Bill Hader on How His Real-Life Panic Attacks Informed His Performance in Barry (original) (raw)

Bill Hader's history of panic attacks quite literally played a role in his acclaimed show Barry.

The actor and comedian, 44, tells PEOPLE in 10 that having dealt with sporadic, acute fits of anxiety in his own life helped shape his Emmy-nominated performance in the HBO dark comedy that he co-created, stars in and directed.

"There's definitely been moments in the show where the character has gotten panicked and got a panic attack, and I definitely felt that before," Hader shares.

Barry . Aaron Epstein/HBO

"When I was on Saturday Night Live I would get panic attacks pretty frequently," continued Hader. "You know Barry has a panic attack and you go, 'I know exactly what that feels like.'"

Hader appeared on NBC's long-running late-night sketch show from 2005 to 2014 and brought memorable characters to life, including "Weekend Update" correspondent Stefon.

Now as Barry enters its fourth and final season, Hader is saying goodbye to another iconic character. Barry season 4 will follow the anxious hitman in jail as he sets his sights on redeeming himself, as teased by a trailer released earlier this month.

On this week's PEOPLE in 10, Hader and his costars call this season "scary," "heartbreaking," "astonishing" and a "gut punch."

Stephen Root, who plays the villainous Monroe Fuches, teases: "What you see is not what you get."

RELATED Video: Henry Winkler On the Running Scenes in Barry: 'My Knees Are Screaming at Me'

During an interview with Vulture after the end of the third season of the show, Hader discussed his decision to bring his character back one last time.

"Well dying, the story's over, and I thought there was more story. There's only so long a guy can get away with this," he said.

"I know I feel watching shows sometimes, 'They're trying to keep the thing going and now it's getting ridiculous to keep the thing going,'" he explained. "And so, I think [Barry] would get caught. He's not Jason Bourne or Walter White. He's not a genius. He's a very dumb guy."

He added, "And it made sense, the idea of Gene Cousineau [Henry Winkler' wanting justice ... and then getting it by the end, but he has to go through a transformation himself to get it."

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Barry airs Sundays at 10 p.m. ET on HBO and can be streamed on HBO Max.