Paul Rudd

Paul Rudd
Rudd at Hollywood Life magazine's 8th Annual Breakthrough Awards, December 2007
Born	Paul Stephen Rudd April 6, 1969 (1969-04-06) (age 41) , U.S.
Occupation	Actor, screenwriter, producer
Years active	1992–present
Spouse	Julie Yaeger (m. 2003–present) «start: (2003)»"Marriage: Julie Yaeger to Paul Rudd" Location: (linkback:http://localhost../../../../articles/p/a/u/Paul_Rudd_ce9c.html)

Paul Stephen Rudd (born April 6, 1969) is an American actor and screenwriter. He primarily appears in comedies, and is most well-known for his roles in the films Clueless, Wet Hot American Summer, Anchorman, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Knocked Up, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Dinner For Schmucks, Role Models, and I Love You, Man. On television, he is best known for his role on the NBC sitcom Friends, playing Mike Hannigan, Phoebe Buffay's boyfriend and later husband.

Early life

Rudd was born in Passaic, New Jersey.^[1] His parents, who emigrated from England, were Jewish, and Rudd had a bar mitzvah.^[2][3][4] His family's original surname, "Rudnitzky", was changed by his grandfather to "Rudd".^[5] Rudd's father, Michael, was a historical tour guide who was formerly the vice president of World Airways, while Rudd's mother, Gloria, was a sales manager at the television station KSMO-TV.^[6][7] When he was ten, Rudd's family moved to Overland Park, Kansas, where he was raised.^[8][9] He attended high school at Shawnee Mission West and college at the University of Kansas, where he was a member of Sigma Nu fraternity.^[10][11] For one semester, he studied Jacobean drama at the University of Oxford.^[12]

Career

Rudd made his breakout performance in the 1995 film Clueless, which turned him into a minor teen idol. Additional early-career credits include Wet Hot American Summer, Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers, The Cider House Rules, William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet, and The Object of My Affection. He also garnered recognition with a recurring role on Friends as Mike Hannigan, who married Phoebe Buffay. Rudd's Broadway credits include The Last Night of Ballyhoo (1997), Twelfth Night (1998), and Three Days of Rain (2006). He guest-starred as a has-been 1990s rock star, Desmond Fellows, on the television series, Veronica Mars, in an episode titled "Debasement Tapes". He has also appeared in the audiobook recordings of John Hodgman's books The Areas of My Expertise and More Information Than You Require. In 2006, he appeared in several episodes of Reno 911! as "Guy Gerricault" (pronounced "jericho"), the coach of a lamaze class, and portrayed a drug lord in the film Reno 911!: Miami.

Rudd became a full fledged comedy star with his co-starring roles in Judd Apatow pictures The 40-Year-Old Virgin (directed by Apatow) and Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (produced by Apatow). His mostly-improvised "You know how I know you're gay" scene with Seth Rogen became an instant comedy classic. In 2007, he starred as frustrated-husband Pete in Knocked Up, his third collaboration with Judd Apatow and Seth Rogen. That year he also starred in indie favorite The Oh in Ohio and The Ten, which reunited him with David Wain and Michael Showalter. The former film was a box-office and critical disappointment as was his next starring vehicle: Over Her Dead Body opposite Eva Longoria. He quickly bounced back with a memorable supporting role as Koonu (Hawaiian for "Chuck") the drug-addled surf instructer in Nicholas Stoller's Forgetting Sarah Marshall which also starred Jason Segel and was produced by Apatow. The film was a hit, as was his next comedy Role Models, where he starred opposite Sean William Scott as a depressed energy drink salesman forced to perform community service at a child mentoring program. Rudd also cameoed in Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story, Year One and Night at the Museum.

In 2009, he starred with Jason Segel in I Love You Man as a man with no male friends, who goes on a series of man-dates to find a best man for his wedding. He lent his voice to the star studded Dreamworks computer animated hit Monsters Vs. Aliens. In 2010, Rudd reunited with Steve Carell for the first time since Knocked Up and The 40 Year Old Virgin, for the Jay Roach-directed comedy Dinner for Schmucks, also starring Zach Galifinakis and Ron Livingston. The film centered on Rudd, as an ambitious businessman who is invited to a dinner, where he and his bosses each bring one bizarre person to unknowingly be made a fool of and compete for the title of biggest idiot.

Rudd has become one of the most popular and marketable stars of Judd Apatow's films and others in the same vein, starring often with other Apatow regulars like Seth Rogen (four films), Jonah Hill (three films), Leslie Mann (two films), Kristen Wiig (three films), Jason Segel (three films), Steve Carell (four films), and less noticably Joe Lo Truglio (five films).

Running gag on Conan O'Brien

As part of a running gag during his appearances on Late Night With Conan O'Brien, Rudd has brought clips from the film Mac and Me, where the wheelchair-using Eric (Jade Calegory) flies off a cliff while Mac watches on, instead of showing clips from the actual film he is there to promote.^[13][14] He also has appeared on stage for Conan O'Brien's live tour.

Personal life

In 2003, Rudd married his girlfriend of five years, Julie Yaeger. Although they live in Manhattan, NY, Rudd frequently travels to Overland Park, Kansas, where he went to high school.^[15][16] He is a fan of the National Football League's Kansas City Chiefs, for whom he narrated the HBO special Hard Knocks in 2007. Rudd has a son and daughter with wife Julie Yaegar.

Filmography

Film

Rudd (right) with I Love You, Man co-stars Jason Segel and Rashida Jones at the premiere in March 2009

Television

References

External links

• Paul Rudd at the Internet Movie Database
• Paul Rudd at the Internet Broadway Database
• Paul Rudd on National Public Radio