Much like Steve Carell, Bill Hader shocked a lot of people last year when he delivered a dramatic performance of hugely unexpected depth in dark indie comedy The Skeleton Twins. Though the movie is fundamentally funny, it's also tailed by the dark pall of suicide, as both he and twin sister Maggie (Kristen Wiig) struggle to make sense of the lack of personal and professional success in their lives. Hader has always been one of the funnier graduates of the Saturday Night Live troupe, but prior to this, he had barely dipped his feet in dramatic work, and as such, his complex work here came as a massive surprise. In depicting the to-and-fro of depression, few performances in recent memory have been as effective: though the movie has an inherent charm to it, there's also a core sadness that, true to life, isn't magically fixed when the credits roll. Running the whole gamut of emotions, Hader totally proves himself in a part most experienced dramatic actors would struggle with, and for his efforts, he was nominated for a Gotham Independent Film Award for Best Actor.
Stay at home dad who spends as much time teaching his kids the merits of Martin Scorsese as possible (against the missus' wishes).
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