Bill Hader offered his thoughts on voice acting and artificial intelligence while teasing his next projects at the Variety Entertainment & Technology Summit presented by EY, held Thursday in Los Angeles. Speaking to executive editor Michael Schneider, Hader was asked about his concerns about AI as a filmmaker. Like, oh shit, a lot of people are going to be out of work,” Hader said.
If this stuff can help them, it’d be better.” Something the “SNL” and “Trainwreck” star finds curious about the emerging technology is how different generations have responded to it. I don’t know why, but that’s the vibe I get. When I got an iPhone, I was stoked on it, and I didn’t think about Steve Jobs, you know?
But [young people] are very aware of the people making [AI]. They’re afraid that anything can be manipulated.” Bringing the topic back to the world of entertainment, Hader was adamant that artificial intelligence cannot rival the human creativity behind shows like “Barry” or new Emmys darling “Widow’s Bay.” “If it can help things, you know … but I don’t think so,” Hader said about using AI in the filmmaking process. Hader also co-created the show with Alec Berg and directed the majority of episodes.
Coming soon, Hader directed and wrote a psychological horror film called “They Know,” in which he stars opposite Linda Cardellini. And he voiced the Cat in the Hat in an animated adaptation due this November. When Schneider asked Hader how he approached voicing the iconic Dr.
Seuss character, he quipped, “The same way I approached Barry.” The Warner Bros. animated reboot reunites Hader with co-director Erica Rivinoja, who worked on “South Park” with Hader almost two decades ago. It is so hard, and you’re literally screaming for four hours, saying the same line over and over and over again,” he said. Open the door!’ And they’ll go, ‘Could you give us another “Open the door”?’ and I just gave you eight versions of ‘Open the door!'” Hader went on: “It’s kind of mind numbing.
And then you see it and you forget all about how exhausted you are. Genuinely, I remember doing ‘Inside Out’ and driving back from a recording session, and I was like, ‘I need to pull over and like just drink some water’ because I was my brain was just fried.” Speaking about his next move on the small screen, Hader brought up his Jim Jones series in the works at HBO. That is true.” Variety broke the news of the project in April 2025, reporting that Hader was developing (and would potentially star in) a project about the infamous cult leader.
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