SPOILER: This post contains details about The Fantastic Four: First Steps
Despite the intense media training and spoiler deterrents Marvel Studios has been rumored to inflict on its stars, Paul Walter Hauser played it fast and loose with his character reveal.
The Golden Globe winner, who makes his MCU antihero debut as Mole Man in The Fantastic Four: First Steps, recently confessed that he wasn’t as discreet as most of his Marvel peers about the surprise role.
“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,” he explained to GQ. “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.”
Hauser continued, “But at the same time, they weren’t blabbering it out, or giving it to news outlets. They were respectful, and excited, and what-have-you. 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.”
After the Russo Brothers have said they’re cracking down on spoilers while filming Avengers: Doomsday, Hauser said he sees the strict MCU secrecy “kind of like jaywalking,” assuming they have bigger fish to fry.
“It’s like, you can get [arrested] for that, but it’s like, hopefully they’re catching the bad guys,” added Hauser. “And 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.”
Now playing in theaters, one of The Fantastic Four: First Steps‘ multiple surprises is the introduction of Hauser as Harvey Elder (aka Mole Man), a former enemy of the Fantastic Four and leader of Subterranea who ultimately joins forces with the titular team against Galactus.
