Paul Walter Hauser Shares Before-and-After Photos of His Weight Loss: 'Dude on the Left Hated Himself'

Cara Lynn ShultzTue, May 12, 2026 at 9:35 PM UTC

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Paul Walter Hauser shared a before and after photo of his weight loss
Credit: Paul Walter Hauser/Instagram (2) -

Paul Walter Hauser shared side-by-side photos showing his weight loss and emphasized the importance of learning to love himself

The actor plans to prioritize his health after portraying Chris Farley in an upcoming biopic directed by Josh Gad

Hauser, sober since 2021, said food remains a challenging comfort compared to avoiding substances like alcohol or marijuana

Paul Walter Hauser is sharing an update on his weight loss — but says the real progress is that he's "learned to love himself."

The Emmy Award-winning actor and pro wrestler, 39, shared side-by-side photos to Instagram on May 11, showing off a noticeably thinner face. But as the Black Birdactor wrote, "The biggest difference between these 2 photos is not the weight loss. It's the facial expression. Dude on the left hated himself. Dude on the right learned to love himself and make different choices. Never too late."

Paul Walter Hauser in Beverly Hills, Calif., in 2018
Credit: Matt Winkelmeyer/BAFTA LA/Getty

The dad of three, who told PEOPLE in 2024 he plans to be “around for a long time for my kids and my wife," Amy Boland Hauser, was congratulated on his progress by Josh Gad, who's directing Hauser in the upcoming Chris Farley biopic.

"You are beautiful inside. So proud of you," wrote Gad.

Of the role as the iconic late Saturday Night Live star, who died in 1997 at age 33, Hauser told PEOPLE, “Chris Farley will be my last very heavy-set role in which I am on paper and visually overweight. I have every intention to get the weight down, like Jonah Hill and Seth Rogen and all these other guys who have done it.”

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“I'm done with that version of that character, and I look forward to being healthy,” he said. “I've played every type of chubby, misguided person. I don't need to play 900 more.”

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The actor, whose sober anniversary is October 26, 2021, explained to PEOPLE that food "is still that thing where it becomes a comfort or an outlet. And unfortunately, everybody eats! You got to eat a couple times a day, so it's always there — whereas I can not buy marijuana and not buy alcohol, and it feels very distant.”

But as he shared, he wants to see what weight loss means in terms of casting, telling PEOPLE, “[Let's] see if I can compete with the Ben Fosters and the Ryan Goslings!”

on People

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”