Paul Walter Hauser Says He Felt Like He Had to Earn His Marvel Debut: ‘If They Can Get Denzel, They Don’t Need You’ | Video

Paul Walter Hauser may be known as one of Hollywood’s go-to character actors with an ever-expanding resume — and Emmy win — to show for it. But for the upcoming “The Fantastic Four: First Steps,” the actor felt like he had to work to earn his place in the Marvel Cinematic Universe because MCU actors have become a dime a dozen.

“It’s like, well, if they can get Denzel, they don’t need you,” the actor shared on a Thursday episode of “SiriusXM’s Sam Roberts Show,” referring to casting rumors that Denzel Washington is in negotiations with the studio and director Ryan Coogler to star in “Black Panther 3.”

Elsewhere in the conversation, Hauser teased the July 25 release as “a smart, chic Marvel movie that really focuses on family.”

The clip, which you can watch below, begins with host Roberts asking Hauser if getting cast in his first Marvel project had him immediately thinking about the multi-film opportunities his still-undisclosed character may have in the MCU.

“Of course, yeah,” he admitted. “It’s that sneaky little ego thing where you’re like, ‘I’m being advantageous.’ And it’s like, ‘No, you’re being full of yourself.'”

Still, he felt the need to earn his place in “Fantastic Four” and to make the most of the opportunity, knowing there were other actors knocking on Marvel’s door behind him.

“I kind of look at it like you have to earn that by being really good, too. Because anybody will do a Marvel thing now. Like, Denzel might be in ‘Black Panther 3.’ There’s been rumors about that, him and Coogler wanting to do that. And it’s like, well, if they can get Denzel, they don’t need you.

“You got invited to the party,” Hauser continued. “Show up, be professional, try to kill it.”

The actor then reflected on the state of Marvel at this stage of its multiverse storytelling, sharing that he views the studio as being in a “cool rebuilding phase.”

“I don’t think I’m speaking out of school. And I think, from what I’ve seen, and obviously I can’t say much about it, but I will say the short time I was on set, dude, they’re making a cool movie, man,” he shared. “This is a smart, chic Marvel movie that really focuses on family as part of the theme. And you really kind of fall in love with those characters, I think.”

Hauser concluded that that love for the characters is something that has at times been lacking or missing from other recent Marvel outings.

“And that’s what’s missing is sometimes if you don’t fall in love with these characters, and you keep putting them in peril, we don’t really care,” he said. “You know, you got to make us care first. And I think Marvel’s hopefully getting back to some of that.”

Watch that clip from Hauser’s appearance on “The Sam Roberts Show” in the video below. “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” debuts in theaters this summer.

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