Bill Hader tells in his HBO series what he thinks is the turning point in Barry Berkman’s life Barry.
Ahead of the series finale on Sunday, Hader had a specific moment that came to mind when asked what Barry’s point of no return was on the Emmy-winning show.
“I always felt one big turning point was when Barry killed Chris (his war buddy, an amiable family man who knew too much),” Hader told the Los Angeles Times. “That was pretty much the moment.”
In conversation with The Hollywood Reporter associated with that episode Barry season one writer Liz Sarnoff broke the scene, explaining that they wanted the audience to feel that Barry had no choice. He had to kill his friend because otherwise he would lose everything.
“At the same time, you see from Chris (Marquette), ‘Oh, this is how you’re supposed to feel — how a normal person feels — when they kill someone,'” Sarnoff said. And yet we’re still on Barry’s side: he has to do it – he had no choice. Chris backing out was so painful! That’s how we knew it was good.”
In the cast interview with the LA times, Anthony Carrigan and Henry Winkler said the Barry-Chris scene surprised them and was emotionally challenging to watch. And then, quickly, the episode cuts to a scene where Barry saves Fuches (Stephen Root) from the Chechens and viewers cheer for him again.
“We did a screening and when I saved you (Fuches), people applauded,” Hader told the publication. “I was like ‘Wait, did we do something wrong?'”
The Emmy-winning actor and co-creator said another scene where he felt Barry crossed the line was when he blew up Sally while she was at work in season three, as it showed how his actions and manner differed from his other can influence people.
“That was very important, that it’s only a matter of time before this starts spreading to the people he loves,” he said. “It was a nice reminder that he is not a good guy. And that is reflected in all the characters. They have those moments (of), ‘Can I get rid of this?’”
Hader and co-creator Alec Berg have never shied away from portraying Barry in a less than positive light. In March 2022 THR cover story, the first Saturday Night Live cast member explained that he is willing to take the risk of the audience turning against the killer he plays.
“I remember watching Good day growing up and going like, ‘Wow, look at his life. This is amazing.’ And then they shoot Spider (Michael Imperioli’s character), and you just knew this was real,” he said. “With movies where they tried to make you like the main character, I always felt a little cheated. As you get older you just see that life is more like you Good day.”
