Actor confirmed to play Chris Farley in biopic
Actor Paul Walter Hauser is set to play the Saturday Night Live and general American comedy legend Chris Farley in a biopic movie that is currently in development. Josh Gad has also been announced as the film’s director.
Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber are writing the script based on The Chris Farley Show: A Biography in Three Acts, which was published by Farley’s brother Tom Farley Jr and Tanner Colby and released in 2008.
Farley came into the public’s awareness after becoming a main player on Saturday Night Live alongside the likes of Adam Sandler and David Space. Known for his overly energetic performances on the variety show, Farley delivered several classic moments in the history of SNL.
The Wisconsin-born actor and comedian was also featured in a handful of movies, including Airheads, Tommy Boy, Black Sheep, Beverly Hill Ninja and Almost Heroes. After addiction issues, Farley died of a drug overdose in 1997 at the age of 33.
Back in 2021, Paul Walter Hauser had told THR of his desire to play Farley. “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,” the actor said.
He added, “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.”
Hauser has previously given supporting roles in the likes of I, Tonya, BlacKkKlansman, Late Night, Da 5 Bloods and Cruella. He had a breakthrough performance in Clint Eastwood’s 2019 drama Richard Jewell and is set to take on a role in the Pixar film Inside Out Too.
The Farley biopic will be the directorial debut of Josh Gad, who has acted in the Broadway musical The Book of Mormon and the live-action film version of Beauty and the Beast. Neustadter and Weber are the minds behind the television adaptation of the book Daisy Jones and the Six and have also worked on 500 Days of Summer and The Disaster Artist.
The Farley family have given their blessing for the biopic to go ahead, but at the moment, there is no confirmed release date.