Happy Sad Confused - Paul Walter Hauser

Episode Date: January 7, 2020

It's a new year so it's fitting a new talent joins Josh for this episode of "Happy Sad Confused"! You may have seen Paul Walter Hauser in supporting scene-stealing roles like his turn in "I, Tonya" but now he's making the leap to leading man status with "Richard Jewell". Paul joins Josh to talk about his passion for comedy and acting, working with Clint Eastwood, and much more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

D.C. high volume, Batman. The Dark Nights definitive DC comic stories adapted directly for audio for the very first time. Fear, I have to make them afraid. He's got a motorcycle. Get after him or have you shot. What do you mean blow up the building? From this moment on,

none of you are safe. New episodes every Wednesday, wherever you get your podcasts. Prepare your ears, humans. Happy, sad, confused begins now. Today on Happy, Sad, Confused, we begin the new year with Paul Walter Houser in his first leading role in Richard Jewell. Hey guys, I'm Josh Hartowitz. Welcome to another year of Happy, Sad, Confused.

Yes, we're back. took a little break for the holidays as we all did. I hope you guys had a great holiday, a great New Year's celebration, but now we're back to work, aren't we guys? And I'm thrilled actually to be back to work because, I mean, Sue me, I like what I do. I know. It sounds gosh to say it, but I do. I get to talk to cool people. And Paul Alterhouser certainly fits that bill. I got a chance to talk to Paul a few weeks back, right before the holidays. I'm actually sorry that this is going out a little bit late in the cycle for Richard Jewell. It's still in theater, So if you have the opportunity, you should check it out.

This is, of course, Clint Eastwood's latest film. If you listen to the last episode of Happy Say I Confused, we had his co-star, the great John Hamm on the show. And it was a real treat for me to have Paul on the podcast because I've been following his work in recent years. If you've seen him in, if you saw him in Itania or Black Klansman, he just pops off the screen. He's obviously a great talent.

And to see him get an opportunity like this, and Richard Jewell to play this leading character, to carry a Clint Eastwood film and to not only get that opportunity, but to live up to that opportunity and to just knock it out of the park as much as he did is thrilling. And I think you're going to fall for him if you haven't seen him on the big screen yet, you're going to fall for him in this conversation because he's just got a great spirit, a great attitude, and I wish him nothing but the best. It was a real treat to talk to Paul on the podcast. Other things to mention. If you guys were in New York and you came out to the Happy Say and Fused Live event

right around Christmas time, I thank you. If you weren't able to make it, all good. We put that podcast up recently as a kind of a special live bonus episode. It was a blast, guys. We did our very first live episode of Happy Sank Infused. We had David Harbor and Justin Long and Patrick Wilson. Patrick Wilson sang and, oh my God, brought the house. down was amazing. All three of them were hysterical. It was a true highlight. You know, I've done a lot of live events. I've moderated a ton of things over the years, but never like my own thing. So I actually had some nerves going into it. It just felt like a different kind of a thing for me. But it was proof that, you know, you should try new things and you should

put yourself in new areas, even at my ripe old age of 87. And I was just so energized by the reception of the crowd. We're definitely going to do more. There's some cool stuff that we're talking about. So, yeah, if you weren't able to make it, check out the podcast. You can listen to it at least. Hopefully get a sense of the energy that was in the room. And like I said, hopefully we're going to do more of these. And again, my thanks to the crowd that came out to the Bell House in Brooklyn and to David, Patrick and Justin. I should say we had, we did some giveaways. We gave out some like cool like autograph stuff there. But we also got a couple extra things autographed for, you know, we're raising money for some charities at the event. And we're going to do the same thing

for these extra kind of bonus autographed items that are still out there. So I've created a happy, say, confused eBay page where you can, we're doing an auction for a few items. So there's some really cool stuff there. There's an autographed making of Outlander book from the great Sam Hewain. There are some autographed Funco dolls of David Harbour. David Harbour's Hopper character from Stranger Things, autographed by David himself. Patrick Wilson autographed a Aquaman Funko of his character, Orm. And we also got, separately, I just happened to run into,

or not run into, but I did an interview with Michael B. Jordan for his new film, Just Mercy, and got him and his fellow castmates to autograph a poster of Just Mercy. So we're going to put all of that up. It's all up there already on eBay. I put it out on my social media. So just go to Joshua Horowitz on Twitter, and you'll see the eBay link. And we've got about a week left to that auction for all those items.

So, you know, it's all going to a good cause. 100% of the proceeds are going to the NRDC, this great organization. So I encourage you all to go there, put a bid in, and support a good cause and get a cool autographed piece of, you know, memorabilia out of it, too. Everybody wins. Other things to mention. Oh, I know what I wanted to do. So I never did my official top 10 list this year. I don't know what it was. I wasn't feeling the 10. I was feeling the pressure. It was just, it never coalesced.

But here's what I'm willing to do. I have five that are like my stone cold classics of the year. So I'm going to list those five in no particular order. These are my five favorite movies of the year. And then I'm going to do some honorable mentions. I know I'm a little late in the game, but hey, a lot of these films are still in theaters and people are just catching up to them. and we're definitely in the thick of award season, so I wanted to mention these films. It's just my favorites of 2019. Uncut gems, the Irishman, marriage story, once upon a time in Hollywood, and Parasite.

Those are the Josh Hardowitz five gems of 2019. Of course, uncut gems from the Safdi brothers, the Irishman from the great Martin Scorsese, marriage story, just love that one, Noah Boundback, once upon a time in Hollywood, of course, from the great Quentin Tarantino, former guest on Happy Say Confused, former two-time guest on Happy Say Confused, and Bong Joon Ho's Parasite. These are Stone Cold Classics, I highly recommend. Other films I just want to mention,

honorable mentions of some of my other favorites of the year, Avengers Endgame, Honeyboy, Us, The Farewell, Blinded by the Light, Apollo 11, Book Smart. Brittany runs a marathon, Midsomar, Joker, Jojo Rabbit, The Lighthouse. house, Ford v. Ferrari, Knives Out, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, Little Women, and Pedro Amadovar's Pain and Glory, which I just saw. I was super late to the game on that one. So the headline here is there's a lot of great stuff out there still in theaters and on the streaming services. So there's my list of like, what, probably 20 films worth checking out from last year. It was a great year at the movies. So I've been enjoying the award season

because they're honoring films that I really dig. So a lot of good stuff out there. Anyway, let's get to the main event today. Richard Jewell is the film. It's in theater still. Paul Walter Hauser is the guest. And one last reminder, remember to check out my stuff on social media. That way you can find out the eBay link,

Joshua Horowitz on Twitter and Instagram. And remember to review, rate and subscribe to Happy Say I Confused. Spread the good word. Here's our first guest at 2020. Paul Walter Hauser. Paul Walter Houser and I are just reenacting Philip Seymour Hoffman performance. Shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up.

Are you threatening me, asshole? Sorry, can I swear on here? Yes, you can. Not that I'll go out of my way too, but... No, please do. I want you to just litter the airways with... Here we go, dang it, crud, darn it, shut up, stupid.

He's edgy guys. This guy, like George Carlin is in the house. I'm a walking Saffty brothers film. I am dangerous with a great school. more. How you doing, Josh? Thanks for coming in, buddy. Are you kidding? I love this podcast. I mean, I've only listened to five or six, but I really enjoyed them thoroughly.

That's the right amount. At seven or eight, you get sick in my voice. Yeah, I mean, let's not. You're already feeling it? Let's not draw this out like the Indiana Jones series. Let's abbreviate it. I prefer to think of the fourth film as something that never happened. It was just a fever dream that I had. Goodness.

You know what? It's funny how nostalgia plays a part in our viewing now more than ever. do you think that is? Why are we just constantly reliving our childhoods and wanting to go back? Because the world is on fire and we just Literally?

Yeah. No, it's because you got to look at our parents. I assume we're probably pretty close in age. So like if our folks grew up with the 70s era of movies, it's not like they were watching them going God, I really wish this was more like a Rock Hudson film. But they weren't thinking that.

Right. So it changed. Maybe it's because culture is changing with more rapidity now because of technology? I think there's definitely that's part of it. And I think it's accessibility also to our past. Oh, sure, sure. Every single thing that we lived with is available on our phones. So if you want to just have like that comfort like neuron of like walking saved by the bell for 10 minutes, okay, it's there for you. Have you seen Zach Morris's trash the web series?

No. Brilliant. Zach Morris's trash is a really fun sort of recap documentary on every episode of Say by the Bell and it just illustrates the deep dive

that Zach Morris goes to be selfish and to hurt other people to get what he wants so like it'll just it'll say Zach lied to Lisa Lisa got in trouble

with their parents then Zach borrowed Kelly's car and while borrowing Kelly's car he lied to a nerd to say that he could get a date with Kelly but of course then he took the date from the nerd

and then he ended up leaving Kelly for so-and-so at the dance and that is why Zach Morris is trash Zach Morris is trash That's literally like I hope Mark is listening to this podcast Does he pay to visit yet? Mark Paul Gosley

I don't know He and I are those three name guys We both use three names Because we are hurting inside Are you or is it because there is a Paul Houser In SAG No I was just telling this story to my buddy I grabbed drinks with this guy

Alex Moffitt Do you watch Saturday in life? Yeah yeah of course He's such a sweet, thoughtful, talented dude he almost reminds me a Chris guest where he's like a normal guy who can turn on the funny to a large degree but but he um I was telling him about how uh I was telling him oh wait the name you're your three names yeah yeah the name I was just telling him I was like dude I only did it because I never knew my grandfather that well he died when I was seven we didn't

get to like hang out and have tons of memories and his first name was Walter and that's my middle name so in seventh or eighth grade I think it was like 13 I decided to start putting it on my papers when you'd sign your name or whatever. Right. I just added Walter to Paul Houser and just sort of married that because I felt closer to my grandparents. That's very sweet. I went through like a week where I decided

my middle name was going to be Max. Didn't stick. You had more fortitude, my friend. What was, now, what was the what was the origin or impetus to wanting to help me? My middle name is Alex and I asked my parents probably around that same age, like where that came from and it was from a relative who

was named Max. I'm like, well, why didn't you just go with Max? Max is cooler. I like Max. Wow. You were really malcontent. Still am. Unbelievable. I am taking this opportunity to announce, I'm changing my name. To Max a Million. That's how bad it's gotten. I need to be called Max a Million. Maxwell won't do. So you mentioned Alex Moffat, S&L. This was a big moment for you this past weekend, right?

S&L was always the thing. Yeah, that was my dream growing up as recent as like four years ago. And I did this movie with Emma Stone and she knew I was a fan of S&L and she's a regular over there. So she's like, do you want to come with me and my fiancé, Dave McCarrie, to S&L? And I was like, are you kidding? Like, if I was in Bosnia, I would hop a flight until it comes to you. So I went and it just, it felt a little too idealistic the way the night went. People were kind to me and talking about Richard Jewel.

Right. I got to watch update out on the floor and watch. the musical act, this guy DeBaby, who I had no reference for but he was like wildly entertaining put on a great show and then I just standing out there I got a little emotional I had to like hold back tears

while standing on the floor as Studio 8H because I just, it's hollowed ground to me you know. So was, who were your guys growing up who were the SNL guys were put on a pedestal? I had great affection for Dana Carvey because he was so consistently good. And then I also had love

for the people like Chris Parnell who would just hop in and like make something better. He was almost like putting garlic in a meal. It was just like, this will be better now. Yeah. And could play the straight man and the silly. But my guys are obviously, my three of all time are

Chris Farley, Will Ferrell, and Kristen Wing. Those are my... The three of them, like, you don't need anything. Yeah, all three of those I could describe the same way as people that just like they changed the chemistry in a room where will feral is just the funniest human being on the planet i mean i don't know if you've

had the pleasure yet but he's just like just in passing no just like a perfect spirit on this earth and just makes you happier to be around yeah he's um yeah mark marron talks about him sometimes where he'll point out like just he doesn't even have to do anything no he does his face is just like making you laugh my my favorite random will feral experience ever was like i was i was like i was like i think i was at an award show and i was walking by like the men's room and he walked out of the men's room and he saw nobody but me and he just made a fist pump it and said nailed it as he was leaving the men's room just for my amusement that's perfect i mean i do stuff like that but for my amusement so like i've done this so many times i'll be in a bathroom stall doing doing the business

and and i'll be talking to a friend and then they'll leave the bathroom and i know that they've left but i'll pretend that i think they're still there and i'll just be like god it's just it's tough being separated from my wife like are we divorced are we separated and I'll just go into that and then out of nowhere I'll just start making grunting noises and be like but but they'll be like noises that don't sound normal where I'll just go ha ha ha ha there's somewhere between a bathroom grunt and like a vocal exercise right and I just am dying to I just want to scare the hell out of everyone so wait did you ever get your SNL audition oh no I just wasn't I wasn't committed to a comedy theater which is sort of the go-to you got to put in

like four to eight years, I think, at one of those places. And I sort of, I also had a weird prideful thing where I didn't want, I didn't want an institution to take credit from my work. Right. So like, I didn't want UCB or Second City to say, like, we made this guy. I wanted to kind of do my own thing. And so your own thing for a while, and we'll bounce around a bit if you put the podcast, you know, I tend to do that.

But you did stand up for a long while. Long time. Like 10 years, right? Yeah, like 16 to 28. I kind of was hitting it hard and doing, you know, bars and universities and comedy clubs, especially when I finally moved to a major city.

And you know what? I recognized I was a good stand-up comic, but I wasn't great. And I think you need to be great to make it. I think if you're good, you can get away with having a part-time job and saying that you're on a lineup with Joey Diaz or whoever you want to tell.

But, like, I didn't, I wasn't willing to put in the love and effort. it takes to be great and I admit that, you know, I bowed out. So what were you talking about at 16 years old on a stage stand-up-wise? Oh, I'm sure it was just, I mean, it was stuff

like being sort of tongue-in-cheek about like pretending my childhood is horrible but it wasn't where I'd be like, you know, growing up we had to share two pizzas between the six of us and one liter of soda, like just like pretending like being stupid like that.

And then also, it was like observational humor, which, of course, at 16, you don't observe much. So it's like, I'm sure it was pretty... It was a narcissistic time in your life. Yeah. And you're like barely noticing anything. Yeah, it was like a five foot ceiling of material and I was trying to stand straight, you know? Right. But, you know, I gave a damn and I tried and I had a lot of good experiences.

And it certainly shaped my confidence. Yeah. Because if you can do stand up in a room full of a thousand people, you better be able to go audition for a guest star and a procedural, you know. Is that the best, yeah, is that the best byproduct of those stand-up years in terms of helping your career where it stands now? Is it mostly in the, in the audition process as opposed to like being on a set? Does any of that stuff apply? No, I think the only thing that applies is confidence and, and also I think I had a positive

effect on comedians when I was around them. You know, I'm a pretty gregarious, a spirited individual for the most part. You're catching me at a more tired depletion moment. Doing pretty well. But I think, you know, comics are overwhelmingly sort of dark people with sort of loud, pronounced problems that they tend to attach to more than they need to. So I feel like I, one of my favorite things I got out of it was just trying to love people that I could tell we're living in their brokenness a little bit. Yeah. Okay, so let's, we'll circle back around to, this is your life, Paul Walter Hauser, but let's talk about Richard Jewel a little bit because RJ

from the people who brought you three ninjas and Dunstan checks in comes Richard Jewel I forgot that that was on his resume well he's sort of a ghost writer on all those films it's like when I Tarantino did like uh what was the

Crimson Tide this is his Crimson Tide yes three ninjas no I um yeah no that movie that movie came about in a really crazy way I knew about the projects I knew about the project more than the story right so like I didn't really know the story because when it happened, somewhere in 96, I was probably nine and a half or something. So I knew about it because I loved Jonah Hill and Leonardo DiCaprio.

Right. And they were attached. So I was like, this movie's going to be dope. And I was just excited about it like anyone. Right. So then you hear they drop out and you're like, oh, hmm. It was like, yeah, it was a matter of, I took a meeting and I'll ever forget this because it was, I think it's pretty wild. I took a meeting at Fox with this really nice guy named Mike Ireland, who was an exec at the time. I'm not. I'm not sure what he does now, but this was around the time that I think Disney bought or was circling Fox, and I knew the project was there. And I said to him, I said, if Joan ever drops out, I'd really love to be considered for the role. And he kind of, you know, smiled and nodded, kind of like, not, not dismissive, but kind of like, yeah, well, it's Joan and Leo's movie, you know.

But I was just putting it in his ear or whatever, just saying, like, you know, throwing it at the wall, seeing what sticks. and sure enough Disney buys Fox and because it's a Disney project and of course Disney is not hyper concerned with adult dramas especially ones that are like sort of in development limbo and then I get a call when I'm in

Thailand doing a Spike Lee movie for Netflix called The Five Bloods I get a call that says Hey um you know Clint Eastwood wants you for his new movie and I'm like to do what like what is he if you need someone to play

you know a Muppet that turns into a man Like, what the hell does Clint want with me? Which, by the way, would be amazing. Don't say no to that. Don't think it's not on my radar. But they go, no, he wants to play Richard Jewell. And immediately, I'm like, oh, my gosh.

I pitched myself for Richard Jewell like a year ago in the Fox offices. Crazy. You manifested it. Oh, that's given, I think that's given me more credit than his due. I'm pretty sure I give that one to God. But, yeah, I was entertaining a really lucrative TV deal. say that because you have to know where I'm at in my career. I've never made like real

money. I'm not famous where I get like stopped on the street all the time. I'm just someone that people are like, oh, he did a pretty good job in a couple movies that mattered. So I'm offered this insane lucrative TV deal at the same time I'm offered Clint's movie and Clint's movie's not an offer. It's a verbal offer.

So it's hey, he's trying to get the movie from Disney to Warner Brothers. It's looking good but it's not for sure and there's a ticking time clock where the TV people want to know if you're going to choose that or the Easter movie because they now know about the Eastern movie and I'm like and part of you has to also be like because you obviously you know you love this business like you read about this stuff you're like I know the value of my name are this is this is he going to be able to get

the screen lit with my name attached of course I thought that or is it one of those hiccups where he has to apologize to me when they do get Jonah or somebody else you know so it was um it could have been really nightmarish I eventually just you know I was I was battling sleeplessness and a bunch of really tough things while I was in Thailand. And it's three in the morning. CA and artists first call me and they go, hey, we need a decision. And I go, you know, my dad's a preacher. I'm a pretty big Jesus guy. So I was like, you know what? The Bible talks about you can only operate out of fear and love and perfect love cast out fear. And I was like, I think fear would tell me to take the money and do the TV show. And I think love would tell me to work with Clint East would. So I said, tell

them we're going to pass and let's see what the Eastwood thing is. And then I had three weeks alone after making that decision and the TV show went to a good buddy of mine who's very talented and I'm like, did I make the right decision? I sat with that for three weeks in Thailand and a hotel alone

and it was a very dark isolating moment but of course when I got back to LA I went to the Warner Brothers lot and found out this is happening. Amazing. Okay so when you had heard about this project when Jonah and Leah were attached. I mean, what made you

raise up your hand to say, hey, if Jonah drops out, it could be me. I just know these movie stars get busy, and I knew Jonah was directing his directorial debut, and I hadn't heard from the project in forever, so I was just like, I 'd love to be considered if it opens.

But more about, like, what about that part? It was just surface, like, physical characteristics, like, I could see how I would be on that list. Hell yeah. I barely even researched it. I knew the brass tax broad strokes, and I just knew I was in that tonal vein of what they would need, you know? Right.

Okay, so, I'm unclear, did you ever have to, like, audition or put yourself on tape for this? No, Clint just had an instinct. Wow. He was prepping a movie in Hawaii. He was literally, like, two months out from filming a movie in Hawaii, and it was about to cast and locations got that. And then he had been circling this in the past, this project. So his producer, Jessica Meyer, and his casting director, Jeff McClat, and I think his producer,

Tim Moore like the three of them were just kind of talking about it and Jeff Micklep brought me up because of I Tanya and uh and I think he was friendly with some of my people so he just he just prints out a photo of me and they put it next to a photo Richard Jewel on like a cork board or something right and Clint walks in the room they go is that you Richard Jewel half kidding half serious and Clint just did that like squinty thing of like looking it over and peering over it and going yeah that's the guy show me some tape on him You know, like an athlete or something. He'll do just fine.

Yeah. He looks diabetic. So I basically just, you know, he watched my demo reel, which had all these scenes from this show, Kingdom that I did a number of years ago. And he, I think, had seen Itani and Black Clansman. So he just, he pulled the trigger on me in a loud way that I'm sort of forever indebted, obviously. Unbelievable. Okay. So when you get down into getting into the nitty-gritty, what's the thing?

What's the main challenge of this guy, of this role? Because for a lot of people, Richard Jewell, if they know him at all, they probably still associate him as not necessarily a good guy. A lot of people still think probably he has something to do with that bombing. That's very true. They've misconstrued it quite a bit, and it's almost like a game of phone where the message has changed over time. For me as an actor, I had never headlined a movie before. So it was, part of it was just tracking the character's story internally as I acted. So on any given Tuesday or Friday, I'm going, where am I at in the story?

How should I feel based on the circumstances? How do I feel based on the things that have happened prior to this scene? Right. And how do I convey that in a realized present tense way, you know? So that was scary for me. And I just took it day to day. I remember not looking to ahead of the schedule. Right.

Like there were scenes that I, I did on a Wednesday that I didn't really look at until Tuesday afternoon, and I would make my decisions that night, because the reality is such, the decisions I make five minutes before an audition or two days before a scene are the same decisions I would make 30 days before a scene. So to say, like, I prepped a lot is just to probably make me sound like a good actor. Well, and if anything, that sort of sounds like it jives with the way Quint approaches things, which, like, for anybody that's, that knows how he directs, it's like two or three takes. It's from the hip.

A lot of trust. Doesn't call action? Is that true? Still doesn't call action? No, he says, go ahead, or he'll say axione. It's like the chillest set on the planet, apparently. Yeah, I think McConaughey would dig it. He'd walk on and be like, all right, all right, all right.

Get me some edomami hummus from the craft service, man. Yeah, no, it was cool. It was the kind of set of every actor hopes to be on. So do you ever ask for another take if he thinks he's wrapped after two? Absolutely, absolutely, because I'm not trying to eff up his movie. I'm starring in a Warner Brothers biopic. If I need another take, I'm going to fight for it, you know, for the good of the film. And to make sure that I'm...

You know, there was a scene where I'm in a diner. It's very emotional with me and Sam toward the end of the film. And I think I did like nine takes. Like, I really stretched it. And then Clint told me, like, a week or two ago, he goes, the take we used was the first take. I was like, oh, my gosh. Are you kidding me? I don't know.

Maybe I don't trust myself, you know? Well, it's hard to have that, like, distance when you're in the moment. Yeah, and you know, it's pivotal, you know? It's not like I'm doing a half page where I got to walk up and pump gas. It's like I have to give the emotion of a culmination. of circumstances. You're surrounded by this insane ensemble. I mean, the folks you get to share the screen with are literally the best.

Kathy Bates, unbelievable. Sam Brockwell is a beacon of goodness on the planet in every way. Not only is a great actor, he's a great human being. Yes, yes. Talk to me about what's the relationship like with Sam? Is that somebody that you're going to keep in the Rolodex for life? Yeah, and I don't even know how work-related it is. I think we're more bonded by our love of movies and our pension for, like,

dancing and drinking and fart jokes, you know, like, we kind of just get each other and love each other. But I have to say about Sam, he was one of the guys, and I've said it in interviews prior to, like, even Itania and stuff. Yeah. I said, my guys are Phil Hoffman, Peter Sarsgaard, and Sam Rockwell. Those are, like, my guys. Yeah. And if I could add more, it'd be like, you know, Mike Shannon and Paul Giamatti or John.

Goodman or something. So like I like these misshaping off-kilter character actor types who end up doing lead roles in cool, like, meaningful movies. And that's what I always dreamt of and fought for. Never knowing if it would happen or not, I would have been content

with far less, but I'm thrilled that's moving in the direction it has. But I saw Sam at the SAG Awards January 2018. He was there for billboards. I was there for Tanya. Right. But I saw him on the carpet. I'm like, I got to say something.

So I got to go, hey, man, big fan of your work, shook his hand. And I go, and I said, I was like, Phil Hoffman and Sars Garden, you like, you're like my dudes. When I said Phil, he kind of gave a look of recognition. Because that's like one of his old besties, right? I didn't even know, though. I had no idea they were buddies. So he gave me a hug, and I said to him, I go, I hope I get to work with you someday. And he said, and with a weird little look, he goes, you will, man, we will.

And then a year and a half later, we're starring in a clinician movie together. Amazing. How's your Sam Rockwell impression? Oh, far out. It's awesome, man. That's awesome. Looking to go up to Toronto, see Bibbers. Leslie Bibb, my girlfriend, she's doing a Netflix show.

It's awesome. That's what he's like, whenever I see him, I'm like, what do you up to? He's like, yeah, I'm here with my girlfriend. I'm like, you guys have been together for 3,000 years. Just say life made. There must be a different word at this point. Yeah, just say lifeblood. Say you're here with your boss.

Say something. No, they're like the cool couple, totally. Like, they're the people you want at your New Year's party or something. So did this all go by almost like too fast? You shot this like relatively recently too. Forgive me, I didn't get to mention the other cast members. But Kathy Bates and Olivia Wilde and John Hamm, that was a thing of like signing onto the movie

and seeing that they were getting involved was like amazing. Yeah. Like it makes you feel better about the whole undertaking of it. And then offset, they were even. even more generous. John Ham one time picked me up from Whole Foods and was just like, let me help you take your groceries to your apartment.

Another time I was stuck at a bar in the rain and couldn't get a signal to get an Uber to leave the bar and he just left his dinner in the middle of his dinner and came and picked me up. That's the kind of people I worked with. So I just want to mention that. He's coming in later this week,

so I will convey your utter disdain for his dreaminess. I just, yeah, no, he's the genuine article. That guy's a movie star on an offset. But, yeah, no, we shot it late June to mid-August. It was like seven weeks, maybe. Crazy. So it was absurd. I was like, the hell's going on.

And then, like, you get there and there's no pressure, and, like, Rockwell's pulling me aside going, it kind of feels like an indie. It kind of feels like a bunch of people just, like, making their science project together and goofing off. Because he hadn't done a film either, how do you? I don't think. none of them had.

Well, John Hamm had a teeny part. Like his first film or something, I think it was. In Space Cowboys. Yeah. But none of us had worked with them. Yeah. Okay, so what's it like at this point even? I mean, you just did a round of press sitting next to Clint.

Oh, yeah. Is that a different dynamic? Because like when you're doing the work, you're like, that's your job. That's what you're, like, you know how to do that and you're probably in a zone of some sort. Does it almost hit you in a different way where you're like, because suddenly journalists are asking him about like, in the line of fire, unforgiven. Is it different to do this? I guess is it just like, does it hit you in a different way? Does that give you more of an opportunity to geek out as a film fan when you're seeing him in that context?

I mean, I sort of, I almost have trouble. I used to geek out over people a lot, and then it kind of went away, and now I sort of geek out more when it's like a childhood thing. Like, like, if I met a professional wrestler from my childhood, like, if I met, I think if I met Steve Austin or, like, Sting, this guy, Steve Borden, like, if I met one of the steves from back in the day, I'd probably bug out more than if I met Spielberg or, you know, Barry Jenkins. But, yeah, no, it's weird to remember who he is because he's so grounded and humble than in the moment you don't think about it. And then somebody walks in and they're like, so I'm 10 years old. I'm at the theater with my dad and you're a movie and you're like

oh, this guy means this guy means a lot to many people and that's pretty cool so what's the sense I hope you're taking a sense of satisfaction from this moment too

okay so like you shoot the film and like that's an accomplishment but then it's completed it's actually a great film you're great in it you're being receipt no but you're obviously getting like accolades for it

you're you know your face is on that poster, you're front and center, and checkmark. Like, if that didn't happen, like, again, you're cognizant of how this business works. If you maybe give a C-plus performance, maybe you don't get another shot at something like that. Very true. Right? Are you sort of hinting out, by the way, I'm literally eating a Snickers from your desk mug.

And Snickers are very prevalent in the film. Spoiler alert. Spoiler, yeah. You know what? I have enough confidence in my talent. that when I signed on, I said, at the very least, I will give a grounded performance that has a personal stamp and hopefully Clint likes it. That's my only thing of like, it's not like I'm thinking about award season.

Telling me like I'm not nominated for a globe this morning is like telling me I'm not married to a supermodel. Like I kind of assumed as much, you know. Right. So for me, it was just, God, I hope I can make Clint happy. I knew I'd make my actors happy I'm an actor guy actors like me

I like actors and I just didn't want to be over the top because a lot of characters I play in comedy or even drama have a pension for sort of a scene stealery like chewy moments and I was like one thing you're not doing on this movie

you're not chewing the scenes but you're staying grounded well when you're a lead of a film when you're the protagonist even if you're kind of like an outsider that's maybe kind of like shit upon by other characters you're still kind of like

you're the eyes and ears of the audience Like, they need to relate to you. They need to connect with you. Yeah, me and Kathy and Sam all kind of do that. Right. Yeah. Right. So when did the shift happen?

Did you, was there like an abrupt shift in terms of like stand-up's been fun? You were alluding to this earlier, but there's a ceiling on this. It's not going to, I'm not going to be what I want to be. And a shift into like, let's let's make, let's put all my cards on the table in terms of acting. Yes. I went from the S&L of it all and the stand-up of it all

to booking Kingdom in 2014. What was it? 2014. Right. And by 2015, a year or more later, I was living off it. And I was like, whoa, I'm a working actor, but in a drama sense. Right. So that was the real transition of going, okay, I'm going to lean into this

and make more time and creative bandwomen with for that rather than rather than go across town to do eight minutes in front of 40 people and get treated like crap and like do jokes that don't even make me laugh anymore. So how long had you been out in L.A. then by the time... I've only been in L.A. 8 years off of night.

So I moved 10 years ago, but I left for a year and 10 months. Got it. So were you, before, like, Kingdom, for instance, were you still working other jobs just to make life livable. Oh, yeah, of course. I worked in L.A. I worked at Cavalya,

this like Cirque de Soleil show with like horses. I like worked as a tent attendant for VIP guests. I would like watch. I would like watch like Chris Pratt's table or shares table and escort them around and stuff.

Like I did that. I worked at five guys, the burger place in Studio City. I worked at a barbecue short-lived barbecue restaurant by Arclight. called the roadside eats you know i did a bunch of random stuff and just was trying to get by at one point i was living with like three or four people in a two-bedroom apartment in valley

village and i was woefully unhappy like i had a morning where i broke down cried in the bathroom and i told god i was like if you want me to be a missionary or a teacher and teach theater like i'll do anything i just i remember saying i was like i feel like i'm dying on the vine and right And then I walked out and went to the audition for Kingdom. Amazing. And I ended up doing 25 episodes after that. Did you have, like, a, did you have friends that were successful actors that were trying to boost you up and bring you along for the ride? Yeah, early on, I had people being real generous with stuff like that.

Like, Emma Roberts, who I don't really talk to anymore, I actually changed her number and I haven't really, like, I haven't really gotten a hold of her or anything. I'll see her in passing every couple years. But, like, when I moved to L.A., Emma Roberts got me an audition for Scream 4. like she literally oh wow i just had a mind blow what happened get the paddles and he's having a stroke what happened paul are you okay oh no i just i just i just had a moment i just realized so when i moved to l.A summer 2010 i was filming an episode of it's always sunny in philadelphia and i got a text from emma roberts on a phone call and she said she was in a pre-pro meeting with the Weinstein's

and like who's West Craven and stuff for Scream 4 and they said we have a role for like a comedic sidekick in Scream 4 and we're looking for the next Jonah Hill and Emma Roberts said she said to the Weinsteens I'll tell you who the next Jonah Hill is Paul Walter Hauser and then I just realized Jonah was set to play Richard Jewell before he dropped out and I did it so Emma Roberts was like

Weirdly prophetic No, but that's so weird Are you kidding me? That's weird, dude. I just remembered that. I haven't thought about that in a while. Oh, that's weird. So anyway, yes, there were people

who went out of their way to like, like this guy, Ryan Flynn got me a writing job on a reality show. Like people were very helpful and helping provide opportunities. You've been writing also for a long while too, right? Yeah. Yeah, I've written about 19 features in the last 17 years. I'm writing like a biblical adaptation with my brother right now in long distance.

I'm developing a TV show that we're trying to sell this probably late winter with my buddy Owen Ellickson. And yeah, I'm always trying to do stuff like that, but it's been an uphill battle because, you know, it's a difference between wowing someone in two minutes and an audition versus asking them to read 112 pages. It's uniquely difficult and dissimilar. But I love the process. Like, I'll never stop trying. Like, even if it comes to the point where I do the Duplast thing and I make a movie like them or Lynn Shelton and make it for 300K or something like that.

Sure. I'll do that, you know. So we only have slightly alluded to what probably, for a lot of people would assume, the quote-unquote big break. Kingdom gets you some good work, but obviously I-Tanya really raises your level a significant amount. in an unexpected way.

I mean, you didn't, I assume, think that that was going to turn into what it turned into. I knew it had the capability just because I know the industry enough to know, like, this will either be one of those movies that gets slammed or it'll be... I knew it was either going to get shot on

or loved deeply. Right. And it was definitely loved deeply. Three Oscar nominations later, one win, you know, for Allison. So I just did it. because I love the script and I love the character and I knew those people were dope.

But I definitely thought it's a love it or hate it. Yeah. You know, and then when I saw it, I was like, oh, this is one of those like scary, funny, delusional performances, like, and almost what I was doing, and I'm not paying myself in the back, I'm just making a comparison of, like,

watching myself and that made me feel similar vibes to, like, John Goodman and Lobowski. Yes. And then people were coming up to me saying that comparison. I was like, Mission accomplished. By the way, John Goodman wasn't nominated

for his work in Lubowski and he easily could have been like he was that good. So it's not really about those elevated moments of like of award season. It's really about like hoping you stay consistently good.

Right. And the guys I love the Giamati's and Brian Coxes and stuff, Mike Shannon, they're just good all the time, man. And can be and frankly in like not great movies and still are eminently watchable

and good in them. And it's for different. Sometimes they elevate stuff that isn't that good. It's cool. I think the first time I met you and I don't expect you to remember, it was at one of these awards, Shindig's, and you and you and Sebastian were hanging out. And I know you and Sebastian Stan are buddies. Oh, I love that, dude.

Good guy. What did you guys connect with and why do you remain as close as you do? Why is he such a close bud? I think, you know, and I won't speak for him, but as his friend, I think I noticed that he loves, the work so much and as such a dedicated actor, but I think he's also occasionally exhausted by just like the hustle and bustle of it all. Yeah. And so like what we do is we'll like, we'll grab a drink or a dinner and we'll just talk for three hours and just like unload on each other. Right.

And it's always comedic in nature of like making fun of the film industry. Yeah, not take the whole thing too seriously and just kind of fuck around a little bit. Yeah. And, and you know, as actors, we, we, we, I think, We pushed and pulled and got good stuff out of each other on that film. And we've been, if there's any producers listening or filmmakers, he and I are dying to do another movie together again, but we just want to make sure it's the right thing. It's got to be at the level of Tanya or better. It can't be less than, you know.

Did he, uh, has he put in a good word with the MCU folks, the Marvel folks? What's going on, man? Probably. He's been really generous with dropping my name to people when projects come up and stuff. He's, he's a real friend. Well, speaking of the comic book stuff, I saw your kind of impromptu auditioned for Penguin on Instagram. That was dope, dude. I love my take on the Penguin.

That's not what they're looking for, but Matt Reeves is pretty brilliant. Like, whatever he is looking for is going to be dynamite. And I love Colin Farrell. When Colin Farrell got the part, there wasn't real jealousy. It was more like that beautiful Widow's Peak is going to light up the stuff. screen. I was excited for him. Are you done with Cruella? I am. Okay.

Thank God. It was three and a half months. That's a big one. It's a long time, dude. I've never done that long. That's a huge studio movie, obviously, with the great Emma Stone, you reteam with Craig Gillespie. I assume that's a big part of it. Big part of it. He just wanted to sign me on in the springtime when it was ready to throw me in the movie,

and Disney's like, you need to audition. There's a massive movie. Right. And we need to know he can do a British accent or something. So went in, auditioned, got the part, and then I also got the part for the Eastwood film at the same time, and they're shooting over each other. It was like seven weeks of overlap, like something unforgivable. Like, you can't make seven weeks of overlap. You're like three days, maybe we can figure out. You can maybe, I think like a week and a half is the cutoff for overlap where they'll finagle. But Emma ended up getting injured at some event or something.

I don't even know the true story behind it. I didn't pry, but she like broke her collarbone or something. And then they needed like eight weeks to push. So after I wrapped Jewel, I went back to L.A. for about 72 hours. And then I was back on a plane to London for three and a half months. Right. And that experience, by the way, the timing was laborious because it's like I just starred in an Eastwood film and I got to go do like CGI stuff and like run around reacting to things that aren't there, you know, transformer acting. Right.

But the process, dude, Craig Gillespie. Tony McNamara and Dana Fox worked on the script and stuff. Yeah, Emma Thompson. The Emmys are there. Like, it was a great opportunity. I had a blast. And you now have not one but two Spike Lee films on the resume. What up?

Pretty cool. What up? I mean, that was the dream, too, with guys like Goodman. You see him in every Cohn Brothers film and you go, boy, I hope someone cool takes a liking to me someday. Okay, there we go. Yeah. And it might only be, too, but he has one of those guys, like, assuming he's not going to ask me. to run around full frontal screaming obscenities of kids.

Like, I'll probably do whatever he wants me to do when he picks up the phone. Don't put that idea in his mind. Don't put that idea in anyone's mind. No, he called me, oh, here's a great story. I'll make a brief because I don't know how much time you have, but I was in theaters seeing the mule Christmas Day with my family last year. On Christmas Day, I got a text from Spike saying, check your email, I'm sending you a script.

Let me know what you think. And I read it twice in a row that night, Christmas night, and hit him up and said, of course. Then I go and do Spike's movie in Thailand, and while I'm there, I get the call from Eastwood, or Eastwood's people saying he wants you for the movie. Right. And Richard Jewell comes out Friday,

and it will reasonably, stands to reason that it'll last in theaters through the holidays. So, like, I was in the theater on Christmas Day watching The Mule with my family, and a year later I'll probably be in the theater Christmas Day watching myself star in Clint's new movie with my family. Like, that's how weird this business is. Yeah. The highs

are so high, the lows are pretty low, and the in-between is where most of us live. What's the, so you secreted it into the universe, whether you meant to or not, Richard Jewell, what do we put out into the ether today? Oh, wow. I mean, you're manifesting your own stuff through writing. A really good presidential candidate

20-20. How about that? How about we forget about my roles and we get someone in the White House who's not out of their fucking mine. I'm getting realistic about it. I don't know. The world's ending, Paul. I don't know if you heard. Yeah, okay. So I'll put this into the uni. I'll throw this

at the Lord. I'll say, I want to direct my first feature the way Joan and Greta and all these wonderful actors have done. I want to work with more great filmmakers like, you know, Adam McKay and Catherine Bigelow and cool people.

and I want to love on the people I work with. I want them to feel seen, and I want to make sure that I'm being a good listener when they have things to say or need to unload, and I hope that I can be someone who is as impactful offset as they are on. This is a good checklist. I endorse all of these. Thanks, dude.

It's good to see good things happening to good people. I can tell your good people by your work, your choices, the people you're associating with, all the people that you become buddies with. They're all, like, decent good people. So, I think so. Yeah, yeah, absolutely. Congratulations on Richard Jewell and all your success, man. You're welcome here anytime, man.

Thank you for the podcast. Bless you, bless your family and the holidays. I hope you have a blast and come visit set sometime too. I know you're holed up here, but if I ever shoot New York or you're in L.A., just come hang out, man. I appreciate the offer. I'll take you up on that. Thanks, bud. And so ends another edition of Happy, Sad.

confused. Remember to review, rate and subscribe to this show on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm a big podcast person. I'm Daisy Ridley and I definitely wasn't pressure to do this by Josh. Hey Michael. Hey, Tom. You want me to tell? No, no, no. I got this. People out there.

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