One of the surprising things about this show is its almost irreverent sense of humour. That’s not a quality we’ve come to expect from faith-based programming, which tends to be quite earnest. Would you say that irreverence opens up a new way to engage with an audience, and a novel way of tackling a religious story?
A thousand per cent. I mean, listen, there’s a difference between faith and religion; one emanates from the other. Faith is, of course, the penultimate stop before religion’s destination. I think some people get offended if you’re not fully what they deem to be “reverent” with the material. But there’s a place for that too; there’s a place for a reverence and quirkiness. This [series] happened to be in the animation world, which lends itself to that . . . and the adults can laugh at things that the kids don’t pick up, and the kids might be focusing on something else entirely. Having that texture and that dichotomy is actually really cool.
Tell me about getting into character as the Sheep. I detected a bit of Eeyore from Winnie-the-Pooh, but maybe with a bit more sardonic bite?
You’re dead-on. I was literally thinking about Eeyore while I was doing it. It was Eeyore, Pumbaa from Lion King and maybe . . . what was the other one I had in mind? There were a couple characters, it was just kind of an amalgam . . . oh, Garfield! There’s a little bit of Garfield too, which is the laid-back voiceover and his love of all things food.
Looking at the amazing run you’ve been on of late — starring in these massive, award-winning films and TV shows, working with the biggest stars and directors — do you ever look back to a time not that long ago, when you were just a struggling actor, and think, “How is this all going so exceptionally well?”
Listen, I believe in “manifesting” as a factual practice that you create from your tongue. I don’t believe in it as a substitution for what I ask from God and my relationship with God — but I do believe it’s a real thing. My entire life I’ve wanted to pursue dramatic acting and professional wrestling and to work with people like Pixar and Marvel . . . and that’s all happened. So, that’s just been very dreamy — and very humbling to see what God has allowed and put across my proverbial desk.
That streak very much continues with you now joining the Chosen franchise, which is not just a hit show, but a true global phenomenon . . .
This has always been a dream of mine, too — to do faith-based material or something with a veneer of my Christianity. But I was kind of waiting for something that I thought was on the level of entertainment excellence that
I would actually want to do. And this is the first one.
I also, as an actor, want to show versatility. If I can play a serial killer but also do The Chosen Adventures? That’s pretty dope.
The Chosen Adventures, streaming on Prime Video
MEMORABLE ROLES:
One of the most uniquely compelling character actors to emerge over the past decade, you know Paul Walter Hauser from I, Tonya, BlacKkKlansman and as the man wrongly accused of bombing the 1996 Atlanta Olympics in director Clint Eastwood’s Richard Jewell. On TV, he won an Emmy as serial killer Larry Hall in Black Bird. Further adorning his CV: Inside Out 2, The Fantastic Four: First Steps and The Naked Gun. After reaching the heights of Hollywood, he achieved another childhood dream: signing with the MLW to become a pro wrestler.
CURRENT GIG:
A devout Christian, Hauser finally gets to explore his faith through his craft via this cartoon spinoff of The Chosen. Set in 30 CE, the show follows a precocious kid named Abby (voiced by Romy Fay), whose boundless curiosity about religion leads her to seek answers from the Son of God himself (Jonathan Roumie, reprising his role from the live-action Chosen). Hauser voices Abby’s curmudgeonly, dry-witted sidekick, Sheep.