
Bill Hader revealed on a recent episode of the “Happy, Sad, Confused” podcast that he stopped signing merchandise for fans after a late night encounter with a “Star Wars” fan left a bad taste in his mouth. The fan tried to use his kid to get Hader to sign a BB-8 toy with the intention of selling it online. “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” director J.J. Abrams hired Hader and fellow comedian Ben Schwartz as voice consultants for BB-8, which has led many “Star Wars” fans to request an autograph from Hader over the years.
“I do not sign them,” Hader said about autographing merchandise for fans. “Autograph people don’t like me. I won’t sign things.”
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“You know what it was? I used to sign stuff, and then one time I saw somebody and they had their kid come up to me to sign a BB-8 thing and it was three in the morning,” Hader continued. “I was leaving the ‘Inside Out’ premiere and then we went to an after-party thing and it was super late and this guy kept his kid up all night. [He] was like, ‘Go over there so he’ll sign it so I can sell it online.'”
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“I was like, ‘That’s fucked up,'” Hader added. “So now, I just kind of blanket, like, I’m not signing any of this shit.”
Although Abrams credited Hader with helping to bring BB-8 to life, Hader said most of the voice work he tried for the movie just “didn’t work.”
“It’s very sweet that J.J. Abrams put my name on it, but I came in and did voice stuff for it that didn’t work,” Hader said. “Then, he brought me in later and said, ‘Hey, do you want to do this.’ It was like a … talk box thing and then I did that. And the reason he hasn’t had me come back is because anybody can do that. It’s like a machine that you can operate. I did some voice stuff that just didn’t work, so I’m not really sure what Ben [Schwartz] did, but I just know that was my experience doing it.”
Watch Hader’s full interview on the “Happy, Sad, Confused” podcast in the video below.
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