Bill Hader on voicing the Cat in the Hat and why directors tell him he needs ‘more energy’ - Toronto Star

The actor-director is also finishing up his horror film, 'They Know': 'I love animated stuff, and I like stranger, darker stuff.'

“I try not to think about it too much,” said Bill Hader, about psyching himself up to do voice work for animation. “I just do it.

“That’s why I think some of my performances on ‘SNL’ are really rigid, because I’m overthinking it. Better just to try it and see what happens and get all those nerves out. Then you can start honing it.”

The former “Saturday Night Live” star and Emmy-winning “Barry” co-creator is lending his voice to the new animated adaptation of Dr. Seuss’s classic children’s book “The Cat in the Hat,” from writer-directors Alessandro Carloni and Erica Rivinoja, which opens on Friday.

Hardly a straight adaptation, the film takes the sly, mess-causing feline on an adventure across the Seussian universe while trying to cheer up a young girl and her brother, who are sad about moving to a new city. This Cat in the Hat is a worker at a company devoted to bringing smiles to kids’ faces, but his habit of turning living rooms into magical zoos has his boss at the end of his rope. With one last chance to prove himself, the Cat only makes a bigger mess of things, thanks to a time-travelling device called the Go-Backer.

Hader, who has voiced characters in such films as “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs,” “Inside Out” and “Lightyear,” previously worked with Rivinoja on “South Park.” 

Next up for Hader is the horror movie “They Know,” which he directed, co-wrote and stars in with Linda Cardellini.

The Star sat down with Hader at Toronto’s St. Regis Hotel to talk all about stepping into the role of an iconic children’s character, his interest in animation and how he balances the dark with the light.

We all have one, of course, but what’s your relationship with Dr. Seuss and “The Cat in the Hat”?

For me, it was growing up with the book. It was the first book I remember owning, from a very young age. I have this memory: there was a catalogue (with) this Cat in the Hat desk for a kid. It would be so cool to do my homework on this desk. And my parents were like, “Yeah, no, we’re not giving you that. You have a desk.”

They’re like, “You’re fine doing your homework at the kitchen table.”

Did you introduce the book to your kids?

My kids — three daughters — really enjoyed it. That was one of the first things we read to them. So it was a huge honour when I got the call saying, “Would you want to play this?”

Hader stars as the voice of Dr. Seuss’s iconic top-hatted feline in “The Cat in the Hat.”

Did you have ideas in your head? “OK, here’s how I’m gonna approach this.”

I kind of did, but I’ve learned over the years that when I try to prep something too much, the filmmakers always have something in mind. When you come in with, “Here’s what I’m gonna do,” you get a look that’s like, “Oh, no” — this deer-in-headlights look from a director — like, “How do we talk him out of doing this?”

I just came in with some ideas and I tried them: “Take it or leave it, but here’s a couple things I thought.” And they said, “We just like your voice. Just let’s just keep it simple. Just your voice.”

You’ve done a lot of animation over the years. What draws you to that work? Is it the voice acting or the medium of animation?

I like the voice acting. I like that it allows me to be in something and still be close to home, and not on a location for four or five months. That can get tough after a while.

What about the actual performance? I saw a behind-the-scenes clip. You’re moving around a lot!

Yeah, running, jumping and screaming. It’s fun though. You get to perform like you did at “SNL,” whereas on camera with something like “Barry,” you’re acting and it’s more behaviour. Because the camera is right there, you don’t have to push it too much. So, getting a chance to just do a big performance was really fun.

Yes, it’s exhausting. Afterwards, I just take a big nap, because you’re effectively just screaming for five hours.

So, this is a three-year process, recording voices for the movie?

Yeah, I think my initial meeting was three years ago. “Inside Out” was about five years.

Bill Hader voiced Fear, second from right, in “Inside Out.”

How do you keep in character across those years, with what I assume are long gaps between recording sessions?

That’s the one nice thing about them wanting my (real) voice: I don’t have to think about it.

I’ve done other things where I really play it. It’s a way different voice, and that can be tough. They have to play the voice back to you. You think you’re doing it, but you’re not. So you’ll record it, and they’ll go, “Bill, that’s not at all what the character sounds like.”

On this one, they just wanted your voice, so it was easy to just come in?

Yeah, you just come in, and it’s my voice. But me on an energy drink or something.

Did you drink any energy drinks before recording?

God, no! If I did, it would’ve been terrible. (Laughs.) No, but they were very nice, the directors. That’s the direction I always get: “more energy.”

You need to be given that direction?

I do. I mean, now that I’ve directed myself, or I’ve watched footage of myself, I go, “Oh, I now see what they’re talking about.” I seem like I barely have a pulse.

Hader says his new horror film will be “very funny and dark” like his HBO series “Barry.”

Is there some relief in doing a heartwarming kids movie after having directed “Barry” and your upcoming horror movie?

Yeah. They’re two very different projects, the movie I’m in the post (production) on right now, and then this. I love animated stuff, and I like stranger, darker stuff.

The movie was a lot of fun. But it’s a horror movie in the same way that “Barry” would be a crime show. It ostensibly is, but it’s not. It’s more of a character study, but it has that same tone of “Barry,” which is very funny and dark.

“Barry” would be funny as an animated show.

That’s true. You could have made it an animated show, and it would probably have been more interesting. That’s the nice thing about animation — you can make anything happen.

On a regular movie we’re like, “We can build these two sets, and these are the two sets we’re going to be doing most of the movie on.”

Would you be interested in directing animation?

I would, but the thing with animation is that it’s just a long, long process. It takes years and years and years. So devoting to one project for that amount of time, I don’t know. Maybe. No one’s asked me that, actually.

Now I’m thinking about it. I’m like, “Would I? Yeah, maybe.”

This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.

Corey Atad is a Toronto-based film critic and journalist.