Bill Burr on his problem with billionaires like Elon Musk, his Broadway debut, and overcoming anger

Boston Globe

21-03-2025

The Broadway debut is a big moment in Burr's career, but one years in the making for the longtime actor and comedian, with Odenkirk praising his co-star for rising to the occasion.
Bill Burr during rehearsals for "Glengarry Glen Ross."
Michaelah Reynolds
'Even I had no idea how perfect Bill would be,' the 'Better Call Saul' star told the Globe in an email. 'The expletives and vituperative rambles flow from his mouth like a mountain stream, sparkling and forceful and, dare I say it, joyous.'
'He is acting his pants off, inhabiting this guy physically as he paces around the room, spoiling for a fight,' he added. 'I never imagined how powerful he'd be in this role.'
Professionally, Burr is riding high after making the jump to Broadway and dropping his latest special, which quickly rose through the ranks of Hulu's top 10 chart since debuting last week. Personally, it sounds like Burr is living his best life too, particularly when it comes to his relationship with his
special, he's trying to be 'more agreeable' now that he's 'too young to die of natural causes, but it's not too young to drop dead,' revealing that he gained perspective on his nearly two-decade long relationship with his wife following a funeral for a friend.
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'She agreed to spend her life with me, and I'm being this curmudgeonly [expletive] and I'm kind of ruining, a little bit, the one life she has,' Burr says in the special, noting that he's now getting along with his wife better than ever since choosing to curb his anger.
'Before I had kids, obviously I met my wife, and she was able to explain to me how my anger affected her mood. Even when I was in a good mood, there would be a level of tension,' Burr told the Globe by phone from New York City on St. Patrick's Day. 'It's not like I was coming at her, I would just lose my mind over the littlest, stupidest things, and I learned that I wasn't really mad at the stupid little thing, it was all this other unresolved stuff.'
'If you really love the person that you marry, [if] you're any sort of human being, you don't want to be hurting others with your behavior,' he added. 'It's a big responsibility. You don't just marry somebody, and [go], 'This is who I am, deal with it as it is.''
In several recent interviews, Burr has also been open about taking mushrooms and the positive effects the trips had on his mental health, telling
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Bill Burr in his new Hulu special "Drop Dead Years."
Koury Angelo/Disney
It was this realization, along with his experience 'being around angry adults' as a kid, that inspired Burr to work on his deep-rooted anger issues. As the father to an 8-year-old daughter and a 4-year-old son, Burr never wants his or any children to feel the way he did when he was young, 'because then they learn that there's no point in speaking up because nobody listens to you, and you're leading them down a really bad road,' he explains.
Overall, Burr is the type of dad who emphasizes 'chilling out' and not pressuring kids to take on a 'kill or be killed' mentality with overly structured activities around things like school and sports. 'Don't throw them into the rat race before they're even in it,' Burr said. 'Let them be kids, let them sleep, let them watch cartoons, let them have a good time. Teach them lessons along the way, but you just have to know how to chill out sometimes.' However, he jokes that, with all of his efforts to overcome his anger, he 'might have over-corrected as a parent,' as his kids now see him as something of a softie.
'Having kids is like this great comedy show,' said Burr, whose experiences as a father influenced his directorial debut, the
In 'Glengarry Glen Ross,' Burr will appear as foul-mouthed salesman Dave Moss (played in the 1992 film by Ed Harris), while Odenkirk plays his over-the-hill co-worker Shelley Levene (played in the film by Jack Lemmon), and Culkin takes on the role of star salesman Richard Roma (played in the film by Al Pacino). Burr has Nathan Lane to thank for the gig, as the Tony- and Emmy-winning actor recommended him for the role (Lane was initially set to play Shelley in the production, but had to drop out for a TV project). Odenkirk had even wanted Burr for the same role in a different production of the play he tried to get started out in Los Angeles before joining the Broadway revival.
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From left: Donald Webber Jr. and Bob Odenkirk during rehearsals for "Glengarry Glen Ross."
Michaelah Reynolds
'I don't know what that says about me, but most people thought, 'Hey, that angry lunatic, you know who could do that?'' Burr joked, calling it 'beyond flattering' for Lane to recommend him, especially since they had never met before. 'To be looking out for someone like that, I think that says a lot about who he is.'
Despite this being his first foray into theater, Burr feels comfortable onstage because of his experiences years ago taking acting classes, as well as the decades of
stand-up shows he has under his belt. However, he likely would've approached the role differently if he were his younger, angrier self.
'If I had a chance to play him earlier in my life, I probably would have just related to him as an angry guy,' Burr said. 'I would have had a certain sort of take on him. But, you know, as you get older, you keep making the same mistakes. You do a little more self-examination, so I was able to come up with some reasons why that overlapped in my life, why he was upset.'
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Between the big Broadway gig and letting his anger go, Burr sounds like a new man. But that rage will still occasionally
bubble up from under the surface, like when he talks about President Trump and Elon Musk. Burr has not been shy with his criticism in recent public statements, telling everyone from
'They're so upset with this country and the way it's working, it's like, you guys are multi-billionaires, what is the problem? I feel like it's working for you,' Burr said. 'You know what's not working for you? All of these tech nerd billionaires who don't want to pay anybody.'
When asked why he's been so vocal against Musk and Trump, Burr is quick to reply, 'Why isn't everybody?'
Bill Burr's new special is now streaming on Hulu.
Koury Angelo/Disney
Burr just wishes there was someone who could help turn down the temperature politically, but is perplexed by seeing 'these super rich people want to keep the water boiling, which I don't think is what we need right now.'
'We need somebody with a red tie or a blue tie to calm everybody the [expletive] down,' said Burr. 'This is such a great country. Are we really going to ruin it because five guys are competing to be the first trillionaire?'
For Burr, who admits that he used to live and die by how his comedy sets went and how they made him feel, he's no longer doing stand-up for personal reasons or motivations. At this stage of his career, Burr is just focused on bringing a little light and levity to audiences, especially during such tumultuous times.
'I'm always trying to improve on what it is that I'm doing up there,' Burr said. 'I'm doing it for them now.'
'Bill Burr: Drop Dead Years' is now streaming on Hulu.
Matt Juul can be reached at