Paul Rudd Biography

Comedic actor Paul Rudd’s boyish charm has made him a popular sidekick in the movies since he first broke through as Alicia Silverstone‘s stepbrother Josh in the 1995 hit Clueless. In 2015 he made it to the big screen as the Marvel Comics hero Ant-Man.

A Kansas City kid, he got into the movies by way of commercials and television — before Clueless Rudd was a regular on the sitcom Sisters between 1992 and 1995. A little too hunky to be the goof and a little too goofy to be the hunk, Rudd has often played the smart-aleck pal to lead players.

Although he’s appeared in dramas, including 1996’s Romeo + Juliet (with Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes) and 1999’s The Cider House Rules, Rudd is best known for comedy. He’s been in the feature films Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004, starring Will Ferrell), The 40 Year Old Virgin (2005, starring Steve Carell) and Night at the Museum (2006, starring Ben Stiller). On the small screen he appeared in several episodes of Friends, ending the show in 2004 as husband to Phoebe (Lisa Kudrow).

Since 2007 Rudd has been on a roll, as part of a Judd Apatow crew that includes Seth Rogen and Jason Segel. He co-starred with Rogen in Knocked Up (2007), then appeared with Segel in Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008), I Love You, Man (2009) and This is 40 (2012). His other films include Sausage Party (2016) and Captain America: Civil War (2016).

Rudd also wrote and starred in Role Models (2008, with Christopher Mintz-Plasse).