PARTING SHOT
HBO’S BARRY HAD A SENSATIONAL FIRST-SEASON RUN, EARNING CRITICAL acclaim and an outstanding lead actor Emmy for its star, Saturday Night Live alum Bill Hader, who co-created the show with Alec Berg (Silicon Valley). The black comedy—about a reluctant hit man from the Midwest who finds his true calling at an acting class in Los Angeles—ended on a dark and shocking note. Barry, it turns out, might not be so reluctant after all. If Season 1 was about hope for a better future through becoming an actor (albeit a terrible one), Season 2 is about reconciling with who he really is. “Barry’s nature is to be a bad person, a killer, but he doesn’t want to be that way,” Hader tells Newsweek. “A big question is whether you can change your nature.” The actor doesn’t murder people (as far as we know), but he can relate to his character. “Feeling that you’re a bit of a fraud in a community that you desperately want to be a part of—I’ve felt that in my life,” says Hader.
Illustration by BRITT SPENCER