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Actor Paul Walter Hauser is aware his weight has factored into the roles he’s played on television and the big screen.
“I lost 40 pounds to do the role in ‘Black Bird,’” Hauser told People magazine of his Emmy-winning work on the acclaimed 2022 miniseries. “I put some of that weight back on, and now I’m bringing it back down. Slowly but surely, I’m going to be chipping away at that.”
Hauser, who is also furthering his professional wrestling career, is looking to drop to 256 pounds.
“That’s kind of a nice fighting weight for me, for my size and the things I get cast in,” he said.
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Paul Walter Hauser says he’s looking to move away from playing overweight roles. (Matt Winkelmeyer/GA/The Hollywood Reporter via Getty Images)
But the 37-year-old actor admitted the roles he’s been offered — often overweight characters — are the roles he’s ready to get away from.
“I’ve played every type of chubby, misguided person. I don’t need to play 900 more,” he told the outlet.
Up to this point, Hauser has played some lovable and not so lovable characters. After his breakout role in “I, Tonya,” he landed the lead in Clint Eastwood’s “Richard Jewell,” as well as roles in Disney’s “Cruella,” Spike Lee’s “BlacKkKlansman,” and “Cobra Kai.”
“Chris Farley will be my last very heavy-set role in which I am on paper and visually overweight,” he said of his portrayal of the late comedian in an upcoming biopic. “I have every intention to get the weight down, like Jonah Hill and Seth Rogen and all these other guys who have done it.
“I’m done with that version of that character, and I look forward to being healthy.”
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Paul Walter Hauser says after losing 40 pounds for his Emmy-winning performance in “Black Bird,” he gained some weight back. (Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images)
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Paul Walter Hauser will play late comedian Chris Farley in an upcoming biopic. Farley died from a drug overdose in 1997. (Steve Granitz)
But Hauser, who will appear in Marvel’s “The Fantastic Four” in 2025, is also using his family as motivation to lose weight. He said he’s looking to be “around for a long time for my kids and my wife.”
He told People maintaining a healthy lifestyle “has been very elusive, very hard for me. I got sober Oct. 26 of 2021, so I’ve got over 2½ years of sobriety.”
He added food “is still that thing where it becomes a comfort or an outlet. And, unfortunately, everybody eats. You got to eat a couple times a day, so it’s always there. Whereas, I can not buy marijuana and not buy alcohol, and it feels very distant.”
Paul Walter Hauser and Amy Elizabeth Boland were married in 2020 and have two children. (Taylor Hill/WireImage)
Getting healthy is “incredibly important” to Hauser, and he believes the sky is the limit. He said he’s looking forward to “seeing what else I can do” in the entertainment industry.
“[Let’s] see if I can compete with the Ben Fosters and the Ryan Goslings,” he said.
Caroline Thayer is an entertainment writer for Fox News Digital. Follow Caroline Thayer on Twitter at @carolinejthayer. Story tips can be sent to caroline.thayer@fox.com.
