Barry: Bill Hader explains Sian Heder cameo in Episode 4

Bill Hader has opened up about his decision to have Sian Heder appear in Barry Season 4 Episode 4, the second major cameo in the final season so far.

In our review, we wrote: “Barry takes a backseat role in his show while his victims (and targets) struggle in the wake of his escape. Hader’s presence as a character is missed, but this is a particularly traumatic, evocative chapter in this increasingly grim story.”

While the roar of a police helicopter passes across the Los Angeles sky, Sally is busy working with Kristen, her new acting student who’s managed to bag a role in a new blockbuster.

As Sally walks onto the set, she meets Sian Heder – here’s what you need to know.

Barry: Sian Heder cameo explained

Sian Heder plays herself in Barry. She is best known for directing CODA, which won the Oscar for Best Picture in 2022. In the show, she’s directing Mega Girls, a Marvel/DC-esque superhero movie about women in Amazonian clothing trying to find “infinity orbs.”

As Sally fawns over her, she says she’s really “switching gears” from “committed actors in a deeply personal story” to models fighting over “blue, glowy Infinity Orbs.”

“I think it’s gonna be a good movie. I think when people see Mega Girls, they’re gonna think, ‘Whoever made that, made CODA’,” she adds.

In an interview with The Wrap, Hader spoke about winning Heder over after worrying she was being mocked.

“Initially, I think Sian was a little skeptical about it, because I think – understandably – she was like, ‘Oh, is this making fun of CODA?’ and [I was] just wanting to be respectful, because that’s a great movie,” he said.

“She finally said yes after we sent her a bunch of different versions of the scene that Duffy Boudreau and I wrote to see what she was most comfortable with, because she’s playing herself. I think [she accepted] once she saw what it was – that it was more of a joke of her taking a big Hollywood job. I don’t think that’s being cruel or anything, that’s just the truth. That just happens.”

Barry Season 4 Episodes 1-4 are streaming on HBO now. Check out the rest of our coverage below:

Barry Season 4 cast | Episodes 1 & 2 review | Episode 3 review | What time is Barry out on HBO? | Will there be a Barry Season 5? | How many episodes are there in Barry Season 4?