Editor’s Note: This interview took place prior to the beginning of the Writers Guild of America strike on May 2.

Audiences may have initially tuned in to HBO’s “Barry” to see Bill Hader the actor playing a morally conflicted, yearning but brutal hitman, but over the course of four seasons what they’ve gotten is Bill Hader the world-class filmmaker. As an actor, writer, director and producer Hader has taken the series in unexpected and completely original directions, steadily evolving his own voice and sensibility to the point that it has become as distinct and recognizable as that of his heroes, Joel and Ethan Coen. Hader wears a lot of hats on “Barry” and is articulate about his approach to the series; here he is on four aspects of his filmmaking process.

On Collaboration

Although Hader has a clear picture in his head of how he wants a scene to be blocked and shot,...