Bill Hader Worried He’d Be Known As ‘SNL’s ‘Anxiety Guy’

Ted Danson was, well, anxious to talk to Bill Hader on this week’s Where Everybody Knows Your Name podcast because the two comic actors have something in common. “I listened to a podcast where you were talking about anxiety attacks,” said Danson. “And I went, Ah! A kindred spirit!”

Hader has talked about his mental health issues in several forums, but not without reservation. “There will be moments where I’m like, ‘Oh man, am I going to be known as the anxiety guy?’”

So why is he so willing to share? “I just remember Saturday Night Live, feeling that way,” he said. Hader would Google information about anxiety while he was on the show, but he “could never find a thing that I related to. It was either not enough, or it was really intense.”

So despite his mixed feelings, Hader talks about his issues to help others going through similar trials. “Especially when it’s someone who’s like, ‘Oh, my kid heard your thing and that was really helpful.’ They really appreciate it.”

These days, Hader explained, he hides his anxieties behind laughter and silliness. “It’s not where people are like, ‘You’re this nervous wreck and sweating.’ That’s inside. But outside, most of the time you see me laughing really hard and giggling, it’s nerves. It’s like shaking a Pepsi bottle and (Hader makes a hissing sound as if he’s releasing the carbonation). It’s getting all that out of your system. People go, ‘You have such a great laugh!’ And I’m like, ‘Oh, I’m dying. I want to be home so bad.’” 

Danson could relate. He told Hader about an early soap opera appearance in which he was hired to play the town Lothario. The night before filming, Danson had his first full-fledged panic attack. He called a therapist, convinced he was unable to show up for the job. Don’t ruin your big chance, advised the therapist — take a Valium instead. 

“I didn’t realize Valium and me do not get along,” Danson confessed. “I barely slept.” But he did show up at 30 Rock, looking for the stage on which he was supposed to perform. One employee recognized Danson, which sent him into another panic. He ran for it (even though no one was chasing him), finding himself lost in the bowels of NBC. When Danson finally made it to set, the smooth ladies’ man was anything but. “I was sheets of sweat,” he said. The producer took one look at the perspiring Danson and decided to turn his character into the town sleaze.  

Danson said performing live is the worst. As a former host, he knows “there’s nothing like Saturday Night Live nerves.” 

Hader, who has also returned to host, agrees there’s no better feeling than when SNL is done. “All that worry, all that ‘What’s my blocking, what are my lines?’ Everything.” When someone on set told Hader he was done for the night, “I just kind of melted. I just remember doing goodnight. Being like, ‘Thank you, everybody. Thanks, John Hamm, for coming. I survived.’ It was that exact feeling.”