Paul Rudd

Paul Stephen Rudd (born April 6, 1969) is an American actor. Rudd studied theatre at the University of Kansas and the American Academy of Dramatic Arts before making his acting debut in 1991. He was included on the Forbes Celebrity 100 list in 2019 and was named People magazine's "Sexiest Man Alive" in 2021. The accolades he has received include a Critics' Choice Television Award, as well as nominations for a Golden Globe Award, two Primetime Emmy Awards, and two Screen Actors Guild Awards.

Rudd appeared in the films Clueless (1995), Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers (1995), Romeo + Juliet (1996), Wet Hot American Summer (2001), Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004), The 40-Year-Old Virgin (2005), Knocked Up (2007), I Love You, Man (2009), and This Is 40 (2012). He has played the superhero Scott Lang / Ant-Man in five Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) films, from Ant-Man (2015) to Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023). He played Gary Grooberson in the Ghostbusters films Afterlife (2021) and Frozen Empire (2024).

Rudd has also appeared in numerous television shows, including the sitcom Friends (2002–2004) as Mike Hannigan, and has featured as a guest host of Saturday Night Live multiple times. He had a dual role in the comedy series Living with Yourself (2019), which earned him a nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Musical or Comedy. He starred in the miniseries The Shrink Next Door (2021). He featured in the Hulu comedy series Only Murders in the Building (2023–2024), which earned him a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series.

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Paul Rudd is proof that nice guys don't finish last — they just never age. The Clueless (1995) breakout became the 2000s' most reliable comedy anchor — Anchorman, Knocked Up, I Love You, Man, This Is 40 — the guy who made every ensemble funnier just by being the sane one.

Then Marvel called, and Ant-Man (2015) turned him into a superhero — the MCU's smallest hero with its biggest heart. Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021) made him a franchise caretaker. Through it all, the agelessness became a running joke: People named him Sexiest Man Alive in 2021, and the internet responded the only way it could — by agreeing, loudly.

Rudd's secret is that he never tried to be the star. He tried to be the best part of the scene, and the scenes kept getting bigger. Three decades in, he's still the guy everyone wants in their movie. Still looks 35. Nobody knows how.

Rudd's path to comedy royalty ran straight through the Apatow universe. After Clueless made him a 90s favorite, he became the decade's most dependable comedy utility player: Brian Fantana in Anchorman (2004), the sage straight man in The 40-Year-Old Virgin (2005), the put-upon dad in Knocked Up (2007), the lovable sad-sack of Role Models (2008), and Jason Segel's best-friend soulmate in I Love You, Man (2009) — the movie that gave the world "slappin' da bass." He reprised Pete opposite Leslie Mann in This Is 40 (2012), and became a five-time Saturday Night Live host, joining the show's Five-Timers Club. Nobody anchored an ensemble like Rudd: he never chased the joke, he made everyone else's joke land.

Then came the second act nobody saw coming. Living with Yourself (2019) let him play two versions of himself and earned a Golden Globe nomination. The Shrink Next Door (2021) showed the dramatic register. And Marvel's Ant-Man (2015) turned him into a superhero — Scott Lang, the ex-con heist guy who carried the MCU's smallest franchise with its biggest heart, all the way through Avengers: Endgame and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023). Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021) and Frozen Empire (2024) made him Gary Grooberson, a new-generation franchise caretaker, while Only Murders in the Building (2023–2024) earned him Emmy nominations. Off camera, he co-founded the Big Slick celebrity weekend in Kansas City, which has raised millions for Children's Mercy Hospital. Three decades in, he's still the guy everyone wants in their movie — and nobody knows how he still looks 35.