Actor Paul Walter Hauser has carved out a unique niche for himself, a character actor who has transcended to that leading man status with his unique persona and ability to straddle comedy and drama effortlessly. With his starring role in “The Luckiest Man in America,” in theaters this week, here are some of Hauser’s most memorable performances and films and where to stream them.

After starting his career on the small screen with a lot of TV roles, but his breakout film was the 2017 Craig Gillespie-directed “I, Tonya,” starring Margot Robbie as the notorious figure skater. Hauser played Shawn Eckardt, the sidekick to Sebastian Stan’s Jeff Gillooly, Harding’s husband. Eckardt was also Harding’s bodyguard and conspired with Jeff to hire a pair of goons to attack Nancy Kerrigan. Hauser’s memorable performance was key to the dark comedy of “I, Tonya,” and immediately made him an actor to watch. Stream it on Tubi.

He also popped up in Spike Lee’s 2018 film “BlacKkKlansman” starring John David Washington and Adam Driver, about a Black police officer who infiltrates a local branch of the Ku Klux Klan. The film garnered the legendary Lee his only Academy Award so far, for the film’s screenplay. Rent it on iTunes and Amazon. Hauser later appeared in Lee’s 2020 film “Da 5 Bloods,” about a group of Vietnam vets who return to the country for their squad leader’s remains, and a loot of gold they hid. Stream “Da 5 Bloods” on Netflix.

Lee isn’t the only legend with whom Hauser has worked. He nabbed the titular role in Clint Eastwood’s “Richard Jewell,” about Atlanta Olympics security guard Richard Jewell, who saved many people from the bomb at Centennial Olympic Park, and was subsequently accused of planting the bomb and became the subject of media and law enforcement scrutiny. It received generally positive reviews and proved Hauser’s ability to carry a film.

He also reunited with his “I, Tonya” director Gillespie for his 2021 live-action Disney film “Cruella” starring Emma Stone as the fur-obsessed fashionista villain from “101 Dalmatians.” This loopy and over-the-top wild ride is probably the best of the Disney live-action spinoffs. Stream it on Disney+. While you’re there, check out Hauser’s voice performance as Embarrassment in “Inside Out 2.”

Over on Apple TV+, check out his Emmy Award-winning performance in the miniseries “Black Bird.” The series, created by Dennis Lehane, stars Taron Egerton as a prisoner who cuts a deal to reduce his sentence for befriending a serial killer (Hauser) to elicit his confession.

Also on Apple TV+, Hauser pops up in the mystery comedy “The Afterparty,” and the Doug Liman action flick “The Instigators,” starring Matt Damon and Casey Affleck. So follow Hauser’s journey from supporting actor to leading man throughout his filmography in advance of “The Luckiest Man in America.”

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