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“Cobra Kai” actor Paul Walter Hauser has snagged the title role in Clint Eastwood’s “The Ballad of Richard Jewell”.
Hauser – who plays Raymond AKA “Stingray” in the second season of YouTube Premium’s “Karate Kid” spin-off series – will play the real-life Olympic games security guard who was suspected of being a terrorist.
Jewell would find a backpack containing pipe bombs at the 1996 Atlanta games and subsequently sounded the alarm and helped to clear the area. However, the bomb did detonate, killing one person and injuring dozens of others.
Initially hailed as a hero, Jewell was soon the prime suspect, as the FBI searched his home twice. He was later cleared of all charges, with the FBI forced to make a public apology.
Hauser would die at 44 from heart failure.
Jonah Hill, who remains on as a producer alongside Leonardo DiCaprio (who was set to star), was originally set to play Jewell.
His loss is a huge gain for Hauser, who has had supporting parts in the likes of “BlacKkKlansman” and “Late Night”, who scores his first lead role in a major motion picture.
Sam Rockwell, playing the role DiCarpio was originally eyeing, is already in negotiations to portray Jewell’s attorney.
“Shattered Glass” scribe Billy Ray is utilizing Vanity Fair article “The Ballad of Richard Jewell” written by Marie Brenner for the Warner Bros project.
Via ‘THR‘
