How did Bill Hader launch his career? Well, as it turns out, a breakup was the first step to his finding celebrity. Admittedly, it's an unlikely start to such a storied career, but Hollywood is weird, and so is love.

After attempting a short film that Hader himself later described as "terrible," he and his longtime girlfriend split, giving Hader the push he needed to find a new outlet. After watching a friend perform at Second City (a Chicago-based comedy school that's trained the likes of Tina Fey, Steve Carell, and Jordan Peele) in Los Angeles, he started to seriously consider comedy, so he began taking classes there, realizing that a new venture might eventually help him further his career.

Luckily, he was right, and before too long, he created his own comedy troupe, a group called Animals From the Future, which also featured Matt Offerman, the younger brother of Ron Swanson himself, Nick Offerman. This was before Parks and Recreation, but obviously, Nick's wife, Megan Mullally, was a household name thanks to her role as Karen on Will & Grace, and when Matt told his sister-in-law to come and see his troupe perform, it turned out to be incredibly fortuitous for Hader.

Mullally immediately noticed the actor, and it was thanks to her that he booked his next big role. The Emmy-winning actress immediately called Lorne Michaels at Saturday Night Live, and before Hader knew it, he'd gotten one of the most notoriously difficult auditions in the entire entertainment industry. Hader's rise to stardom was so abrupt thanks to this opportunity that shortly before he was officially asked to become a part of SNL's cast, he was working as a production assistant on Iron Chef America.