Emmy Winner Paul Walter Hauser Talks 'I Am Second' on Stephen Colbert Show
- Michael Foust Crosswalk Headlines Contributor
- Published Feb 05, 2024
Emmy-winning actor Paul Walter Hauser referenced his life-changing transformation and his new I Am Second videos during an appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert last week, encouraging viewers to watch the films on YouTube and calling it a “beautiful story” of how he and his wife survived a failing marriage.
Hauser and his wife, Amy, appeared in four new I Am Second videos this month, sharing how their faith in Christ not only saved their souls but their relationship, too. I Am Second is a non-profit organization that releases videos where well-known individuals testify of their faith.
Hauser is best known for his roles in Richard Jewell, Black Bird, Cruella and I, Tonya. He recently won a Primetime Emmy for his portrayal of serial killer Larry Hall in Black Bird.
“This really changed my life because I ended up getting sober in the middle of the shoot,” he told Colbert, referencing 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.”
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,” Hauser said. “It's a beautiful story.”
Hauser, in the I Am Second videos, shared how he filed for divorce while Amy was pregnant with their first child. He started abusing alcohol and considered suicide. He then found 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.”
Image credit: ©Getty Images / David Livingston / Stringer
Michael Foust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His stories have appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, The Christian Post, the Leaf-Chronicle, the Toronto Star and the Knoxville News-Sentinel.
