His parents were supportive of his decision and allowed him to use the money they had saved up for his education to cover his living expenses in Los Angeles.

Hader's aspirations of becoming a filmmaker eventually led him to drop out of college and move to Los Angeles in 1999. At Scottsdale Community College, he met Nicholas Jasenovec, who later directed Paper Heart (2009). He also worked as an usher at a Tempe cinema, which allowed him to see films for free, but he was fired for spoiling the ending of Titanic (1997) for unruly viewers. His first job was as a Christmas tree salesman. He was unable to gain admission to top film schools because of his 'abysmal' grades, so he instead enrolled at The Art Institute of Phoenix, and later Scottsdale Community College.

He made short films with friends and starred in a school production of The Glass Menagerie. He appreciated Monty Python, British comedy, and the films of Mel Brooks originally being shown many of these by his father. With a feeling of not fitting in, he filled his time watching movies and reading. He says he was a 'spaz kid' in elementary school, who had 'a hard time focusing in class' and 'was always joking around'. He grew up with writer Duffy Boudreau, with whom he'd later collaborate. Hader attended Patrick Henry Elementary School, Edison Junior High, and Cascia Hall Preparatory School. His ancestry includes Danish, English, German, and Irish, and he discovered in a 2016 episode of Finding Your Roots that he is a descendant of royal figures such as Charlemagne, Charles Martel and King Edward I. He has two younger sisters named Katie and Kara. Hader was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on June 7, 1978, the son of dance teacher Sherri Renee (née Patton) and air cargo company owner, restaurant manager, truck driver, and occasional stand-up comedian William Thomas Hader Sr. 3.2 2005–2013: Breakthrough and Saturday Night Live.

Bill hader