Paul Walter Hauser shaded Vin Diesel in an interview when he was compared to the Fast and Furious movie star.
As Hauser, 37, spoke with CinemaBlend at a recent press junket to promote Inside Out 2 alongside costar Lewis Black, he pushed back when an interviewer compared his voice performance to Diesel’s work in Guardians of the Galaxy. The interview moment gained attention on social media.
“Please don’t say that. I like to think I’m on time and approachable,” Hauser said, making both Black, 75, and the interviewer laugh.
“Sorry, I love people, but when I hear stories about Hollywood actors who get paid really well and mistreat people, I out them constantly,” he added. “And it’s a blast.”
“Yeah, it’s awful,” Black also said during the exchange.
Reps for Diesel did not respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
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Hauser, an Emmy-winning actor for his work on the 2022 series Black Bird, does not appear to have ever directly worked with Diesel, 56, who is best known for starring in and producing the popular Fast and Furious franchise.
Diesel and past costar Dwayne Johnson previously engaged in years-long public feud after working together on multiple movies in the Fast and the Furious franchise.
That feud appears to have been settled after Johnson, 52, appeared in 2023’s Fast X and confirmed he will return to the series.
“It was a tough character to embody, the Hobbs character,” Diesel said in reference to the dispute in a 2021 interview with Men’s Health. “My approach at the time was a lot of tough love to assist in getting that performance where it needed to be.”
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Rita Moreno, who appeared as Diesel’s character’s grandmother in last year’s Fast X, has been close with Diesel for years.
“He sends me greetings all the time, sends me pictures of his children,” Moreno, 92, told PEOPLE in December, while speaking about their friendship.
Another Fast and Furious costar, Ludacris, previously spoke about his close relationship with Diesel in a May 2023 interview with Access Hollywood. Diesel spoke on the rapper-actor’s behalf in a Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony.
“His recognition means everything to me. I had everything I needed here today, my entire family,” Ludacris, 46, said at the time. “To hear Vin say those words, it just blew me away because I have conversations with him one-on-one all the time, but when you speak in front of the world and then you talk about my characteristics, that’s a whole different category of him just pouring his heart out.”
