PBS
The "Saturday Night Live" alum discovered the news while having his lineage and DNA researched by the PBS docuseries "Finding Your Roots."
In Business Insider's exclusive preview from the episode that airs Tuesday night, host Henry Louis Gates, Jr., hands the Tulsa, Oklahoma, native a lengthy diagram of his family tree, one that the host describes as "one of the most extensive European ancestries that we've ever been able to piece together."
"Wow," Hader says upon seeing the document.
PBS
When Gates points out that the actor is descended from Kind Edward I of England, Hader is unable to stifle his giggles.
"Charlemagne, the famed leader of the Holy Roman Empire," Gates points out another name. "Bill Hader, you're looking at your 40th great-grandfather."
"I'm just blown away. I mean, the conqueror of Europe," Hader replies. "I couldn't even get the coffeemaker to work this morning."
That's just the tip of the iceberg. Hader explores both funny and tragic stories of his family's surprise tradition of combat soldiers, and an unsurprising history of slave ownership.
Joining Hader on this "Finding Your Roots" episode are fellow funnymen Jimmy Kimmel and Norman Lear. It airs Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET on PBS.
Watch BI's exclusive preview with Hader below: