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Paul Walter Hauser is one of the busiest actors in Hollywood, and one of his many (and I mean many) upcoming projects is a Chris Farley biopic. Stepping into the shoes of the iconic comedian is no small task, but Hauser told Variety that he’s been “practicing to play Chris Farley my entire life.“

Hauser has played a handful of real-life people throughout his career, including Shawn Eckhardt in I, Tonya, Richard Jewell in Richard Jewell, and Larry Hall in Black Bird, but Farley is by far the most well-known, which makes Hauser’s task more difficult.

“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,” Hauser said. “At the end of the day, all you can do...

Cobra Kai star Paul Walter Hauser has several wonderful credits to his name, and recently, the upcoming MCU movie Fantastic Four added the actor to the list of cast. While Hauser’s role in the movie is under wraps as any further detail of the movie, including the plot, a new MCU report seems to indicate his potential role in the movie.

Paul Walter Hauser in Cobra Kai

Hauser has been one of the prominent stars in both small and big screens. Most recently, the actor and professional wrestler voiced Dark in Orion and the Dark for Netflix. Prior to that, Hauser claimed the 2024 Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie for playing Larry Hall in Apple TV+ true crime drama show, Black Bird. His MCU casting has now created the hype for the movie.

Paul Walter Hauser Joined the Fantastic Four Cast...

Exclusive: Paul Walter Hauser is having quite a week. After being tapped for the role of Captain Ed in the untitled Naked Gun reboot from Paramount Pictures, as we were also first to report, we now hear the actor has come aboard aboard Marvel Studios’ The Fantastic Four.

For now, Hauser’s role in the superhero flick is under wraps, as is its plot. As previously reported, pic’s core cast includes Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards (aka Mr. Fantastic), Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm (aka the Invisible Woman), Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm (aka the Human Torch) and Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm (aka the Thing). Most recently, Julia Garner came aboard to play Shalla-Bal, a version of Silver Surfer.

Matt Shakman (WandaVision) is directing from a script by Eric Pearson, Josh Friedman, Jeff Kaplan, and Ian Springer. Peter Cameron (WandaVision) has also done some writing on the project.

Exclusive: Paul Walter Hauser’s hot streak continues. After seeing New Line lock up rights to the authorized Chris Farley biopic in which he’ll star for director Josh Gad, the actor has signed on to the untitled Naked Gun reboot from Paramount Pictures.

Hauser joins an ensemble that also includes Liam Neeson and Pamela Anderson, as previously announced. He’ll take on the role of Ed, Frank Drebin’s partner, which was inhabited in prior Naked Gun films by George Kennedy, and in the preceding series Police Squad! by Alan North.

Akiva Schaffer is directing and exec producing the comedy, slated for release in theaters on July 18, 2025. Dan Gregor and Doug Mand wrote the draft script along with Schaffer, with whom they partnered on the Emmy-winning film Chip ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers. Seth MacFarlane and Erica Huggins are producing via Fuzzy Door, with Daniel M. Stillman also serving as EP.

The new season of the true-crime series Very Scary People will premiere on Sunday, April 16, 2023 on its new home, Investigation Discovery. Donnie Wahlberg (Blue Bloods) will return as host and executive producer.

“I could not be more excited for a new season of Very Scary People to air on Investigation Discovery,” stated Wahlberg. “With each episode, we bring new insights into the lives of terrifying criminals to create awareness and hope this knowledge helps prevent similar crimes from happening in the future.”

The new season will kick off with “The Trailside Killer” which delves into serial killer David Carpenter. Per Investigation Discovery: “From 1979 to 1981, Carpenter terrorized Northern California’s typically tranquil hiking trails, shocking the quiet community surrounding them with his cold-blooded violence and led local authorities on a twisted and challenging investigation to bring him to justice.”

The upcoming season also features episodes that focus on Larry Hall, the...

Paul Walter Hauser won Best Supporting Actor in a Television Limited Series/Motion Picture at the Golden Globes on Tuesday (10 January).

The actor starred as the American murderer, rapist, and suspected serial killer Larry Hall in Apple TV’s Blackbird.

On accepting his award, Hauser thanked numerous members of the cast. However, he failed to mention the show’s lead, Taron Egerton, who played one-time Chicago drug dealer James Keene.

It’s unclear whether the actor’s omission was deliberate, though, as he did hug Egerton after he was announced as winner.

On Twitter, fans pointed out that Hauser had failed to mention his costar.

“Of all the cast, did dude forget to thank Taron Egerton???” One asked.

Of all the cast, did dude forget to thank Taron Egerton??? #GoldenGlobes

— Deputy Minister of Flashdance...

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In contrast to the way that their incarcerated characters in the tense Apple TV+ miniseries Black Bird circle one another over the course of several episodes, warily testing and probing in a cat-and-mouse game to determine just how much trust one can place in the other, Paul Walter Hauser and Taron Egerton recognized from the outset that they were in deep together.

Indeed, the actors needed teamwork to plumb the often chilling darkness of a true-crime tale. They stand at the center of the series in their scenes together, as Egerton’s polished but convicted drug dealer Jimmy Keene seeks to shave years off his sentence by faux-befriending Hauser’s eccentric suspected serial killer Larry Hall, in hopes of learning secrets that would keep Hall behind bars. But they also needed each other’s support and good humor to help shake off the...

It has been quite the year for the streaming services. Fresh from the foothold that Covid allowed them to gain, 2022 seemed to be the most important year for streaming so far. In this excellent roundup of stats, facts and figures, ExpressVPN reveals which shows were the most popular each month, and how several big hitters may have changed the game forever.

As of right now Netflix holds the crown (and The Crown) of Top Streaming Service, and while many of its biggest hits are now firmly in franchise territory, it is the new movies and shows that bring in the essential new subscribers.

Thus, Squid Game, the ill-thought out but well received Dahmer, and the recent favourite The Watcher, have all proved that Netflix’s eye is firmly on building up new fans as well as look for the new Tiger King or Bridgerton. It isn’t as easy as...

"Black Bird" is one of the most intense and finely crafted true crime stories of the year. The series made by "Mystic River" writer Dennis Lehane has a lot going for it, from subtle scripts that ratchet up the intensity of the serial killer-centric story without ever feeling exploitative, to explosively great performances from Taron Egerton and Paul Walter Hauser. Egerton's cocky criminal Jimmy Keene is countered at every step by the man he's supposed to be talking into a confession in prison, alleged serial killer Larry Hall (Hauser). The pair's dynamic is anything but simple, and the series lets it unfold steadily across its six compelling episodes.

The Apple TV+ series also features the last performance from Ray Liotta, who, as Jimmy's sick father, motivates him to take a deal as a federal informant purposely placed in prison alongside Hall. The whole series sounds like a case of truth being stranger than fiction,...

The acclaimed novelist and screenwriter Dennis Lehane has often tackled stories about complicated men and the criminal underworld, but up to a point. For instance, he doesn’t like serial killers or stories about prison. So when he first started reading James Keene’s true-crime memoir In With The Devil: A Fallen Hero, A Serial Killer, and A Dangerous Bargain for Redemption, the book didn’t seem like something he’d want to adapt. After all, it focuses on Keene’s stint in a federal prison, where he tried to get a suspected serial killer named Larry Hall to confess to his crimes.

“It wasn’t anything that I really warmed to until the very end when I thought, this is an interesting way into the male gaze,” Lehane tells Gold Derby in an exclusive video interview as part of our “Meet the Experts” showrunners panel.

And so, from there,...

When Natalie Kingston was setting up how she was going to photograph the limited series, “Black Bird,” she found a specific piece of inspiration for what look the show would have. “The crux of my visual inspiration was from the photographer, Gordon Parks, and this 1957 photo essay he did called ‘The Atmosphere of Crime,’” she tells Gold Derby during our Meet the Experts: TV Cinematographers panel (watch the exclusive video interview above).

Kingston remembers how visceral the photos were in using natural light but also having a moody and cinematic feel to them. “That really spoke to me. You could just feel the texture almost in these photos. There was this pastel color palette that I really responded to that I thought could be an interesting visual juxtaposition for the tone and the themes that we were exploring in ‘Black Bird.’”

SEEHow Apple TV+ can complete a Golden Globes trifecta with ‘Black Bird’

“Black Bird,...

Paul Walter Hauser is that rare character actor who has made a name for himself as a stellar talent in both comedy and drama equally. He established himself in films like BlacKkKlansman and I, Tanya, but playing Richard Jewell in Clint Eastwood’s film put him on the map. Now he’s wowing audiences and critics alike with his incredible performance as serial killer Larry Hall in the Apple+ limited series Black Bird. On this episode, he lifts the hood and lets us peek in on his acting process. He explains why his first step is all about self amusement, how mundane details help to […]

The post “I Go There While I Go There, and Then I Try to Divorce My Spirit From It”: Black Bird Star Paul Walter Hauser first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.

Paul Walter Hauser is that rare character actor who has made a name for himself as a stellar talent in both comedy and drama equally. He established himself in films like BlacKkKlansman and I, Tanya, but playing Richard Jewell in Clint Eastwood’s film put him on the map. Now he’s wowing audiences and critics alike with his incredible performance as serial killer Larry Hall in the Apple+ limited series Black Bird. On this episode, he lifts the hood and lets us peek in on his acting process. He explains why his first step is all about self amusement, how mundane details help to […]

The post “I Go There While I Go There, and Then I Try to Divorce My Spirit From It”: Black Bird Star Paul Walter Hauser first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.

Four top TV showrunners will reveal secrets behind their projects when they join Gold Derby’s special “Meet the Experts” Q&a event with 2022/2023 awards contenders. They will participate in two video discussions to premiere on Tuesday, November 15, at 6:00 p.m. Pt; 9:00 p.m. Et. We’ll have a one-on-one with our senior editor Christopher Rosen and a roundtable chat with all of the group together.

RSVP today to our entire ongoing contenders panel series by clicking here to book your free reservation. We’ll send you a reminder a few minutes before the start of the show.

This “Meet the Experts” panel welcomes the following contenders:

Black Bird (Apple TV+)

Synopsis: Jimmy Keene is sentenced to 10 years in a minimum security prison but he cuts a deal with the FBI to befriend a suspected serial killer. Keene has to elicit a confession from Larry Hall to find...

Four top TV cinematographers will reveal secrets behind their projects when they join Gold Derby’s special “Meet the Experts” Q&a event with 2022/2023 awards contenders. They will participate in two video discussions to premiere on Monday, November 7, at 6:00 p.m. Pt; 9:00 p.m. Et. We’ll have a one-on-one with our contributing editor Charles Bright and a roundtable chat with all of the group together.

RSVP today to our entire ongoing Emmy contenders panel series by clicking here to book your free reservation. We’ll send you a reminder a few minutes before the start of the show.

This “Meet the Experts” panel welcomes the following contenders:

Black Bird (Apple TV+)

Synopsis: Jimmy Keene is sentenced to 10 years in a minimum security prison but he cuts a deal with the FBI to befriend a suspected serial killer. Keene has to elicit a confession from Larry Hall to...

Since 1988, Robin Williams has held the distinction of being the youngest man to receive Golden Globes for both film and TV acting. He set this record at age 36 by taking that year’s Best Film Comedy Actor prize for “Good Morning, Vietnam” after having already won Best TV Comedy Actor for “Mork & Mindy” when he was 28. Now, over three decades later, there is a strong chance he will finally be displaced by 33-year-old Taron Egerton, the Best Film Comedy Actor-winning star of “Rocketman” who is looking to pull off a TV triumph for “Black Bird.”

Egerton stars on the Apple TV+ limited series “Black Bird” as James Keene, an incarcerated drug dealer who agrees to work a confession out of serial killer Larry Hall (Paul Walter Hauser) in exchange for a shorter sentence. He is presently in a solid second place position in Gold Derby’s Best TV Movie...

Despite finding success in the comedy and drama TV categories, thanks to “Ted Lasso” and “The Morning Show,” respectively, Apple TV+ has yet to break into the limited series/TV movie races at the Golden Globes. Now, it might have finally booked its ticket with the miniseries “Black Bird,” which is expected to be admitted three times over, per our combined odds, for series, actor (Taron Egerton) and supporting actor (Paul Walter Hauser).

Based on James Keene and Hillel Levin‘s 2010 memoir “In with the Devil: A Fallen Hero, a Serial Killer, and a Dangerous Bargain for Redemption,” the six-part series follows Keene (Egerton), a one-time high school football star and decorated policeman’s son-turned-drug dealer, as he is sentenced to 10 years in a minimum security prison and presented with a unique choice: Either he enters a maximum security prison for the criminally insane, befriends suspected serial killer Larry Hall...

[Editor’s Note: The following review contains spoilers for “Black Bird” Season 1, Episode 5, “Where I Lie.”]

There’s only one more episode of “Black Bird” and, honestly, it’s hard to figure out how this show is going to stick the landing. We’ve seen other networks pare down their series from 10 episodes to eight, but trying to clear up a story in six? Right now it doesn’t feel as if everything will be satisfyingly closed by next week, especially after the brutal gut punch that is this week’s episode, “Where I Lie.”

The world of “Black Bird” has been fairly insular. It’s behind the walls of Springfield prison with Jimmy (Taron Egerton) and Larry (Paul Walter Hauser). Or it’s outside with Detectives Miller (Greg Kinnear) and MacCauley (Sepideh Moafi). Occasionally, we check in on Jimmy’s dad, Big Jim (Ray Liotta). But as we get closer to the end, the lines of reality are...

If you’re watching the Apple TV+ crime series “Black Bird,” no doubt you’ve been haunted by Paul Walter Hauser’s performance as serial killer Larry Hall.

Hauser has played his fair share of unlikable people but, for him, Hall challenged him at every turn. It was one thing to play a real character, but another to confront the dark demons at Hall’s core, as well as what series creator Dennis Lehane had conceived of the character Hauser would play. Hauser told IndieWire via Zoom that while he doesn’t usually take characters home with him, that might not have been true here.

Hauser went on to discuss working opposite Taron Egerton, why playing Hall was a challenge, and the episodes coming up that he struggled to perform. “I have a very gentle spirit and I don’t like to let darkness in,” he explained.

This interview has...

[Editor’s Note: The following review contains spoilers for “Black Bird” Season 1, Episode 3, “Hand to Mouth.”]

The first two episodes of “Black Bird,” released simultaneously last week, were exposition-heavy with the setup of our two leads: drug dealer-turned-informant Jimmy Keene (Taron Egerton) and possible (?) serial killer Larry Hall (Paul Walter Hauser). The culmination of Episode 2, “We Are Coming, Father Abraham,” saw Jimmy and Larry physically inhabit the same space with the hard work — Jimmy cozying up to Larry to garner a new confession — just beginning.

Episode 3, “Hand to Mouth,” continues the Lehane touch established in the first two episodes. It’s not surprising considering the director of this episode is Michael R. Roskam, who directed the 2014 feature film adaptation of Lehane’s novel, “The Drop.” Last week, Jimmy had a serious moment of weakness and contemplated backing out of the deal entirely. We understand why the first minute of this episode, when Jimmy looks back on the interactions he...

In today’s episode of Bingeworthy, our TV and streaming podcast, co-host Mike DeAngelo dives into Apple TV+’s “Black Bird,” which stars Taron Egerton, Paul Walter Hauser, Greg Kinnear, Ray Liotta, Sepideh Moafi, and more. The gripping series, based on a true story, follows Jimmy Keene, an imprisoned midwestern drug dealer who agrees to enter a maximum-security prison to befriend a serial killer, Larry Hall (Hauser), and elicit a confession for the FBI, effectively ruining Larry’s chance for appeal.

Continue reading ‘Black Bird’: Dennis Lehane Talks About Working With Taron Egerton & His Journey As A Writer [Bingeworthy Podcast] at The Playlist.

Here’s your choice: Serve a 10-year jail sentence, or go free after transferring to a maximum-security prison and getting a potential serial killer to confess. That seed feeds the drama of Black Bird, Dennis Lehane’s latest screen adaptation. “The thing I locked in on was the sense of being dropped into a type of hell and having to navigate without a map,” says Lehane of when charismatic drug dealer Jimmy Keene befriends quietly menacing Larry Hall (Paul Walter Hauser). Keene faces his own demons, and the regrets of a fall from the high life offered by his dad. As the story unfolds, many gray areas emerge. Says Lehane, “I don’t think too many people are just straight-out evil.” Black Bird, Series Premiere, Friday, July 8, Apple TV+...

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Since his 2019 portrayal of Elton John in Rocketman, which landed him plenty of critical acclaim and some awards recognition along the way, Taron Egerton has had a quiet couple of years out of the Hollywood spotlight. It turns out that was all in waiting for another project that would match the experience of the biographical musical.

“I felt that when I did Rocketman I was offered a really grown-up, complex role, and I think I’d been craving something like that — something that was meaty and that I could really get stuck in. And then when it was done, I wanted the same thing,” Egerton told The Hollywood Reporter. “It’s difficult when you’ve done something like that because not everything you get offered is as good or as interesting or as complex or as challenging for an actor, and it took a year.

Like so much of Dennis Lehane’s writing, “Black Bird” is a stealthy piece of storytelling — at first appearing like a simple crow, nested comfortably on the power line next to a dozen others like it, before spreading its wings and revealing a plumage streaked with shades of gray. For decades now, the novelist and screenwriter has married shrewd sociological observations with popular genre fare. His Kenzie/Gennaro series, peaking with “Gone Baby Gone” and its impossible question of how to best care for at-risk children, is stacked with similar quandaries rooted in morality, responsibility, and the public good. This perspective felt right at home on “The Wire,” which Lehane joined in Seasons 3 and 4, before “Boardwalk Empire,” “Mr. Mercedes,” and “The Outsider,” among other uncredited TV jobs, film scripts, and a steady output of new books.

“Black Bird,” his first series as showrunner and developer, alludes to its complementary components from the very start.

While Ray Liotta is gone, his legacy lives on—both in his work and in his family. His daughter Karsen honored her late father by attending the Los Angeles premiere of his show Black Bird at the Regency Bruin Theatre on June 29. She was joined by Liotta's fiancée Jacy Nittolo, who he proposed to in December 2020. In the series, which hits Apple TV+ July 8, Liotta played Big Jim Keene, whose son Jimmy Keene (Taron Egerton) is sentenced to 10 years in prison but is offered a chance at freedom if he can elicit a confession from suspected serial killer Larry Hall (Paul Walter Hauser). During the event, several of Liotta's co-stars paid tribute to the late actor....

Apple today unveiled a first look and the premiere date for ‘Black Bird,’ a gritty, suspenseful six-episode psychological thriller starring Taron Egerton.

Inspired by actual events, when high school football hero, decorated policeman’s son and convicted drug dealer Jimmy Keene (Taron Egerton) is sentenced to 10 years in a minimum-security prison, he is given the choice of a lifetime — enter a maximum-security prison for the criminally insane and befriend suspected serial killer Larry Hall (Paul Walter Hauser), or stay where he is and serve his full sentence with no possibility of parole. Keene quickly realizes his only way out is to elicit a confession and find out where the bodies of several young girls are buried before Hall’s appeal goes through. But is this suspected killer telling the truth? Or is it just another tale from a serial liar?

Also in news – Joel Edgerton to star in Apple series...

“Black Bird,” a limited series starring Taron Egerton and Paul Walter Hauser, will premiere on Apple TV Plus this July 8, the streamer announced Thursday.

Based on James Keene and Hillel Levin’s true crime memoir “In With The Devil: A Fallen Hero, A Serial Killer, and A Dangerous Bargain for Redemption,” “Black Bird” stars Egerton as Keene, a police officer’s son who is sentenced to 10 years in a minimum security prison for drug dealing. While serving his sentence, he is offered a chance for early parole, on the condition that he move to a prison for the criminally insane and befriend serial killer Larry Hall (Hauser). Keene reluctantly agrees to the unusual case, and develops a complicated relationship with Hall as he attempts to discover the truth behind the murders the convict is suspected of committing. In addition to Egerton and Hauser, the series also stars Sepideh Moafi, Greg Kinnear and Ray Liotta.

David Robinson’s back patio used to be his comfort zone, a haven from the Ptsd he still suffers after his time in the Army. On June 23, 2021, though, that little slice of heaven in Columbia, South Carolina, was rife with anxiety and fear when his daughter called him to tell him that his 24-year-old son, Daniel, was missing.

The younger Robinson worked as a geologist for Matrix New World Engineering in Arizona, and was, in his father’s words “a scientist — a brilliant mind.” So David was more than a...

Apple TV+ is nearing a series order for In With the Devil, a six-hour adaptation of a true crime memoir by James Keene that has Taron Egerton set to star as the author and Richard Jewell‘s Paul Walter Hauser in talks to join him as a suspected serial killer. Michael R. Roskam will direct a script by Dennis Lehane. It will shoot in New Orleans.

Keene was a young Chicago kid who was a standout football player headed for a pro career when a few turns in the wrong direction caught him a decade-long prison sentence with no chance of parole. The son of a Chicago cop was offered by the prosecutor who put him behind bars the chance to be sprung from prison and a chance to redeem himself. The stakes were high. Same prosecutor convicted a man named Larry Hall for abducting and killing a 15-year-old, just...

Autobiographical 'musical fantasy' is set to star a number of actors who will play the pop superstar at different stages in his 50-year career. Who would you blast into the roles?

Elton John has announced that he's working on Rocketman, an autobiographical "musical fantasy" charting the highs and lows of his pop career. The film, which will follow the singer, born Reginald Dwight, from his childhood as a piano prodigy through a career of playing hummable songs in silly glasses, is set to star a number of actors, who will play the piano man at different stages in his career – a la Todd Haynes's Bob Dylan biopic I'm Not There. The film, which Elton is working on with Billy Elliot screenwriter Larry Hall, will start casting soon, so who do you think should take a march down the yellow brick road?

We think we need (at least) four Eltons...