Aaron Paul Originally Had a Larger Role in Clayface Before His Part Was Reduced to a Cameo

Clayface reached theaters this weekend, and one actor’s part turned out smaller than fans expected. Aaron Paul’s casting in the DC horror film was known before release. In the finished movie, though, he cameos in a single scene. Director James Watkins has since said Paul had a bigger role in Clayface that was mostly cut from the theatrical version.

Who does Aaron Paul portray in Clayface?

Minor spoilers for Clayface follow.

Breaking Bad and Dispatch actor Aaron Paul appears in one of the film’s most memorable sequences. It takes place in Vesuvius, where Matt Hagen transforms into Paul’s character to kill a Szabo gang member who killed his father. Paul was playing Matt Hagen’s abusive father. Watkins told Entertainment Weekly that the character originally had more scenes in the movie.

“In terms of trying to figure out the character, it was, ‘How much is Matt defined by his past, and how much is he an everyman?’ At one point, we were looking at it and thinking, ‘Is it the sins of the father?’ But actually, as we worked on the script, I thought that notion of revenge was more universal and more relatable to all of us,” Watkins said.

His comments show how the film’s central themes shifted as the script developed.

“It doesn’t matter whether you’re carrying a trauma or any of that,” he continued. “If we’re slighted, we carry this sense of being wronged, and we all want to do something, but generally in life we can’t do anything about it, and we’re powerless.”

That approach arguably makes Matt Hagen a more interesting character in the final film. It also leaves Paul’s appearance as a neat but somewhat confusing cameo. Still, knowing who Paul is playing adds emotional weight to a sequence many already consider one of the best in Clayface.

Hopefully DC Studios will release the deleted scenes that feature Paul more prominently. It could also use his mostly cut role as a reason to recast him in a bigger part in a future movie.

Related: Does Clayface have a post-credits scene? Here’s your spoiler free answer

Source: Polygon