Paul Walter Hauser made his MCU debut in The Fantastic Four: First Steps as Mole Man, the first villain Marvel's First Family faced in both the comics and on Earth-828.
His role in the reboot was small, though it's been confirmed that a chunk of Hauser's work was left on the cutting room floor. That included a lengthy exchange with Sue Storm in Subterranea and a more prominent role in the final act when the citizens of New York took refuge underground.
In a surprisingly candid new interview, Hauser revealed how much he was paid for his role in The Fantastic Four: First Steps. It may be more than you'd expect, or perhaps less, but the actor's comments offer some intriguing insights into the inner workings of Hollywood.
"If I'm starring in a movie, indie or studio, I demand a certain salary," he says in the video below. "And when I'm doing a supporting role, I know that I can back down and know that they only have so much money to play with. For something like Fantastic Four, you make two or three hundred thousand bucks to play Mole Man."
"And then, you know, taxes. Agent, 10%; manager, a percentage; lawyer, 5%. I give 5% to a business manager. I grew up in the church, so I'm always tithing something, whether it's 5% of my net gross or 12%. I'll give away something to someone who needs it. But at the end of the day, what looked like $250,000 is a lot closer to $136,000. And that's still a lot of money by anyone's metric."
"But it's not going to set you up for life," Hauser continued. "There's a reason I do a shit ton of movies, and it's because I have to keep doing them because I'm not getting paid on a Springsteen or a Fantastic Four what I'm getting paid on The Luckiest Man in America or Balls Up."
It's rare to hear an actor discuss money like this, and The Fantastic Four: First Steps star certainly isn't looking for any sympathy for what was still a decent payday for a minor supporting role.
As of now, there's nothing to suggest that we'll see more Mole Man in the MCU. Marvel Studios has not announced plans for The Fantastic Four 2, and if a sequel does happen, it will likely take place on Earth-616. The villain is fairly one-note, so there are only so many places he can go on screen.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps is streaming on Disney+ and available on Digital, 4K, and Blu-ray.