Stephen Root

4th March 2019

Stephen Root has been in over 200 films since he got his start in the late ’80s. He’s is the kind of character actor that can take even the most basic, dreary TV show or movie and light it up. One or two scenes with Stephen in it, say a by the book police procedural or a saccharine sitcom, and that’s all you’ll talk about. He’ll joins us to discuss some of his most memorable roles. He’ll tell us why his voiceover role in “King of the Hill” was one of his favorite gigs. Plus, he’ll tell us how he got the part in his most recent project HBO’s “Barry,” and how he helped flesh out his character’s role.

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Photo: Jesse Thorn
Stephen Root on HBO’s ‘Barry,’ ‘King of the Hill,’ ‘Newsradio’ and more
Character actor Stephen Root joins us to discuss some of his most memorable roles. He’s been in over 200 films since he got his start in the late ’80s.

Stephen works in a lot of acclaimed films and TV shows. There’s “Office Space,” where he played the meek, mumbling, stapler-obsessed Milton. Then there’s “Newsradio,” where he played billionaire Jimmy James, a role he’ll talk about at length in this interview. His most recent work can be seen on HBO’s “Barry.” On the series he plays Fuches, a hitman’s screwball boss.

Odds are you’ve seen his work in “Get Out,” “O Brother Where Art Thou,” “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” or “King of The Hill.” Stephen voiced a bunch of parts on “King of the Hill,” and it’s some of our favorite work of his. He’s probably most famously for voicing Bill, Hank Hill’s kinda sad neighbor. He’ll tell us why this voiceover role was one of his favorite gigs. Plus, he’ll tell us how he got the part in HBO’s “Barry,” and how he helped flesh out his character’s role.

In this episode...

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  • Stephen Root

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Bullseye is a celebration of the best of arts and culture in public radio form. Host Jesse Thorn sifts the wheat from the chaff to bring you in-depth interviews with the most revered and revolutionary minds in our culture.

Bullseye has been featured in Time, The New York Times, GQ and McSweeney’s, which called it “the kind of show people listen to in a more perfect world.” Since April 2013, the show has been distributed by NPR.

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