side.
“You sit at home, going, ‘I can do all these things. I can do anything,'” Hader said of actors branching out of their comfort zone. “No, you can’t. And you quickly find out on SNL, ‘Oh, no, I can’t do anything’. But those are the actors I’ve always liked. I’ve loved the stuff that Bryan Cranston did in Breaking Bad, knowing him from Malcolm in the Middle.”
Ironically, Cranston’s seven-season stint in the popular comedy series was used as a stick to beat Vince Gilligan’s masterpiece over the head with before it premiered, with many finding it incredulous that they were supposed to buy into the idea of Hal from Malcolm in the Middle playing a terminally ill science teacher who becomes the methamphetamine kingpin of New Mexico.
Of course, the doubters were forced to eat their words, with Cranston’s career-defining run as Walter White cementing him as one of TV’s most iconic characters. “Seeing him in Breaking Bad,” Hader marvelled. “You’re like, ‘Wow.'” That’s an understatement, with the star claiming four Primetime Emmys and a Golden Globe for his legendary performance.
While he was a fixture on Seinfeld and gained fame for Malcolm in the Middle, Cranston wasn’t a comedian who turned to acting. He was a thespian, first and foremost, but that doesn’t invalidate Hader’s opinion that the way he shed his sitcom baggage in Breaking Bad was nothing short of jaw-dropping.
