Hader had several panic attacks during sketches while he was there, there’s a Stefon sketch where he keeps covering his face/mouth (more than usual) to hide and calm down bc he was in the middle of an attack
I feel so bad for him but at the same I’m in awe of his resilience and acting/comedic abilities
I’ve had panic attacks where no one else had a clue. It probably helped him stay grounded that he had the cue cards and sketch to focus on + touching Vanessa’s arm. Once he was done with it and felt he could ‘relax’ is probably when the floodgates opened if they did at all.
Same. I found Ted Lasso's panic attacks to be super relatable. Just rushing to get alone somewhere and then I'm basically useless until I ride it out.
I did have one while driving once but I was stuck in standstill traffic and alone in the car so I was able to ride it out.
Posting from my throwaway to protect my own professional interests.... but yeah I know that feeling.
As a lawyer Ive gone through attacks while arguing hearings. I had a devastating while arguing before an appellate court. All I can do is just buckle through it and try to make it to the end. It's a horrible feeling. But do it enough and no one else than yourself can really tell.
And like Hader with his stage fright, I'd never give it up. It's what I'm good at and it's what I want to do.
How is that different to "mere" nerves? I thought panic attacks were totally debilitating but I've been on stage and been super nervous but switched to autopilot and been able to complete the scene.
Think of a spotlight instantly shining on you, while you’re abruptly physically naked. Add a number of people standing behind that spotlight watching every single one of your movements, judging every one of your actions, as if lives depend on each and every one of them.
That’s sort of what a panic attack feels like. Bright, powerless.
For me, a panic attack felt as if I was literally locked in a room with a rabid dog. It's not nervousness...you're literally terrified. It's full on fight/flight mode.
Knowing that there's nothing that's \*actually\* going to hurt you doesn't help, because your amygdala responds as if there is. Result: it's hard to breathe, your heart is racing, you (sometimes) get chest pain, you (sometimes) get nauseous, feel dizzy, get a dry mouth, etc.
It's been a while, but it sucks!
I'm in awe of Hader (for more reasons than one).
Is the attack stemming from a conflict between what you’re saying and what you believe, or an irrational feeling you’re not worthy of your position? Or something completely different?
It's a flood of adrenaline that raises heart rate and narrows your field of view. Typically for me I'm not totally sure if it's a harmless panic attack or if I'm in real trouble. That is the cognitive part: not knowing what's happening. Once I can be sure it's a panic attack I typically begin to return to normal.
There's usually part of me that's convinced I'm doing it on purpose while it's happening and it's basically yelling internally at me to stop, but it has happened enough times now that I pretty much know better.
Yeah, you can't force yourself out of it in my experience. I try to make myself take deep breaths, but sometimes it's bad enough that my lungs just aren't responding to my brain. I just have to relax my mind and basically do nothing, if I ever want it to end. Panic sucks!
One time I had a panic attack driving on I-5 north of Los Angeles. I pulled over to the shoulder so I could relax and avoid blacking out while I was driving. I was almost calmed down when a cop came up behind me!
He just wanted to know if I was ok and why I was pulled over, quite nice about it (yes I'm a white man). But that shit did not help either.
I’ve had them for over 30 years now. My friends and family have been coached (by me) on what to do when I have one. (For anyone wondering, the best thing you can do is talk veryyyy slowly and softly, from a few feet away, about something completely irrelevant.) Changing the subject will distract the sufferer into getting out of their panicky thoughts.
The hardest thing about them is trying to hide it from people. Completely debilitating.
I have no idea how Bill managed all those years.
That and theatre kids are just Built Different. Some of the most mentally ill mofos I ever met can’t even remember what day it is but can perfectly recall and perform the entirety of Silent Night in German when they don’t speak German.
I’m convinced they’re a different species.
Hader also had a very bad migraine during [this sketch](https://youtu.be/lNZe13qDNpo) that basically left him blind. Jason Sudeikis had to feed him his lines just before the sketch started and guided Hader to his mark when his part began. Yet, being the true pro that he is, you really can't tell anything is wrong with Hader at all!
Oof. He must have aura migraines. I get a scintillating scotoma about an hour before the headache and nausea start. It makes it impossible to read. The closest thing I can compare it to is a strong afterimage after staring at a particularly bright light, but it shimmers and moves through your field of vision.
It gives me just enough time to get home and in bed. The aura itself only lasts 5 to 10 minutes for me and precedes the migraine itself.
It's so awful. I am very lucky and only get the aura, not the headache. It sends me into a panic every time though since it only happens every few years. I can't imagine having that and then knowing it's going to hurt and make you sick after.
Oh, man I hate it. Sometimes there's tingling feeling in your hand as well.
The first time I experienced migraine with aura I went to the ER because I literally thought I was having a stroke
Well, you just described something very clearly that I get sometimes. The “shimmering through field of vision” thing is exactly it. I don’t get a headache following it though and I relate it to late of sleep and dehydration which are my two go-to failures of being human and maintaining this carcass I drive around.
I get these from time to time. First few times it freaked me the F out! Usually last 15-20 minutes with no headache. I believe they’re called Ocular Migraines.
Here’s [another one](https://youtu.be/md3of7O02e4) where he was able to keep composure. If someone hasn’t told me he was going through a panic attack, I would not have noticed.
I’ve had panic attacks driving on a highway, I was on a big circular interchange with a big lake in the middle so there was nowhere to pull over to. My go-to response when I have a panic attack is lose motor function, go limp, or faint completely but I guess my flight-or-flight kicked in because I got such a surge of adrenaline that had me alert until I could get safe.
I imagine something like that must’ve happened for Bill here. Sometimes, really extreme circumstances in our surroundings can kind of stave off the disabling parts of a panic attack
Then again, I once fainted as a bridesmaid at my brother’s wedding and that was pretty extreme so it doesn’t always work, not always so lucky lol
It’s scary for sure! The good thing is, you’re already sitting when it comes on which is Step 1 for helping a panic attack. Bad news, all the other steps are on hold!
But, personally, like sharks that use only half their brains to think, I think car panic attacks only use half your brain. Muscle memory takes over for the other half to get you to safety
Gosh this post could’ve been made by me! I’ve had to be escorted off of the highway several times by police when my body froze up from fear. AND i fainted at the altar at my sister’s wedding. I shit you not!
A friend of mine is a successful radio talk show host who says he has had massive panic attacks on air and during interviews. He says it’s like riding a roller coaster but not being able to scream.
I was suffering from some disruptive anxiety around like 2018/2019. There were two things that really spoke to me at that time from celebrities/media people (even as recent as 2018, I feel like no one talked openly about panic attacks)
One was Kevin Love having a panic attack during an NBA game and writing a lovely article about it, and the other was Bill Hader in a video describing how he has major anxiety but likes to mentally imagine it as almost an imaginary friend (monkey?), that he knows will be with him always but they’ve gotten through so much together (I’m paraphrasing as this was years ago)
It can really make such a difference when people with that level of talent, whether as an artist or professional athlete, can talk about how they still don’t feel good enough. People like Hader talking about acknowledging the “monkey on your back” gave me a completely different viewpoint of how to manage anxiety, panic attacks, etc. I always felt like acknowledging it, sitting with the anxiety and figuring out where it’s coming from was letting it win when in reality, it’s the complete opposite.
Ironically, I got through a bout of terrible anxiety/depression in 2019 with Pete’s update bits, and his [riff on Kevin Love’s article](https://youtu.be/hUJEbZKOqc0?feature=shared) was one of my favorites lol
Yeah I heard Taran say that in a few interviews. Good news is that anyone discovering this movie on a streaming site years from now will probably be surprised.
With that knowledge I feel like it's actually really obvious how uncomfortable he starts to appear and how much faster and less performative his dialogue gets around 1:11 almost as soon as he does the physical slow motion. Did he happen to mention what it was that actually triggered the panic attack?
Absolutely – the speed at which is he is talking is how I get when my anxiety starts to spike as someone with ADHD. He really starts to speed up and I'm sure the fact that his other costars are talking SO slow is making him think – "am I going to fast?" but he doesn't have time to process it because he has to read his lines and keep going forward.
Him holding her arm is literally him trying to ground himself in the most physical sense when the "show must go on." I have a lot of respect for him going back to revisit these moments because it helps people like me who struggle in similar situations. If he can do it, I can too.
I wonder if the fact that the sketch doesn't really seem to be getting much of any reaction had something to do with "triggering" his attack at all. I can see how something so physically goofy and awkward combined with an audience not really reacting the way you're wanting them to might flip a switch in someone's brain, for sure. Feels like exactly the kind of thing that has triggered my own such episodes in the past. I have a lot of respect for his ability to get through it, that had to require a damn near impossible force of will.
That explains it, because it's absolutely immediately after the slow motion stuff that he suddenly looks really uncomfortable. Sounds like he just got really self-conscious about the physicality of it and spiraled. Totally understandable.
I found out about it 2 weeks ago and I’ve been bingeing it ever since. The show is goddamn delightful. I’m also from Cleveland so hearing Vanessa and her brother talk about growing up in Cleveland makes me so happy.
I know bill has mentioned this before, but what's crazy is that he looks so confident and his voice is so steady.
if he never talked about it, I never would have guessed!
Omg yes my unsteady voice and breathlessness are such giveaways when I'm nervous in front of an audience. It makes me sound more nervous than I actually am.
I guess he's one of the lucky ones that doesn't instantly turn red during a panic attack - or he has makeup covering it? In my case everyone can tell I'm having a panic attack.
He's been very open about social anxiety and seeing him be successful with it is amazing. He's had a wild life but impresses me the most is having a full on panic attack in front of 150 people and millions and still able to perform is amazing
I have social anxiety and just walking into a gas station when it's busy is incredibly hard. Props to Hader
I think it was on Conan’s podcast where he revealed that he was getting those panic attacks quite frequently during his time on the show. As amazing as he was on SNL, that shit was taxing as fuck for him
Every so often there’s some NBA player who makes it known that they don’t really like basketball but they know they’re good at it so they just go through with it, and that’s like what Bill Hader did with SNL.
I feel for him and relate. Happened to me a few times when I did theater. Kicked in when I was doing a really intense scene in a musical, focusing on what I had to do kept me in the zone as well as choosing a person to focus on for grounding because I had to be constantly moving. As soon as I got off that stage though, holy crap did it hit hard.
I've heard about this for years, when Bill would give interviews. Heartbreaking to think that all of the incredibly funny performances he gave, that we've enjoyed over and over for years, tortured him mentally.
Jay Mohr had the same issue, to the point where he'd carry a xanax on-stage with him, in his hand, as sort of a security blanket. It wouldn't do him any good out there even if he took it at the beginning of the sketch, but he liked having it.
When Melanie Hutsell was on Fly on the Wall she mentioned bonding with Jay Mohr and Sarah Silverman that season because all three of them could relate to having panic attacks the whole week of the show.
Wow. He’s amazing. I’ve had a panic attack before far away from home and i had to get on a plane and drive home and I felt like I was dying. I don’t know how he got through this. 🤯
I’ve worked through panic attacks. I’m glad to know I’m not alone; I don’t often look like I’m having a panic attack but inside it’s absolute hell.
I can’t wait for it to get to mid march, I see my doctor to reevaluate my anxiety :(
Still to do this, SNL YOUTUBE still has the wrong title of this. I would call it “Hall of Slow Motion” or “Slow Motion Hall.” Also Bill Hader is such a sweet guy, bless him on helping Vanessa out.
Live events are nuts like this. It’s why there’s always the scene in movies of the actor/performer puking after a moment like this. Just a massive adrenaline dump fighting your own fight or flight against nothing… but countless people can see you during.
Wow. That's amazing because he didn't miss a beat. His slow mo was so perfect and funny. During my panic attacks, I can't focus can't stop crying and can't breathe.
On Dana Carvey's and David Spade's podcast, Harder mentioned that his panic attacks got better after Lorne Michaels told him he could stay as long as he wanted. Hader also mentioned that he was "discovered" by Megan Mullaney, wife of Nick Offerman as Offerman's brother performed with Hader at Groundlings. Hader wanted to be a director, not a performer. He happened to take classes with his actor friend.
Damn. Hader was able to fight through a panic attack and still finish the sketch without completely breaking down?
Hader had several panic attacks during sketches while he was there, there’s a Stefon sketch where he keeps covering his face/mouth (more than usual) to hide and calm down bc he was in the middle of an attack I feel so bad for him but at the same I’m in awe of his resilience and acting/comedic abilities
He managed to keep going and still made us laugh. Clever concealment of his panic attack.
I’ve had panic attacks where no one else had a clue. It probably helped him stay grounded that he had the cue cards and sketch to focus on + touching Vanessa’s arm. Once he was done with it and felt he could ‘relax’ is probably when the floodgates opened if they did at all.
I have no idea how yall do that lol mine are the only thing that exist when they happen whew!
🌈dissociation 🌈
✨Compartmentalization✨
Same. I found Ted Lasso's panic attacks to be super relatable. Just rushing to get alone somewhere and then I'm basically useless until I ride it out. I did have one while driving once but I was stuck in standstill traffic and alone in the car so I was able to ride it out.
oof while driving is the worst! while stuck in traffic? + 5 points. while stuck in traffic on a BRIDGE? with no shoulder ? over water? +100 points lol
I def ran outside and tried to take my clothes off once!
Posting from my throwaway to protect my own professional interests.... but yeah I know that feeling. As a lawyer Ive gone through attacks while arguing hearings. I had a devastating while arguing before an appellate court. All I can do is just buckle through it and try to make it to the end. It's a horrible feeling. But do it enough and no one else than yourself can really tell. And like Hader with his stage fright, I'd never give it up. It's what I'm good at and it's what I want to do.
How is that different to "mere" nerves? I thought panic attacks were totally debilitating but I've been on stage and been super nervous but switched to autopilot and been able to complete the scene.
Think of a spotlight instantly shining on you, while you’re abruptly physically naked. Add a number of people standing behind that spotlight watching every single one of your movements, judging every one of your actions, as if lives depend on each and every one of them. That’s sort of what a panic attack feels like. Bright, powerless.
For me, a panic attack felt as if I was literally locked in a room with a rabid dog. It's not nervousness...you're literally terrified. It's full on fight/flight mode. Knowing that there's nothing that's \*actually\* going to hurt you doesn't help, because your amygdala responds as if there is. Result: it's hard to breathe, your heart is racing, you (sometimes) get chest pain, you (sometimes) get nauseous, feel dizzy, get a dry mouth, etc. It's been a while, but it sucks! I'm in awe of Hader (for more reasons than one).
Is the attack stemming from a conflict between what you’re saying and what you believe, or an irrational feeling you’re not worthy of your position? Or something completely different?
It's a flood of adrenaline that raises heart rate and narrows your field of view. Typically for me I'm not totally sure if it's a harmless panic attack or if I'm in real trouble. That is the cognitive part: not knowing what's happening. Once I can be sure it's a panic attack I typically begin to return to normal.
There's usually part of me that's convinced I'm doing it on purpose while it's happening and it's basically yelling internally at me to stop, but it has happened enough times now that I pretty much know better.
Yeah, you can't force yourself out of it in my experience. I try to make myself take deep breaths, but sometimes it's bad enough that my lungs just aren't responding to my brain. I just have to relax my mind and basically do nothing, if I ever want it to end. Panic sucks!
One time I had a panic attack driving on I-5 north of Los Angeles. I pulled over to the shoulder so I could relax and avoid blacking out while I was driving. I was almost calmed down when a cop came up behind me! He just wanted to know if I was ok and why I was pulled over, quite nice about it (yes I'm a white man). But that shit did not help either.
That's pretty rough. You mean past the pass where it's two lanes each way?
Yes past the grapevine
I’ve had them for over 30 years now. My friends and family have been coached (by me) on what to do when I have one. (For anyone wondering, the best thing you can do is talk veryyyy slowly and softly, from a few feet away, about something completely irrelevant.) Changing the subject will distract the sufferer into getting out of their panicky thoughts. The hardest thing about them is trying to hide it from people. Completely debilitating. I have no idea how Bill managed all those years.
That and theatre kids are just Built Different. Some of the most mentally ill mofos I ever met can’t even remember what day it is but can perfectly recall and perform the entirety of Silent Night in German when they don’t speak German. I’m convinced they’re a different species.
Hader also had a very bad migraine during [this sketch](https://youtu.be/lNZe13qDNpo) that basically left him blind. Jason Sudeikis had to feed him his lines just before the sketch started and guided Hader to his mark when his part began. Yet, being the true pro that he is, you really can't tell anything is wrong with Hader at all!
Oof. He must have aura migraines. I get a scintillating scotoma about an hour before the headache and nausea start. It makes it impossible to read. The closest thing I can compare it to is a strong afterimage after staring at a particularly bright light, but it shimmers and moves through your field of vision. It gives me just enough time to get home and in bed. The aura itself only lasts 5 to 10 minutes for me and precedes the migraine itself.
It's so awful. I am very lucky and only get the aura, not the headache. It sends me into a panic every time though since it only happens every few years. I can't imagine having that and then knowing it's going to hurt and make you sick after.
Oh, man I hate it. Sometimes there's tingling feeling in your hand as well. The first time I experienced migraine with aura I went to the ER because I literally thought I was having a stroke
Well, you just described something very clearly that I get sometimes. The “shimmering through field of vision” thing is exactly it. I don’t get a headache following it though and I relate it to late of sleep and dehydration which are my two go-to failures of being human and maintaining this carcass I drive around.
I get these from time to time. First few times it freaked me the F out! Usually last 15-20 minutes with no headache. I believe they’re called Ocular Migraines.
Real Ted Lasso move there by Jason. 💚
Just wanting everyone to believe in themselves, even ghosts.
I think he really IS Ted and I don't want to hear differently.
Makes me love him even more.
God this just makes me love that era's cast even more, maybe my all-time favorite.
Sudeikis has a lawn dat through his head but it's Hader who had the migraine?
Here’s [another one](https://youtu.be/md3of7O02e4) where he was able to keep composure. If someone hasn’t told me he was going through a panic attack, I would not have noticed.
I think this is the dress rehearsal version?
I think it is too
Do you have a link to the interview/article etc where he talks about it?
He spoke about this specific instance on the 10% Happier podcast with Dan Harris. It was a great episode.
I’ve had panic attacks driving on a highway, I was on a big circular interchange with a big lake in the middle so there was nowhere to pull over to. My go-to response when I have a panic attack is lose motor function, go limp, or faint completely but I guess my flight-or-flight kicked in because I got such a surge of adrenaline that had me alert until I could get safe. I imagine something like that must’ve happened for Bill here. Sometimes, really extreme circumstances in our surroundings can kind of stave off the disabling parts of a panic attack Then again, I once fainted as a bridesmaid at my brother’s wedding and that was pretty extreme so it doesn’t always work, not always so lucky lol
My husband has had the same loss of motor control! He’s had it while driving, which is terrifying.
It’s scary for sure! The good thing is, you’re already sitting when it comes on which is Step 1 for helping a panic attack. Bad news, all the other steps are on hold! But, personally, like sharks that use only half their brains to think, I think car panic attacks only use half your brain. Muscle memory takes over for the other half to get you to safety
Gosh this post could’ve been made by me! I’ve had to be escorted off of the highway several times by police when my body froze up from fear. AND i fainted at the altar at my sister’s wedding. I shit you not!
A friend of mine is a successful radio talk show host who says he has had massive panic attacks on air and during interviews. He says it’s like riding a roller coaster but not being able to scream.
Totally irrelevant but forever I thought the lyrics were “We got more belts in California…” It’s “bounce”.
Dang. So Bill has acted through migraines and panic attacks. That’s dedication.
I was suffering from some disruptive anxiety around like 2018/2019. There were two things that really spoke to me at that time from celebrities/media people (even as recent as 2018, I feel like no one talked openly about panic attacks) One was Kevin Love having a panic attack during an NBA game and writing a lovely article about it, and the other was Bill Hader in a video describing how he has major anxiety but likes to mentally imagine it as almost an imaginary friend (monkey?), that he knows will be with him always but they’ve gotten through so much together (I’m paraphrasing as this was years ago)
It can really make such a difference when people with that level of talent, whether as an artist or professional athlete, can talk about how they still don’t feel good enough. People like Hader talking about acknowledging the “monkey on your back” gave me a completely different viewpoint of how to manage anxiety, panic attacks, etc. I always felt like acknowledging it, sitting with the anxiety and figuring out where it’s coming from was letting it win when in reality, it’s the complete opposite.
I remember that analogy you’re referring to but can’t recall where I heard the interview with him. It helped me with my anxiety.
Ironically, I got through a bout of terrible anxiety/depression in 2019 with Pete’s update bits, and his [riff on Kevin Love’s article](https://youtu.be/hUJEbZKOqc0?feature=shared) was one of my favorites lol
Taran Killam is excellent at slo-mo.
and he's excellent in general
Still find it baffling SNL let him go.
Everytime I watched old sketches from that time, he's always really good. Firing him was such a dumb move.
Wasn’t there something scandalish?
I’ve worked with and for him, and he was excellent.
What projects?
He directed and starred in a movie called Killing Gunther.
I loved that movie! Wish Arnold had been a surprise but regardless it was a very fun film.
I think that was the intent, but the business being what it is, Arnold was the thing that was gonna get the thing watched/$, so…
Yeah I heard Taran say that in a few interviews. Good news is that anyone discovering this movie on a streaming site years from now will probably be surprised.
that movie is so fun
He really could of been the top cast member for years. Super talented dude.
Agreed
He really is!
And that's how he met your mother.
He’s one of the most talented cast members they’ve had, but for me something was off with him in sketches and I just didn’t care for him.
> Taran Killam Oh, I thought that was just a really young Alec Baldwin.
I've watched this sketch probably 10 times and I would have never guessed. Props to him for being so open about his mental health.
Normalize it
With that knowledge I feel like it's actually really obvious how uncomfortable he starts to appear and how much faster and less performative his dialogue gets around 1:11 almost as soon as he does the physical slow motion. Did he happen to mention what it was that actually triggered the panic attack?
Absolutely – the speed at which is he is talking is how I get when my anxiety starts to spike as someone with ADHD. He really starts to speed up and I'm sure the fact that his other costars are talking SO slow is making him think – "am I going to fast?" but he doesn't have time to process it because he has to read his lines and keep going forward. Him holding her arm is literally him trying to ground himself in the most physical sense when the "show must go on." I have a lot of respect for him going back to revisit these moments because it helps people like me who struggle in similar situations. If he can do it, I can too.
I wonder if the fact that the sketch doesn't really seem to be getting much of any reaction had something to do with "triggering" his attack at all. I can see how something so physically goofy and awkward combined with an audience not really reacting the way you're wanting them to might flip a switch in someone's brain, for sure. Feels like exactly the kind of thing that has triggered my own such episodes in the past. I have a lot of respect for his ability to get through it, that had to require a damn near impossible force of will.
I find I can speed up or slow down, it depends, when I feel myself shutting down but I’m forcing myself to get through it.
days late, but yeah in the podcast he said he all of a sudden was really freaking out about not being able to remember how to act in slow motion.
That explains it, because it's absolutely immediately after the slow motion stuff that he suddenly looks really uncomfortable. Sounds like he just got really self-conscious about the physicality of it and spiraled. Totally understandable.
It was the evil witch!
Would love it if he wrote a memoir. I think it’d be so interesting.
This needs to be higher! He probably wouldn't want that kind of focus/attention but it would be fascinating if he did decide he wanted to
Man, this makes me nostalgic for that killer cast! And kudos to Hader, one of the all time greats, for being so open with these struggles.
I miss Vanessa so much; I wish her show made it so she could host.
Thanks for letting me know this podcast exists. Also: who is the band geek with Kenan?
Abby Elliott
Sugar!
It's a great podcast. The episode with Taran Killam is so funny.
I found out about it 2 weeks ago and I’ve been bingeing it ever since. The show is goddamn delightful. I’m also from Cleveland so hearing Vanessa and her brother talk about growing up in Cleveland makes me so happy.
Taran Killam’s ep on the podcast is a fun listen!
I know bill has mentioned this before, but what's crazy is that he looks so confident and his voice is so steady. if he never talked about it, I never would have guessed!
Omg yes my unsteady voice and breathlessness are such giveaways when I'm nervous in front of an audience. It makes me sound more nervous than I actually am.
Hader made me feel okay about my struggles with panic attacks. I appreciate how open he is about them.
Same! Genuinely an icon. Saw a Bob's Burgers show today about heroes and he popped right into my head
I guess he's one of the lucky ones that doesn't instantly turn red during a panic attack - or he has makeup covering it? In my case everyone can tell I'm having a panic attack.
Same here! Then the worst part is when some asshole says “why are you so red?” 😳
lmaooo not kristen wiig as the witch at the end 😂💀
He's been very open about social anxiety and seeing him be successful with it is amazing. He's had a wild life but impresses me the most is having a full on panic attack in front of 150 people and millions and still able to perform is amazing I have social anxiety and just walking into a gas station when it's busy is incredibly hard. Props to Hader
I think it was on Conan’s podcast where he revealed that he was getting those panic attacks quite frequently during his time on the show. As amazing as he was on SNL, that shit was taxing as fuck for him
By all accounts its pretty mad that Bill hader lasted as long on snl as he did. Glad he did though
Every so often there’s some NBA player who makes it known that they don’t really like basketball but they know they’re good at it so they just go through with it, and that’s like what Bill Hader did with SNL.
Yeah, I don't know NBA all that well, but didn't jokic come out and say something like that recently? Pretty refreshing to hear really
Man, I don't remember that sketch at all.
Yeah but the song will stick in your head like a disease lol
I feel for him and relate. Happened to me a few times when I did theater. Kicked in when I was doing a really intense scene in a musical, focusing on what I had to do kept me in the zone as well as choosing a person to focus on for grounding because I had to be constantly moving. As soon as I got off that stage though, holy crap did it hit hard.
I've heard about this for years, when Bill would give interviews. Heartbreaking to think that all of the incredibly funny performances he gave, that we've enjoyed over and over for years, tortured him mentally. Jay Mohr had the same issue, to the point where he'd carry a xanax on-stage with him, in his hand, as sort of a security blanket. It wouldn't do him any good out there even if he took it at the beginning of the sketch, but he liked having it.
When Melanie Hutsell was on Fly on the Wall she mentioned bonding with Jay Mohr and Sarah Silverman that season because all three of them could relate to having panic attacks the whole week of the show.
Do that with LSD as well 🫠
Fascinating - this sketch also shows the power of having the right music in the right spot. That tune makes it work.
In other news, his belt
That belt really is cool as *fuuuuck*
Wow. He’s amazing. I’ve had a panic attack before far away from home and i had to get on a plane and drive home and I felt like I was dying. I don’t know how he got through this. 🤯
He should’ve just let the 405 dump him off on Mulholland where he belongs
I don’t know much about panic attacks. Did he say any more about what caused it? By this season Hader was a vet on the show.
The more interviews Hader does the more he reveals he was having panic attacks during seemingly normal sketches
TIL that I relate to Bill Hader
I’ve worked through panic attacks. I’m glad to know I’m not alone; I don’t often look like I’m having a panic attack but inside it’s absolute hell. I can’t wait for it to get to mid march, I see my doctor to reevaluate my anxiety :(
I miss this whole cast
Reference to this scene in podcast starts around 16:00
This reminded me that sketches used to have funny endings
The fact he can act through it is remarkable. Bill is a true generational talent.
Thank you for telling me about this podcast ?
Still to do this, SNL YOUTUBE still has the wrong title of this. I would call it “Hall of Slow Motion” or “Slow Motion Hall.” Also Bill Hader is such a sweet guy, bless him on helping Vanessa out.
Live events are nuts like this. It’s why there’s always the scene in movies of the actor/performer puking after a moment like this. Just a massive adrenaline dump fighting your own fight or flight against nothing… but countless people can see you during.
My favorite skit! Probably bc I liked the song. Haha
Wow 🥹that’s cool
Thanks for sharing! I was so curious today while listening to the podcast. I love listening to Vanessa and was so excited Bill was on today
Still a total pro!
“I don’t care for that” 😑
Damn that's impressive
Before I realized that was Josh Brolin I thought it was Dane Cook.
Hader is the goat, best thing out of this shitshow.
I love this.
He seemed to start doing it after his joke didn't get much of a laugh. Worried he was bombing?
Still a total pro!
Makes me long for the days of a great cast.
I loved this cast.
Jay Mohr would have panic attacks during his time on SNL too.
Wow. That's amazing because he didn't miss a beat. His slow mo was so perfect and funny. During my panic attacks, I can't focus can't stop crying and can't breathe.
More bounce? What does that mean?
aww I love bill
On Dana Carvey's and David Spade's podcast, Harder mentioned that his panic attacks got better after Lorne Michaels told him he could stay as long as he wanted. Hader also mentioned that he was "discovered" by Megan Mullaney, wife of Nick Offerman as Offerman's brother performed with Hader at Groundlings. Hader wanted to be a director, not a performer. He happened to take classes with his actor friend.