Paul Walter Hauser Doesn’t Want to Be Compared with Vin Diesel: ‘Please Don’t Say That’

Paul Walter Hauser just went fast & furious at Vin Diesel.

While promoting “Inside Out 2,” Hauser implied to Cinemablend that Diesel is neither punctual nor approachable. Hauser then appeared to insinuate that Diesel does not treat people well.

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Here’s how that happened: After the CinemaBlend interviewer told Hauser that his career means he’s “like Vin Diesel now” — especially with his character arc in the animated “Inside Out 2″ — Hauser replied, “Please don’t say that.”

The actor, who was rumored to lead Quentin Tarantino’s now-shelved final film “The Movie Critic,” continued of Diesel, “I like to think I am on time and approachable. 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.”

Diesel has had public rifts with “Fast and Furious”-franchise co-star Dwayne Johnson and former “Fast” director Justin Lin, who exited “Fast 10” after a “major disagreement” with actor/producer Diesel. A source told The Hollywood Reporter that Lin decided the movie was “not worth my mental health.” A Universal spokesperson told THR at the time that “any creative differences leading to Justin Lin’s exit were with the studio, not with fellow producers, cast or crew.”

Diesel was accused of sexual battery in 2023 by a former assistant, who alleged the actor molested her in September 2010 during the production of “Fast Five” in Atlanta. Through a rep, Diesel has denied the accusation.

In 2021, Diesel acknowledged there were on-set issues with former WWE wrestler Johnson, saying it was simply “tough love.”

“It was a tough character to embody, the Hobbs character,” Diesel said of Johnson’s role at the time. “My approach at the time was a lot of tough love to assist in getting that performance where it needed to be. As a producer to say, ‘OK, we’re going to take Dwayne Johnson, who’s associated with wrestling, and we’re going to force this cinematic world, audience members, to regard his character as someone that they don’t know.'”

Meanwhile, Hauser is next set to portray “SNL” alum Chris Farley in a biopic directed by Josh Gad.

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