Emmy Award-winning actor Paul Walter Hauser recently shared his powerful story of getting sober and fixing his marriage on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.” Hauser, who won an Emmy for his portrayal of infamous serial killer Larry Hall in the true crime miniseries “Black Bird,” also took a moment to give a shoutout to the Christian storytelling organization I Am Second.
He pointed to an I Am Second bracelet he was wearing and encouraged viewers to watch a mini-documentary series produced by the group about the healing journey he and his wife, Amy, went on, with some in the audience cheering at his suggestion. He said, “I did a thing called I Am Second. I did this video documentary. We very vulnerably talk about our problems, and how we mended them, and how we got back together. It’s a beautiful story.”
Hauser also shared how anyone interested in knowing more about his story could go to I Am Second to watch the series featuring him and his wife. He also told host Stephen Colbert why his time filming “Black Bird” ended up being transformational, tying it all back to his healing journey. Hauser said, “This really changed my life because I ended up getting sober in the middle of the shoot. I was kind of in a rough place, personally. I was not the best version of myself.”
He said something changed while filming, though, and he started going to therapy, fighting to right his wrongs, and was able to heal his family. The I Am Second series certainly offers a raw look at the couple’s life, delivering an inspiring journey sure to leave viewers with much to ponder. The official I Am Second description reads, “When Paul met Amy, life was a rom-com – until it wasn’t. Neither one of them expected to be separated two months after tying the knot with a baby on the way. Their marriage took a sharp turn down a dark road full of heartbreak and unwise decisions.”
According to that description, Paul sought a divorce while Amy “prayed for a miracle.” In the end, their marriage was healed, as Hauser shared, and the two are now opening up about the hard work, dedication, and prayer at the center of it all. As Hauser reportedly reveals in the series, he was high and drunk one day at a strip club when he found Jesus — an encounter that transformed his life and heart and is part of that quest to right his path.
The four-part “I Am Second” series starts by covering Paul and Amy, exploring his path to Hollywood and how they met. It then moves on to their short-lived marriage and Paul’s depression and substance abuse and concludes with the couple’s reconciliation and love today. Hauser said of his past life and behavior, “I tried to take on the [persona of] other people that I deemed like me – Chris Farley, John Belushi, [eventually] Philip Seymour Hoffman. What I would later come to realize is that all those guys are dead. The common denominator is not just that they’re talented; the common denominator is that they’re all very depressed and addicted and died way too young.”