Emmy-winning actor Paul Walter Hauser opened up on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert about his recent life transformation, which was documented in his new “I Am Second” videos.
Hauser, known for his roles in I, Tonya and Richard Jewell, recently won a Primetime Emmy for his role as serial killer Larry Hall in Black Bird. During the filming of Black Bird in New Orleans, Hauser underwent a deep transformation that restored his life and his family.
“This really changed my life because I ended up getting sober in the middle of the shoot,” he told Colbert about filming Black Bird. “You know, I was in a rough place personally. I was not the best version of myself — to put it vague and safe. But then I played this serial killer and you’re in New Orleans which is a very spiritually thick place to be … there’s an atmosphere of dark spirituality there at times.
“So I got sober in the middle of the shoot and I started going to therapy. It was like the catalyst for all these wonderful things that happened, including healing my family,” he continued.
Hauser then pointed to an “I Am Second” bracelet on his wrist.
“I did this video documentary thing called I Am Second and if you look it up on YouTube, you can see my wife and I, our whole story, where we very vulnerably talk about our problems and how we mended them and how we got back together. It’s a beautiful story,” Hauser said.
In the four-part video series, Hauser and his wife Amy open about about initially filing for divorce while pregnant with their first child. Hauser then began abusing alcohol while struggling with suicidal ideation before finding his faith in Christ.
“I think if we summarized our story, it’s a story of two people that were broken,” Amy said in the video. “It’s a story about faith, love, a lot of laughter. And It’s a story that no matter how far you run, Jesus is always coming after you, and you are never too far gone.”
