In an interview with The Wrap breaking down last week’s episode, writer, director, and star Bill Hader broke down the hilarious moment when Barry looks to Christian podcasting for absolution before going to kill his old acting teacher, Gene (Henry Winkler). “That’s his journey of ‘Is it a sin?'” Hader said. “You know, ‘Now I’m this guy but my old self used to sin,’ so again it’s less about religion to me and more about [how] you can find anything on the internet, whatever your view is.” Barry certainly does; he starts off listening to a pastor who says murder is a sin, then finds another with more malleable views, before finally ending up with Nick St. Angelo, an extremely questionable hockey player turned-pastor who says some killings are sanctioned by God.
The pastor in question is actually played by comedian Bill Burr, while a “Saturday Night Live” castmate and “Barry” crew member took on the roles of the less bloodthirsty pastors. “It’s just him actually searching things that are correct, murder is a sin, and he’s gotta go down the wormhole to find this ex-hockey player who’s somehow a pastor,” Hader told The Wrap with a laugh. “That’s Bill Burr, by the way, he’s Pastor Nick. The first pastor is our composer Dave Wingo and then the second pastor is James Austin Johnson from ‘Saturday Night Live’ and they all did amazing jobs.” Johnson is part of the current “SNL” lineup and is perhaps best known for his spot-on Donald Trump impression.
