- Bill Hader helped bring to life the voice of "Star Wars" favorite BB-8.
- "The Force Awakens" director J.J. Abrams had Hader speak in a talk box while he used an effects app to come up with the voice BB-8 uses.
- Hader did not do any BB-8 voice work on "The Last Jedi," and he doesn't know if he's getting residuals for the work he did on "The Force Awakens."
Bill Hader is known for his characters while doing eight seasons of "Saturday Night Live," playing the lovable leading man in "Trainwreck," and his voice work on everything from "South Park" to "Inside Out."
But he also helped bring to life one of the most memorable characters of the current "Star Wars" trilogy: BB-8.
It's a highlight in his filmography Hader is shy to discuss because, he said, "Anybody could do what I did."
While making "The Force Awakens," director J.J. Abrams called on Hader to voice the droid (previously, Abrams had actor Ben Schwartz come in to do an English-language dub of the droid).
"That is J.J. Abrams being a really nice guy," Hader told Business Insider while promoting his upcoming series on HBO, "Barry" (airing March 25). "That's him saying, 'I know you like "Star Wars," do you want to come and do this?'"
Hader said he tried to come up with a voice for BB-8, but it wasn't working. He left and felt he blew his chance at being a part of the saga. Then the actor said Abrams called him back again, "I mean, there were billboards already out for the movie," said Hader in describing how close it was to the movie opening when he got the second call.
This time, Hader spoke into a talk box while Abrams messed with an effects app on his iPhone and out of that came the basis for the BB-8 voice and it put Hader into "Star Wars" lore.
"I mean, I'm signing BB-8 pictures now," Hader said.
But is he getting residual checks from it?
Hader said that he did not take part in any of the work that went into BB-8 for "The Last Jedi," but he does have a credit on "The Force Awakens." Actors receive yearly payments when movies begin getting sold on Blu-ray, DVD, streaming, or begin to air on TV (actors in television series get residuals when the shows are sold to syndication).
Will Hader get that sweet Disney money for years to come?
"That's a good question, I should ask my business manager," Hader said with a laugh. "You're finding out how bad I am at this. If my dad reads this he would lose his sh--. 'You gotta know how much f---ing money you have, you moron!'"
Processing it all for a moment, all Hader could answer was, "I mean, I would hope so."
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