Overview of We Might Be Drunk Podcast with Paul Walter Hauser
Sam Morril returns from a European comedy run and opens the episode with travel stories, city jokes, and bits-in-progress with Mark Normand. The conversation then shifts into a longer hang with actor/comedian Paul Walter Hauser, who joins in to talk about his career, stand-up roots, wrestling obsession, weight-loss journey, and the challenge of choosing roles that are both memorable and creatively rewarding. Alex Moffat also drops in later for film and comedy talk, including improvisation, Naked Gun, and the realities of making it in entertainment.
European Tour Stories and Travel Observations
Sam and Mark spend the opening stretch riffing on Sam’s trip through Europe, with a lot of crowd-work-style observations and dark jokes.
Cities and culture highlights
- Copenhagen, Helsinki, Stockholm, Athens, Budapest, Warsaw, and Zagreb all come up.
- Helsinki gets praise for being beautiful, with talk of saunas and local herring/fish soup.
- Zagreb surprises everyone as a cool, under-discussed city, with discussion of its old-world look and the “Third Man” tunnel/tourist sites.
- Budapest is described as carrying a heavier historical weight because of the region’s history of war and occupation.
Dark-comedy travel bits
- Sam recounts bombing a joke in Copenhagen and then realizing it matched the local age of consent, which leads to a series of jokes about Europe’s “advanced” image versus its laws.
- Mark and Sam riff on how travel gives you material, but also makes you want to get home quickly.
- There’s a recurring theme of comedians traveling hard, drinking, performing, and trying to squeeze in sightseeing between shows.
Working Out New Bits
A big chunk of the first half is Sam and Mark workshop-style testing material.
Sam’s relationship material
- Sam shares a bit about tucking in a woman’s son, saying “I love you” to the kid before saying it to the mom.
- They punch it up around:
- the awkwardness of saying “I love you” as an adult,
- treating “I love you” like a rare and risky commitment,
- how non-sexual love is easier than romantic love.
- Mark helps shape the premise and tags, including the idea that once you say it, you may not be able to get it back.
Mark’s parenting bit
- Mark talks through a bit about his young son playing with a toy baby and stroller.
- The joke premise: the child is “making a mockery” of the hardest job in Mark’s life by pretending to be a dad.
- They work on tags about:
- “stolen valor” for fatherhood,
- how the toy baby doesn’t actually cry or need anything,
- the absurdity of a child playing at the burden of parenthood without doing any of the work.
Porn/weed analogy bit
- Mark pitches a bit comparing the evolution of porn to weed:
- both used to be harder to get,
- both were once shared/group experiences,
- both are now “too strong” and can make you paranoid.
- The best angle they land on is the shared paranoia: you can get caught “red-handed” with either one.
Paul Walter Hauser: Career, Comedy, and Acting
Paul Walter Hauser enters and the conversation turns into a loose but substantive career interview.
From stand-up to acting
- Paul says he did stand-up for over a decade before transitioning away from it.
- He credits stand-up with making him fearless in audition rooms.
- He describes his early career as a mix of:
- bringer shows,
- small club spots,
- background work,
- and eventually moving into acting after getting a breakthrough opportunity.
Major career breaks
- He talks about the project that helped him quit his day job and keep acting full-time.
- He mentions his early movie Virginia and how it was over-criticized despite a strong cast.
- He also discusses:
- I, Tonya,
- Richard Jewell,
- Black Bird,
- Naked Gun,
- and Americana / Deliver Me From Nowhere as projects he’s proud of, even if they didn’t all hit commercially.
Risk-taking as an actor
- Paul emphasizes that he likes making bold choices, especially with voice and character work.
- He and Mark discuss the downside of committing to a vocal choice too early and then having to live with it.
- He cites actors like Brando and Malkovich as examples of performers who fully commit and make it work.
Wrestling, Weight Loss, and Health
Paul’s wrestling fandom and physical transformation are recurring themes.
Wrestling influences
- He names Sting, DDP, The Rock, Ric Flair, Shawn Michaels, Arn Anderson, and others as favorites.
- He’s clearly deep into wrestling history and physical performance as an art form.
DDP and weight loss
- Paul shares that Diamond Dallas Page helped him lose a large amount of weight through:
- yoga,
- fasting,
- and structured eating.
- He says he’s also had help from medication and is continuing to work on health and fitness.
- There’s a lot of joking around his body transformation, but the takeaway is that the health change has helped his career and energy.
Movies, Comedy, and Industry Talk
Once Alex Moffat joins, the conversation gets even more movie-and-comedy nerdy.
Film references and favorites
- The group talks about:
- The Third Man,
- Rounders,
- Almost Famous,
- The Talented Mr. Ripley,
- Raging Bull,
- The King of Comedy,
- Dirty Work,
- Airplane!,
- and other classics.
- There’s a lot of appreciation for character actors and well-written scenes.
Comedy career reflections
- Paul says acting is harder than stand-up.
- He talks about:
- how stand-up trains you to perform under pressure,
- the difference between auditioning and live performance,
- and how comedy can succeed or fail based on tone.
Naked Gun and comedy-writing instincts
- Paul discusses the new Naked Gun and how much he admired the writing, the visual gags, and the discipline of the production.
- He notes that if a comedy is going to work, everyone has to be making the same movie tonally.
- The group jokes about what makes a joke “too far,” but ultimately land on the idea that comedy has to take risks.
Guest Promos and End-of-Show Notes
The final stretch is mostly quick plugs and closing banter.
Paul’s current projects
- He plugs:
- his YouTube satire show Boy Talk,
- the upcoming Resident Evil project,
- and a voiceover role on an HBO Max project referred to in the transcript as President Curtis.
- He also mentions wanting to keep pushing toward bigger acting goals while still doing projects he enjoys.
Mark and Sam’s upcoming work
- Sam promotes his Netflix special Incorrect and several tour dates.
- Mark plugs his stand-up dates and encourages people to come see the new hour.
- The episode closes with the usual chaotic house-show energy and sponsor reads.
Main Takeaways
- The first half is classic We Might Be Drunk: travel stories, edgy crowd-work energy, and bit development.
- Paul Walter Hauser comes off as funny, self-aware, and deeply committed to both acting and comedy.
- The conversation shows how much of comedy and acting is about tone, confidence, and willingness to make bold choices.
- Health, body image, and reinvention are major themes for Paul, alongside his love of wrestling and movies.
- The episode is especially strong for listeners who enjoy:
- comics workshop-testing jokes,
- behind-the-scenes acting talk,
- and movie nerd conversations with a lot of personality.