Chris Farley Biopic in the Works With Paul Walter Hauser in Lead Role

Paul Walter Hauser will slip into the life and mind of late comedian Chris Farley in a forthcoming biopic. The film, set to be directed by Josh Gad, is currently in development. Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber will provide the screenplay based on the book The Chris Farley Show: A Biography in Three Acts, published by Farley’s brother Tom Farley Jr. and Tanner Colby in 2008.

The Chris Farley Show takes its name from a recurring sketch on Saturday Night Live. Before his untimely death at the age of 33 in 1997, Farley appeared in the comedy series for five seasons before being fired alongside Adam Sandler in 1995. Last year, Rolling Stone listed the decision as one of the worst in television history. Farley was cast on SNL by creator Lorne Michaels, who will produce the upcoming biopic via Broadway Video.

Farley also appeared in a number of films throughout his career, including Michael Lehmann’s Airheads, Peter Segal’s Tommy Boy, Penelope Spheeris’ Black Sheep, and more. Prior to his death, attributed to a drug overdose, the comedian and actor was in talks to voice the titular character in Shrek. In 2015, his brother revealed that most of the dialogue had been recorded by the time Farley died.

“I wanted to do a Chris Farley movie where he’s in rehab for half of the film, and for the other half of the movie, he’s doing his SNL stuff and his movies,” Hauser told The Hollywood Reporter in 2021. “I think I have a really great take on that story, but I’m trying to lose weight and I’m trying to redefine myself as a person of healthy choice-making, and as an actor. So the days of doing Fatty Arbuckle, Chris Farley or Ignatius J. Reilly in a Confederacy of Dunces movie have a very small time window, and it’s getting smaller by the week.”

The Farley biopic will mark Josh Gad’s directorial debut. This year, Hauser will appear in voice roles in Orion and the Dark from Sean Charmatz and the Pixar sequel Inside Out 2 from Kelsey Mann, both of which are directorial debuts.