His second programme Der Witzableiter und das Feuer won the prestigious Salzburger Stier comedy award.

After aborting his study and writing Biagn und Brechen (1988) and Bunter Abend (1990) he celebrated his breakthrough with the tragicomic play Indien, together with the comedian Alfred Dorfer, which was filmed by Paul Harather in 1993 with Josef Hader himself in the leading role.

With the film Indien and his following shows Im Keller (1993) and Privat (1994) he became one of the most successful and most respected comedians in the German-speaking world.

Since then, Hader has starred in commercially successful films such as Komm, süßer Tod (2000), Silentium (2004) and The Bone Man (2009), while also gaining critical acclaim for his performances in dramas such as Der Überfall (2000) or Ein halbes Leben (2008).

He is a regular guest on various German Comedyshows, such as Neues aus der Anstalt on ZDF, Scheibenwischer on Das Erste, Quatsch Comedy Club on Pro Sieben or Ottfried Fischer's Ottis Schlachthof on Bayerischer Rundfunk which increased his popularity in Germany.