Paul Walter Hauser may be one of the more recognizable faces in Hollywood, but that doesn't mean he's making bank. Sure, appearing in The Fantastic Four: First Steps and any other upcoming Marvel movies makes for a great payday, but at the end of the day, he's bringing home far less than fans may think.
Hauser, who appeared briefly in the MCU as Harvey Elder, aka Mole Man, told Good One podcast he netted somewhere between 250k and 300k for his supporting role. That's a sizable chunk of money, but the actor said that's not what he's banking on every movie, and a good chunk of it goes to a variety of people and organizations. Here's the breakdown:
- Taxes - (undisclosed)
- Agent - 10%
- Manager - 10%
- Lawyer - 5%
- Business Manager - 5%
- Church - 5 to 12%
Factoring in taxes, it's possible, and even likely that half of Hauser's paycheck belongs to other people. After giving the breakdown, he talked about how the reality is a moderately successful in Hollywood may not be as wealthy as people think:
At the end of the day, what looked like 250k is a lot closer to $136,000. That's still a lot of money by anyone's metric, but it's not going to set you up for life. There's a reason I do a shitton of movies and it's because I have to keep doing them because I'm not getting paid on a Springsteen or Fantastic Four [level] what I'm getting paid on The Luckiest Man In America or Balls Up.
Take a look at some of Paul Walter Hauser's best television and movie roles, and think about the reality that he might've made less for some of those performances than for a bit part in a Marvel movie. It explains why so many actors are eager to get involved, but also serves as a reality check for how much the more middling Hollywood stars might be making.
Not every actor in the MCU can be paid as much as the top stars in the genre, but as Paul Walter Hauser noted, not every movie is doling out a massive payday either. As acclaimed as Black Bird was for what it did for him and Taron Egerton, I would say it's a safe bet to assume it didn't pay as well. Additionally, he's still paying out that same percentage to the people he owes, hence why he's always appearing in things.
Hauser has a lot of appearances on the way, with the biggest of which being his upcoming role in Zach Cregger's Resident Evil. His role at this time is unclear, and I'm not sure he pops up in the first trailer for the movie.
I also want to point out that I loved him in Balls Up, and think there's an opportunity for the actor to get more starring roles in irreverent comedies. Again, it may not be Marvel money. But if he's content to keep working to make his way in Hollywood, I'm thrilled to keep showing up for his comedy offerings.
Regardless of how much he's making, Paul Walter Hauser continues to get paid in Hollywood, though not as much as we all thought. It definitely has me curious about how much other middle-of-the-road actors are making, and I'd love to see some transparency from them on it as well.
