Paul Walter Hauser isn't afraid to explore his dark side, even if it's at the detriment of his vocal chords.
The star lost 40 pounds and took on a creepy voice to play accused serial killer Larry DeWayne Hall opposite Taron Egerton, in the Apple TV+ true crime series Black Bird—none of which was required, by the way.
"It's not like Larry Hall is as famous as somebody doing like a Rolling Stones biopic and playing Mick Jagger," he told E! News. "You could probably get away with not nailing Larry's voice, but for me, it's part of what helps me understand the character."
So while the high-pitched voice "sucked" and was, at times, painful to imitate, Paul said he felt that it was important to the role. "It's a bit of a clue and a tool to playing someone who can be really tough to play at times," he explained, adding that it was a part of Larry's "deceptive" behavior. "It felt very much like he was putting it on sometimes to gain sympathy or to seem innocent or to seem dim witted."
More than that, Paul said, "We're trying to scare people and creep them out and that voice would definitely go a long way in making the audience feel uncomfortable."
He noted that there's a real sense of uneasiness throughout the show, but you can't quite put your finger on what's bothering you. "You ever been on a Ferris wheel, and it just suddenly stops?" Paul said of this feeling. "And in your head, you're like, 'Is this part of the ride where they want you to be able to take your selfie from up top? Or is there a malfunction with the machinery downstairs?' Larry is that kind of half-broken Ferris wheel where you can take the ride or you can plummet in his presence."
He continued, "As an actor, that's a lot of fun to play, but it's also just a testament to Dennis LeHane's writing, knowing how to parcel out information and how best to to keep the audience guessing throughout the story."
And Paul is good at playing these twisted characters, having previously starred in BlacKkKlansman and I, Tonya. But he's hoping to book some more lighthearted roles in the near future, adding that he'd love to play Ryan Reynolds' brother in a comedy one day.
"I'm sort of going where the wind takes me," he said. "But the thing I'm most excited about is, I just wrapped a movie with Sydney Sweeney called National Anthem. I'm really proud of that film and just like Black Bird, it's a great script."
See Paul and Taron star in Black Bird, streaming now on Apple TV+.