Paul Walter Hauser Is 'The Luckiest Man in America 'in a Real-Life Game Show Scandal: See the Trailer (Exclusive)
Meet the luckiest man in America.
The first trailer for IFC Films' drama, shared exclusively with PEOPLE, depicts the 1984 Press Your Luck game show scandal.
Based on a true story, The Luckiest Man in America follows unemployed ice cream truck driver Michael Larson (Paul Walter Hauser) as he becomes a contestant on Press Your Luck, all while "harboring a big secret: the key to endless amounts of money," a synopsis teases.
In the trailer, Larson begins to raise suspicion on the game show as he quickly racks up thousands of dollars. Host Peter Tomarken (The White Lotus star Walton Goggins) watches in amazement.
However, executives behind the scenes aren't as thrilled, with Press Your Luck co-creator Bill Carruthers (David Strathairn) saying, "We have a problem. Somebody didn't vet this guy."
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Directed by Samir Oliveros and written by both Oliveros and Maggie Briggs, the movie follows the scandal in which Larson won a record-breaking total of $110,237 (equivalent to $333,642 in 2024). Hauser is joined by Shamier Anderson, Maisie Williams, Patti Harrison, Brian Geraghty, Haley Bennett and Johnny Knoxville in the cast.
"I'm so pleased to see this movie making its way to audiences, because it really does feel like one of a kind," Hauser, 38, tells PEOPLE. "Not only do I love our weird and wonderful time capsule of a film, but it was made by one of the best cast and crews I've ever worked with."
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Strathairn also shared positive memories of working on the movie, saying the experience "could not have been more fun."
"The cast, perfection; the crew and production team, so well-oiled and so supportive of everything and anything anyone needed; a production design that made us feel like we were right there in that TV studio 'back when,' " Strathairn, 76, says.
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"Ever since I saw the clip of his performance on a VHS tape I found at a thrift shop, I became obsessed with Michael Larson," Oliveros says of inspiration for the movie. "What drew me to him was what I perceived to be a kind of childish curiosity, a desire to put the rules into question."
"Michael was a man who took risks and made bold and questionable decisions, a man who was constantly dipping his toe in danger, hell-bent on defeating the system, always out to prove that he was smarter than everyone else. That's the stuff of a great movie character," Oliveros says.
The writer-director also shares admiration for Larson's "unorthodox" methods to winning.
"I recognize the struggle of a man who has big dreams and is willing to find unorthodox ways to accomplish them. Because just like him, I believe that luck favors the brave," Oliveros says.
The Luckiest Man in America is in theaters April 4.
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