When Marvel says ‘no spoilers’, but your actor has a big mouth, ‘I probably told 70 or 80 random people’
London: Golden Globe-winning actor Paul Walter Hauser has admitted he wasn't as tight-lipped as Marvel Studios would have liked about his secret role as Mole Man in Fantastic Four: First Steps, despite the franchise’s well-known demands for strict confidentiality.
Speaking to GQ, as reported by Variety, Hauser confessed to having shared the news of his casting with dozens of people well before Marvel officially announced it.
“For the most part, I was zip-lipped, and everybody understands at this point. They all know if you do Star Wars, or Marvel, you can’t talk about it,” said Hauser. “But if I’m being honest--and I pride myself on my honesty nowadays--I probably told 70 or 80 random people, be it family members or fans. I’m not gonna lie and say I told literally no one. I told several dozen people.”
Despite the breach, the actor emphasised that those he confided in were “respectful” and didn’t leak the information to the public or media.
“They weren’t blabbering it out, or giving it to news outlets. They were respectful, and excited,” he added. “But if a little kid comes up to me in a wheelchair with a comic book, and they’re like, ‘Are you Mole Man?’ I would say something like, ‘I don’t know man, I hear there is a mole…’ and wink at them, just to get them excited.”
Hauser also appeared unbothered by the potential consequences of revealing his involvement in the film, suggesting that Marvel boss Kevin Feige and his team had bigger issues to deal with.
“When I look at Kevin Feige and the Marvel folks, I go, I think they’re probably busy with some other stuff. They’re probably not gonna chase me down and scalp me, or shoot a little [dart] into my neck,” he joked.
Hauser stars in Fantastic Four: First Steps alongside Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, and Ralph Ineson. The film follows the iconic superhero team as they battle to save Earth from the cosmic threat of Galactus.