Paul Rudd

Paul Rudd has built a career on versatility, moving between broad comedy, character-driven drama, television, theatre and superhero spectacle without losing his easy, grounded screen presence. Born on April 6, 1969, in Passaic, New Jersey, Rudd studied theatre at the University of Kansas, trained at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and spent three months studying Jacobean drama at the British American Drama Academy in Oxford. His early screen work included the television drama Sisters, followed by a run of 1990s films that quickly demonstrated his range. After appearing in Clueless, Rudd played Tommy Doyle in Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers, bringing a familiar character back into Michael Myers’s orbit. It is a darker, more anxious assignment than many of the comedy roles that would later define his public image, and it remains his place on the Please Rewind Talent Wall. Rudd subsequently appeared in films including William Shakespeare’s Romeo + Juliet, The Object of My Affection, The Cider House Rules and The Perks of Being a Wallflower. His comic career became especially productive through films such as Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Knocked Up, Role Models and I Love You, Man. He also co-created the television series Party Down and played Mike Hannigan on Friends. That relaxed comic timing eventually found a different scale when Rudd took the lead as Scott Lang in Ant-Man. He reprised the role across several Marvel films, including Captain America: Civil War, Ant-Man and the Wasp, Avengers: Endgame and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. Alongside that franchise work, he continued taking varied parts in projects such as Living with Yourself and Only Murders in the Building. Rudd’s stage credits, including Broadway productions of The Last Night of Ballyhoo, Three Days of Rain and Grace, underline the range behind his seemingly effortless style. Whether playing awkward, sincere, slippery or quietly exasperated, he has made adaptability the defining shape of his screen career.