Paul Walter Hauser

Paul Walter Hauser (born October 15, 1986) is an American actor, musician and wrestler. As an actor, he played supporting roles in the films I, Tonya (2017), BlacKkKlansman (2018), Late Night (2019), Da 5 Bloods (2020), and Cruella (2021). In 2019, Hauser had his breakout performance as the title character in Clint Eastwood's drama film Richard Jewell. Hauser starred as murderer Larry Hall in the 2022 miniseries Black Bird, for which he won a Golden Globe Award and a Primetime Emmy Award. As a wrestler, he makes occasional apperances on the independent circuit.

Life and career

Hauser was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and raised in Saginaw, Michigan. His parents are Deborah and The Rev. Paul Hauser, a Lutheran minister. He attended Valley Lutheran High School, a private parochial school in Saginaw. He attended Concordia University Chicago before dropping out to pursue a career in the entertainment industry.

Acting

Hauser portrayed Shawn Eckhardt in the 2017 film I, Tonya, Dale in the 2010 film Virginia, and Keith in the television series Kingdom. Hauser was initially cast as an extra for Virginia as his acting debut, and complimented director Dustin Lance Black for his speech after winning the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay in 2009 for Milk (2008); this led to Black writing him a larger role in the movie.

He had the recurring role of Deshawn in the Amazon web series Betas, and in 2018 appeared as Lonnie Laloush in Super Troopers 2 and as Ivanhoe in BlacKkKlansman. He has also appeared as a guest star on the television series Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, The Night Shift, Superstore, Key & Peele, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Community, Blunt Talk, Bupkis and Cobra Kai. In 2019, he starred in Clint Eastwood's Richard Jewell, portraying the title role, Richard Jewell, the real life security guard who spotted the bomb at the Centennial Olympic Park bombing. In 2020, he starred in Songbird, a film based on the COVID-19 pandemic.

In 2021 Hauser played Horace Badun in the crime comedy-drama Cruella, a Disney live-action prequel/spin-off of One Hundred and One Dalmatians.

Hauser also stars as Raymond Porter, better known by his nickname Stingray, in Cobra Kai. He plays a recurring character in Season 2, and a major anti-hero in Seasons 4 & 5.

Although known for his comedic turns, Hauser gained broad recognition and critical praise for his portrayal of the serial killer Larry Hall in the 2022 Apple TV+ true crime miniseries Black Bird, adapted from James Keene's memoir In with the Devil. Critic Nick Schager wrote of Hauser's performance, "even in a sea of maniacal villains, his Larry Hall stands out as a uniquely cunning madman, so unpredictable and unnerving as to be downright unforgettable."

In 2024, he voiced a lead role in the DreamWorks Animation film Orion and the Dark and will be voicing the role of Embarrassment in the Pixar film Inside Out 2.

In May 2024, Hauser was cast in the Marvel Cinematic Universe film The Fantastic Four, scheduled to be released on July 25, 2025.

Music

In 2022, Hauser debuted as a rapper under the moniker Signet Ringer. He released his first extended play, Murder for Higher, on July 8, 2022.

Personal life

He married Amy Elizabeth Boland on July 23, 2020, in Los Angeles. Hauser and Boland have a son, Harris Boland Hauser, who was born on April 21, 2021, in Thomasville, Georgia. Their son was in his first movie, Bandit, when he was just 5 weeks old. On January 11, 2023, during his Golden Globes acceptance speech, he announced he and his wife were expecting their second son. Their son Jonah Maverick Hauser was born on April 1, 2023, at Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles, California.

Hauser is a Christian. He and his wife Amy were featured in a video series for online Christian multimedia movement I Am Second.

Filmography

Film

Television

Accolades

Notes

References

External links

• Paul Walter Hauser at IMDb