Fantastic Four star Paul Walter Hauser walks back ‘careless’ Vin Diesel comment
Paul Walter Hauser has apologised for a remark he made about Vin Diesel.
The BlacKkKlansman actor, 37, who is set to star in the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s (MCU) forthcoming Fantastic Four film alongside Pedro Pascal and Ebon Moss-Bachrach, suggested Diesel, 56, was not known for being “on time and approachable” in a recent interview.
Hauser has since backtracked on the remark and apologised to The Fast and the Furious star in a lengthy social media post, claiming he was sleep deprived when he made the comment.
Writing in the statement shared to Instagram on Sunday (7 July), Hauser said: “A few weeks back, I made a random comment about Vin Diesel. It started somewhat humorous, but unravelled into me dogging him out over behaviour I had heard about on multiple occasions from multiple sources.”
He continued: “I had done a night shoot on a Friday, gotten one hour of sleep, and then flew to LA from ATL [Atlanta] at 6am to do a full day of press for Inside Out 2. I was exhausted and, in my fatigued state, I shot my mouth off and made a careless, needlessly mean-spirited, comment. That comment was recorded and then went viral."
Hauser is referring to a recent interview with CinemaBlend where he responded to a journalist likening his voice over work in Inside Out 2 to Diesel’s in Guardians of the Galaxy. “Please don’t say that,” he said. “I like to think I’m on time and approachable.”
He continued: “Sorry, I love people, but when I hear stories about Hollywood actors who get paid really well and mistreat people, I out them constantly. And it’s a blast.”
In his apology, the Black Bird star made clear: “I no longer feel that way and am genuinely sorry for shooting my mouth off and not showing love to Vin, who I do not know and have never met.”
He added: “It isn’t fair of me to make judgments of that kind, and even if some of those things turned out to be true, it is mean to shout them out and playfully attack someone.”
Hauser then self reflected that “as a Christian” he needed to do a better job of loving people and not trying to ‘right a wrong’, or allow my ego to posture itself with some sort of verbal flex”.
He concluded: “@vindiesel - I apologise. Thank you for entertaining so many people and making them happy. I’m trying to do the same. Time for me to be quiet. I sometimes talk myself into idiocy.”
The Independent has contacted Vin Diesel’s representatives for comment.
It comes after Hauser was recently revealed to be starring in the forthcoming Fantastic Four film in an undisclosed role alongside The Last of Us’s Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards/Mr Fantastic, The Bear’s Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm/The Thing, and Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm/The Invisible Woman.
“Our director, Matt Shakman [WandaVision] has already moved to London, and we start filming at the end of July,” Marvel boss Kevin Feige revealed last month.
“Funny story, we start shooting the Monday after Comic-Con.”
