Released in 2007, Superbad has been one of the most iconic comedy movies since the start of the millennium. The film's strong cult following remains relevant today, and one character in particular that had everyone laughing was Officer Slater, played by comedic legend Bill Hader. Now, sixteen years later, the man behind the uniform sat down with Jimmy Kimmel to reveal the surprising inspiration behind his hilarious character.
Starring alongside Seth Rogan, the two comedians play two police offers who meet high-school kid Fogell and show him a good night on the town. To the fans' surprise, Hader revealed to Kimmel there was a real-life-inspiration for his unconventional policeman character - the officer who arrested him when he was younger. "That is the guy that I based my character in Superbad on," he confirmed. "I remember when I did that movie… and I go, 'I got messed with by a cop with glasses,' and Seth [Rogen] was like, 'Oh yeah, that's, like, so lame. I can't take a cop with glasses seriously!'"
In true Superbad style, the arrest resulted from a hysterical prank inspired by his father. "My dad did the classic 'let me tell you something I did, but hey, you guys can't do this,' and we were like, 'Uh-huh,'" the Barry star told host Jimmy Kimmel. "He was like, 'We used to take two trash cans and put a fishing wire between 'em, and we'd put one on either side of the street, and when a car goes through, the trash cans go bop on the side of the car. It was hilarious, but don't do that.' And we were like, 'Okay!'"
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As expected, a young Hader and his friend decided to give the prank a go. "It's really late at night. We're at a park, we're waiting, and here comes a car. I'm like, 'Alright, ready, go!' And we pull it up. The car goes through… It's a cop car," he said as the Kimmel audience gasped. When the officer pulled over and called them over, Hader's friends ran off in fear. "I was like, 'Aww, I'm gonna be cool,'" he said. "So I went over to my car and was just smoking a cigarette, like, 'Hey, what happened, officer?' The policeman didn't buy it for a second. He was like, 'F--- you!' He had a flashlight, and then he made me pick up beer cans. I got arrested afterward."
