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Bill Hader Has No Idea Whether Barry has Psychological Conditions

Photo: CNN

Barry Berkman, a hitman-turned-actor, may or may not be a psychopath; either way, actor Bill Hader does not have a clue. 

In the show Barry, Hader is a hitman from Cleveland who goes to Los Angeles. He ends up in an acting class with Gene Cousineau (played by Henry Winkler) as the teacher and realizes he likes it. The show is directed by Hader and written by Alec Berg. 

However, he is still on the move on killing people because of numerous conditions. 

“The acting’s kind of the last thing I think about,” said Hader in an interview with CNN, further stating that he only attempts to execute what’s in the script. “The one nice thing about wearing all these other hats or whatever while you’re doing the show is once it gets to the acting, it’s a thing I don’t really think about too much. It’s kind of best not to think about it or dissect it. I just do it and see what works and what doesn’t work.” 

So then, does he think that Barry has a particular condition? Or maybe even more of an illness called “psychopathy.”

“Oh my gosh. I don’t know. I really don’t know,” he answered. “That would be interesting to see what someone would think about him. You know, I should ask a therapist.” 

Some part of Barry wants to end his career as a hitman. 

“I think in Season 1, he was telling himself that he had been manipulated to do this for a living. And then by Season 2, it’s kind of like maybe this is a part of me, can I change my nature? And now it’s the consequences of it. I think he’s never understood the consequences of himself being violent physically.” 

Hader has been a part of some memorable TV shows, including Weekend Update and Superband. But making Barry was by far his most successful experience on set.

“The DNA of the show is hard. I think honestly, the idea of doing live television in front of the nation was hard for me,” he comments. “And you go, if I ever have my own thing, I will do it this way, or I clearly wouldn’t do that.” Barry will come back on HBO on April 24 and can also be streamed on HBO Max.

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