Paul Walter Hauser is a talented American actor, comedian, and professional wrestler. He gained recognition for his role as the murderer Larry Hall in the 2022 true crime miniseries Black Bird, a performance that earned him both a Golden Globe Award and a Primetime Emmy Award. Additionally, he is well-known for his character Stingray in the Netflix series Cobra Kai.
Early Life & Education
Paul Walter Hauser was born on October 15, 1986, and grew up in Saginaw, Michigan. His parents are Deborah and Rev. Paul Hauser, who is a Lutheran minister.
He went to Valley Lutheran High School, a private parochial institution located in Saginaw. He later enrolled at Concordia University Chicago but left to follow a career in the entertainment field.
Paul Walter Hauser’s Career
Hauser played the role of Shawn Eckhardt in the 2017 film I, Tonya, Dale in the 2010 film Virginia, and Keith in the television series Kingdom.
Initially, Paul Walter Hauser was cast as an extra in Virginia for his acting debut, and he praised director Dustin Lance Black for his speech after winning the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay in 2009 for Milk (2008); this resulted in Black creating a more significant role for him in the film.
He was cast in a recurring role as Deshawn in the Amazon web series Betas. In 2018, he featured as Lonnie Laloush in Super Troopers 2 and as Ivanhoe in BlacKkKlansman.
He has also guest-starred in numerous television series, including Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, The Night Shift, Superstore, Key & Peele, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Community, Blunt Talk, I Think You Should Leave, Bupkis, and Cobra Kai.
In 2019, Paul Walter Hauser starred in Richard Jewell, directed by Clint Eastwood, where he portrayed the character Richard Jewell, the actual security guard who noticed the bomb during the Centennial Olympic Park bombing.
In 2020, he was part of the cast in Songbird, a film that addresses the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021, Hauser played the character Horace Badun in the crime comedy-drama Cruella, a live-action prequel/spin-off from Disney of One Hundred and One Dalmatians.
Hauser played the role of Raymond Porter, more widely known by his nickname Stingray, in Cobra Kai. He appeared as a recurring character during Season 2 and emerged as a prominent anti-hero in Seasons 4 and 5.
Despite being recognized for his comedic roles, Paul Walter Hauser received widespread acclaim and critical recognition for his depiction of the serial killer Larry Hall in the 2022 Apple TV+ true crime miniseries Black Bird, which is based on James Keene’s memoir In with the Devil.
In 2024, he provided his voice for a principal character in the DreamWorks Animation film Orion and the Dark, as well as for the character of Embarrassment in the Pixar film Inside Out 2.
In 2024, he voiced a major role in the DreamWorks Animation film Orion and the Dark. In the same year, Hauser became involved with the true-crime drama Fruitcake, which features Jennifer Garner.
He also took on the lead role in a biographical film about actor-comedian Chris Farley, participated in a reboot of The Naked Gun franchise, and was cast in the Marvel Cinematic Universe film The Fantastic Four: First Steps, which is set for release in 2025.
Furthermore, he is slated to portray guitar tech Mike Batlan in a biographical film about Bruce Springsteen titled Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere, and he will star in the comedy Balls Up alongside Mark Wahlberg.
In November 2023, Paul Walter Hauser made his professional wrestling debut at Pro Wrestling REVOLVER in Los Angeles, defeating Matthew Palmer.
Following this, he participated in a Slammy vs. Emmy Winner Take All match, where he secured a victory over Matt Cardona in March 2024.
Personal Life
On July 23, 2020, Paul Walter Hauser married Amy Elizabeth Boland in Los Angeles, California. Together, they have three children: sons Jonah (born 2021) and Harris (born 2023), and their daughter, Isla Grace (born 2025).
Hauser identifies as a Christian. He and his wife, Amy, were featured in a video series for the online Christian multimedia movement known as I Am Second.
