Chris Farley to Be Played by Paul Walter Hauser in Upcoming Biopic: ‘Ready to Honor Christopher’

Paul Walter Hauser is set to portray late comedian Chris Farley in a biopic.

The Emmy-winning actor, 37, has been cast to play Farley, who died of a drug overdose in December 1997 at age 33, in a movie that will be actor Josh Gad’s directorial debut, according to Variety and Deadline.

The movie will be based on the book The Chris Farley Show: A Biography in Three Acts, which was written by Farley’s brother Tom with Tanner Colby. Saturday Night Live creator Lorne Michaels is producing, the outlets reported.

On Instagram Friday, April 12, Hauser wrote about the project, “This is a glory story. Not a tale from the crypt. Ready to honor Christopher.”

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SNL alum Farley is known for movies like Black Sheep, Tommy Boy and Beverly Hills Ninja.

Back in 2021, Hauser, who’s starred in films like Cruella and I, Tonya, told The Hollywood Reporter that he’d previously approached the Farley family about playing the actor in a movie.

“I wanted to do a Chris Farley movie where he’s in rehab for half of the film, and for the other half of the movie he’s doing his SNL stuff and his movies,” Hauser said of his pitch at the time.

“I think I have a really great take on that story, but I’m trying to lose weight and I’m trying to redefine myself as a person of healthy choice-making, and as an actor. So the days of doing Fatty Arbuckle, Chris Farley or Ignatius J. Reilly in a Confederacy of Dunces movie have a very small time window, and it’s getting smaller by the week.”