LOS ANGELES — HBO's dark comedy "Barry" is ostensibly the saga of a hit man trying to find himself — and redemption — through a North Hollywood acting class. But one of its most fascinating story lines is the growth of co-creator/showrunner/writer/director/star Bill Hader as a filmmaker.
His credentials as a performer and writer from "Saturday Night Live" sold HBO on the show, co-created with his friend Alec Berg (an executive producer on HBO's "Curb Your Enthusiasm" and "Silicon Valley"). In a meeting with the brass, Hader laid down his one condition: He would direct the pilot.
"They said, 'Have you directed anything before?' 'No,'" Hader recalls in an April conversation, laughing. "All eyes went to Alec Berg, and he said, 'I think he can do it.' And he had no idea if I could do it!" He laughs again. "I found out later, they called him and said, 'OK, can he really do it?' And Alec said, 'I think he can do it, and I'll be on set if anything goes wrong.'
