"I was really shaky" - Bill Hader clarifies why he skipped the SNL 50, and it's not 'Scheduling Conflict'

When NBC aired its highly anticipated Saturday Night Live 50th Anniversary Special in February 2025, fans were quick to note Bill Hader’s absence.

Initially, a representative from Hader stated that he missed the show due to a scheduling conflict. But in a new sit-down episode of Late Night with Seth Meyers on Tuesday, August 5, he shared that he had skipped shows because he was anxious.

During a polite and open talk, Meyers mentioned that Andy Samberg had invited Hader to participate in a digital short designed to poke fun at the anxiety experienced by former SNL cast members. However, when he was first asked, Hader merely refused, explaining, “Because I’m anxious.”

Hader praised Bowen Yang for his performance in the sketch and said, “he was great.” Confessing about his time on the NBC sketch comedy show, Hader said:

“When he told me about it, I [said], ‘I don’t know if I want to do that.’ He [said], ‘Why?’ and I’m like, ‘Because I’m anxious.’ ”

He added:

“I was really shaky and everything. I was really anxious.”

Meyers said about his guest:

“You were very open and honest after you left SNL, about the anxiety you had when you were working there. Then, for the SNL 50th, I think people were obviously at first disappointed you weren’t coming, but that was the reason. I sort of celebrated your choice.”

As the host revealed, Andy Samberg took inspiration from Hader’s anxiety, and “did, basically, a short about the fact that everybody had anxiety at SNL.”

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Bill Hader’s challenges during SNL

Anxiety is not new to Hader. The actor has been open about it in several interviews over the years, saying he feared a lot during his years as a cast member on Saturday Night Live, where he was a cast member from 2005 to 2013.

Bill Hader in a conversation with Seth Meyers (Image via Late Night with Seth Meyers)

Despite his success, Hader often felt like an outlier on the cast. As other performers such as Seth Meyers and Amy Poehler held their composure, Hader spoke of shaking backstage with his palms sweaty and his heart racing.

When talking to The Hollywood Reporter in a candid interview in 2022, the Barry star said:

"The live aspect of SNL — I'm just not built for it," he said. "Before shows, I would go into a bathroom that was way down this hall, go into a stall and have a full-blown panic attack, crying, the whole thing. And then I go and get in a giant banana costume."

He added:

"This voice would come on in my head of like, ‘You f****** a**hole, do you know how many people would kill for this? Dude, get your sh*t together, come on."

His nervousness was sometimes so evident that the SNL creator Lorne Michaels had to intervene. Hader recalled that Michaels once told him, plainly:

“Calm the f--- down. Just have fun. Jesus Christ."

It was clear that even Michaels recognized Bill Hader’s brilliance.

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Bill Hader’s complex SNL legacy

Having joined Saturday Night Live in 2005, Bill Hader earned a reputation as an actor mastering uncanny impersonations, quirky characters, and strategic comedy. Throughout his eight seasons, he has turned in stellar turns as Stefon, Julian Assange, and Al Pacino, and secured his reputation as one of SNL's most creative cast members.

Backstage, though, Bill Hader was struggling with crippling anxiety. Prior to live performances, he would regularly have panic attacks and even migraines and dizziness during broadcasts.

On one occasion, in a sketch where he was impersonating Julian Assange, he complained that he felt like “someone was sitting on [his] chest” but still managed to make it through.

Hader was a major contributor to the show, even though he had his own internal struggles, garnering Emmy nominations and the said appreciation by the creator Lorne Michaels. However, by 2013, the pressure and time away from family resulted in him quitting the show and pursuing more creatively doable projects.

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The SNL run of Bill Hader was one of the most successful in recent history, combining brilliance and vulnerability that continues to shape his work today.