Paul Walter Hauser transformed himself mind, body and soul for the role of suspected serial killer Larry Hall.
The Richard Jewell star lost 40 pounds to play the notorious Hall, who is suspected to be responsible for the murders of up to 45 women in the ’80s and ’90s, for the upcoming Apple TV+ series Black Bird.
While he dropped the pounds, Hauser credits the series’ hair and make-up teams for perfecting Hall’s hair and his infamous muttonchop sideburns, which Hall called “burnsides.”
After seeing his total makeover, it’s surprising to learn that Hauser initially hesitated to take the role. He says the project’s intense subject matter gave him pause.
“To be honest, I don’t know that I would’ve even signed on, had it been a gross-out serial killer story,” Hauser told Entertainment Weekly. “The older I get, the less interested I am in watching true crime because the world is in such a place.”
The series, based on the book In with the Devil: A Fallen Hero, a Serial Killer, and a Dangerous Bargain for Redemption by James Keene and Hillel Levin, follows Jimmy Keene (Bohemian Rhapsody‘s Taron Egerton) as he begins a 10-year prison sentence. However, if he can elicit a confession from Hall, he will be freed.
