Paul Walter Hauser on His Wrestling Career, Reading ‘Fantastic Four’ Comics for His Role and the Pressure of Portraying Chris Farley: ‘I’ve Been Practicing to Play Him My Entire Life’

Despite a tumultuous Paramount-Skydance merger, some box office blunders and a painful presidential debate, the summer of 2024 may go down as the summer of Paul Walter Hauser.

Hauser began his career as a journeyman actor, playing supporting roles in popular films such as “Cruella,” “I, Tonya,” “BlacKkKlansman” and “Da 5 Bloods.” In 2019, he landed his first major leading role in Clint Eastwood’s drama “Richard Jewell,” and four years later, Hauser scored an Emmy and a Golden Globe for his performance as Larry Hall in the Apple TV+ series “Blackbird.”

But starting in March 2024, a flurry of projects starring Hauser were unveiled. In a matter of weeks, it was announced that Hauser would star in Marvel’s “Fantastic Four,” an untitled Chris Farley biopic, a “Naked Gun” reboot, “Press Your Luck,” the Mark Wahlberg action-comedy “Balls Up” and the Bruce Springsteen biopic “Deliver Me From Nowhere.” He also voiced Embarrassment in “Inside Out 2,” which recently passed “Incredibles 2” as the highest-grossing Pixar film of all time. Although they were “not planned in any capacity” by Hauser or his representatives, the rapid-fire reveal of projects made him one of the fastest-rising stars in the business.

Outside of acting, Hauser is a dedicated family man and an emerging professional wrestler. He made his debut on June 1 in Major League Wrestling’s 40-man royal rumble. He will step into the ring once again on July 12 at the MLW Blood and Thunder event, which will stream live on the MLW YouTube Channel.

In celebration of “Hauser Summer,” the actor sat down with Variety to discuss preparing for his upcoming roles, the benefits of sobriety and working out with Mark Wahlberg.

You’ve played a wide range of characters, but they all feel cohesive in a very Paul Walter Hauser kind of way. What is the through line between the roles you take?

The through line is probably noticeable flaws. If I’m playing someone who doesn’t have any noticeable flaws, or if I’m offered that rather, I’m disinterested. In real life, I like flawed people. I don’t want friends who make me self-conscious about my imperfections because they act and feel perfect. I think that’s probably the real through line, but at the same time, the consistent thing that makes me say, “Yes, I’m doing this role,” is if I think I can do it. Am I going to have fun doing this and do I think I can do it well? When you get a script for something like “I, Tonya” and you see that Shawn Eckhardt is this quasi-compulsive liar-manipulator, who’s not very self-aware, it’s like, “Oh man, that looks like fun to play.” When “Cobra Kai” came to me and said, “You want to play this man-child who wants to relive his youth by becoming a serious karate student with all these teenagers?” It’s like, man, that’s hilarious and sad and interesting. Yeah, I’ll play that. So you take it as it comes and hope it’s something interesting that you can latch on to and have fun with.

With your characters, especially in “Richard Jewell,” there is always that level of humanity. They can be very flawed but they have that light that makes you root for them.

I’m glad that’s the case because that’s how I feel about people. I don’t like Donald Trump as a person whatsoever, but I also know that he was born a baby. You know what I mean? Something happens to all these flawed people, however monstrous. They all start as little infants who inherit an imperfect world, right? It’s good to take note of that at least.

It seems you enjoy fully embodying your roles and always go all out transforming yourself into your characters. How have you prepared to play Mike Batlan in “Deliver Me From Nowhere?“

I’m very excited about that film and very excited to collaborate with Scott Cooper, who I’ve been a fan of for a while. I have not dipped my toes into that yet because before I do that, I’ll be doing this film with Mark Wahlberg called “Balls Up,” and then after that, I’ll be doing “Fantastic Four” for Marvel. So I’m mostly focused on those two right now. But once I start wrapping “Balls Up” in late summer, that’s when I’m going to get heavy into Batlan and dive into that. If I prep too much now I’ll probably try to cement choices and believe I have a handle on the character. And you never have a handle on the character until you basically wrap.

What about Chris Farley?

I’ve been practicing to play Chris Farley my entire life.

You’ve played plenty of real people throughout your career, but Chris Farley stands out since he’s a fellow actor and such a well-known celebrity. Do you think that makes it more difficult? Or do you think it’s easier because you’re coming from the same world?

Oh no, it’ll make it more difficult just for perception. Everybody’s going to judge the crap out of the movie and have very passionate, hard-line opinions. I’m not worried about playing Chris because I know I’m going to approach it with a lot of love and effort. At the end of the day, all you can do is work hard and try your best to love the character and the project as much as possible. To me, that doesn’t seem like much of a hurdle with Chris. I adore him. I want to honor him. I want people to leave the theater, having laughed and cried together.

“Fantastic Four” starts filming soon. I know you can’t share too many details, but what has pre-production looked like for you?

Pre-production for me has been reading comic books and reading the screenplay. A lot of it is assessing where I fit into that story and how to best utilize my time in it. You don’t want to make choices or do things that are redundant in a film. It’s important to know what the film is and what everyone’s jobs are so that you’re bringing your own unique take to something. That was incredibly important in “BlacKkKlansmen.” I was playing one of a half dozen racist idiots in the film, and you have to bring your own racist idiot to the table. It can’t just be everybody else’s. Whenever I’m in an ensemble, I’m trying to figure out how to be unique or specific without being distracting.

Have you enjoyed reading the comics?

It’s so fun, man. I didn’t really read “Fantastic Four” when I was a kid. I was very Batman-centric. But reading the “Fantastic Four” comics has been a blast. I love it.

You once said you put a cigarette out on your arm while hanging out with Taron Egerton before shooting “Blackbird” and drank cognac and ate chocolate with Sam Rockwell before shooting “Richard Jewell.” Have you bonded like that with any of your upcoming co-stars?

I’ve worked out with Mark Wahlberg a couple of times in his house. That is definitely a bonding experience. I’ve met Jeremy Allen White and Ebon Moss-Bachrach who are in “Deliver Me from Nowhere” and “Fantastic Four.” They’re both humble, cool, well-rounded people from what I’ve experienced when I run into them at award shows or functions. I’m very much looking forward to spending time with them and getting to know them. Specifically with Jeremy, being able to sit down with a cigar and listen to Bruce Springsteen music, I hope we get to do that. That’d be fun.

I imagine working out with Mark was pretty intense.

It’s not like he beat the shit out of me. He was graceful. But the timing of those workouts is really intense. I showed up at his house at 5 a.m. and had to get up at 4 a.m. to be ready. That was gnarly. I noticed that he would blare hip-hop music and have the news on. It’s like he’s being fueled by mood music but also feeding his brain and informing himself while doing it. I love that because that’s kind of how I work. I’m always multitasking and finding ways to maximize the 18 hours I’m awake.

You said “Blackbird” changed your life by helping you get sober and realign your priorities. Has your life changed with all your recent success?

I don’t think I changed so much as some of the people around me changed. A lot of people are hitting me up with passion projects they want to attach me to. People are hitting me up that I’m friendly with but barely know. That becomes a pretty aggressive thing. You have to lovingly tell the truth to those people, and say, “This actually sounds pretty decent, I just don’t have the capacity right now. I’m committed to these five other things, including my family and happiness.” You have to make time for yourself too, because if I read every script or took every meeting, I would never get to go to church, watch wrestling, go out to eat, snuggle with my kids or go on a date night with my wife.

What would you say to other people in Hollywood who are struggling with sobriety?

You’re not alone. There are more sober people in Hollywood than you’d think. People are struggling with all different forms of stuff, whether it be gambling, trauma from childhood, sex addiction or drugs and alcohol. I think rather than us all showing up and smiling in each other’s faces and patting each other on the back at these functions, it would make a lot more sense to go cozy up in a corner and have everybody talk about what they’re going through and love each other in a more real way. You don’t take any of this stuff with you. I can win 40 Golden Globes and it’s not like it’ll impact anyone for eternity. It’s just a momentary thing. The thing that lasts is the love you give to other people. I would say to anyone reading this to hit me up. I’ll talk to you about it. There’s so much to do out in the world that has nothing to do with feeding those demons. Be vulnerable, find somebody, talk it out and go on the next journey. The comeback is a lot greater than a setback.

You recently started your career as a professional wrestler. In June you took part in a 40-man royal rumble where you knocked out UFC alumnus Tom Lawlor. What is the difference in preparation between wrestling and a film or TV role?

You have to know when to stay out of the way, that’s for sure. You can get dinged really easily, or screw somebody else up and ding them accidentally, so a lot of it was staying out of the way. I always stretch a lot before a match so I can kick over my head and whatnot. And then I take some pre-workout and psych myself up by reminding myself that you’re getting to live your dream: “You dreamed of being an actor who also wrestled and had a family.” But I really enjoyed [the royal rumble]. Tom Lawlor came back at me with a steel chair. I eliminate you in a battle royale and then you hit me with a chair. There will be a reaction to his actions, and I look forward to that.

I saw on social media you said of your wrestling persona, “The look is coming together, but the body needs to follow.” What have you been doing to get yourself in wrestling shape?

I’ve been doing a lot of weight machines and working on building my back, shoulders and arms. That’s important to me because I want to be able to lift people over my head. So that’s what I was talking about there. Will I have a six-pack abdomen? No, I don’t know if that’s coming. But the body does need to follow. I plan to hit 230 pounds to play the roles in “Fantastic Four” and “Deliver Me from Nowhere.” And then I’ll shoot back up to about 250 for Chris Farley.

Have any of your productions been worried about you getting hurt while wrestling?

They probably are, but they shouldn’t hire me if they’re not okay with me wrestling. I’ve waited my whole life to do it. It’s now happening and I don’t intend to stop. But I tell people all the time that I’m not just taking wild, blindfolded risks. I am training in the ring with wrestling legend Paul London and getting advice from really talented people. I think having six to 12 matches a year, I can get away with doing that and film and be okay. But you know, knock on wood.

You’ve played several characters based on real people. Are there any other figures from history or pop culture you have your eye on?

It’d be fun to play a guy like Rick Rubin. It’d be fun to play Teddy Roosevelt. It would be fun to play Mick Foley, the wrestler. I would love to play a boxer. If somebody wanted me to play a boxer, I would take that very seriously and undergo rigorous psychotic training for it. I’m buddies with guys like Mark Wahlberg who have cell phones filled with boxing trainers and specialists. So I would employ those types of people and get into fighting shape. I would love to play a gangster in a crime film. Anything interesting and entertaining that can reveal some poignant truth.

This interview has been edited and condensed.