Peoples Magazine’s Sexiest Man Alive, Paul Rudd, has starred in some of the best comedies of all time. From 40-Year-Old Virgin to Anchorman, Rudd quickly cemented himself as one of the funniest actors today. Throughout his impressive career, the ageless comedian stole every scene he was in, with his infectious charisma and expert comedic timing.
The actor, screenwriter, and producer made his acting debut in 1992, with the television drama Sisters. Before appearing in the beloved comedy classic Clueless, as well as the horror classic Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers. Since then, Rudd has garnered an impressive filmography. Mostly starring in many Judd Apatow projects like The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Anchorman, Knocked Up, and Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Paul Rudd also made brief, but iconic appearances in some of the best comedy TV series of all time. Starring in Friendsas Phoebe’s husband, Mike Hannigan, for the final season of the show. He also appeared on Park and Recreation as Bobby Newport, which in 2014, got him The Critics Choice Television Report for Best Guest Performer in a Comedy Series.
Nowadays, he is most well-known for being one of the most charming, hilarious, and lovable heroes in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, helping the Avengers defeat Thanos and save the universe. With an impressive career that has spanned just over three decades, here are Paul Rudd’s best performances.
8 Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008)
Universal Pictures
Making a brief, but hilarious cameo as the stoner surf instructor Chuck, Rudd manages to steal every scene he is in. With his ridiculous over-the-top accent paired with his inappropriate comments and terrible surfing lessons, Chuck might be one of Rudd’s most fun and hilarious roles yet, we just wish we got to see more of him.
Forgetting Sarah Marshallfollows Peter Bretter (Jason Segel) who, after being dumped by the love of his life, Sarah Marshall (Kristen Bell), decides to go for a Hawaiian vacation. However, when he arrives at said vacation, he is met with an awkward encounter with his ex, who has checked into the same resort.
7 Clueless (1995)
Paramount Pictures
As one of Rudd’s earliest roles, fans immediately fell in love with the young, adorable, and hilarious romantic character, which became Rudd’s breakout role. Rudd stars as Josh Lucas, the love interest and ex-step brother to Alicia Silverstone’s character, Cher Horowitz. Yes, you read that right. With as much criticism the film has faced due to the semi-incestuous relationship, there is no denying that Paul Rudd is an adorable and dreamy character, delivering a charming, hilarious, and sweet performance that made Josh Lucas one of the best romantic leads of the ’90s.
As an adaptation of Jane Austen’s Emma, Cluelessfollows Cher Horowitz, a spoiled, but well-minded Beverley Hills teen, who decides to give hopeless new student Tai (Brittany Murphy) a makeover, to make her popular. After Tai becomes more popular than Cher, she soon realizes her disapproving and judgemental ex-stepbrother was right about how misguided she was, and falls in love with him.
6 The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012)
Summit Entertainment
As a departure from Rudd’s usual roles, Rudd decides to take a rare dramatic turn as Mr Anderson, Charlies’ (Logan Lerman) English teacher. Rudd slips into his dramatic shoes with ease, providing support to his favorite student, Charlie, and offers one of the most profound lines in the film: “we accept the love we think we deserve”. As always, Rudd is effortlessly charming and a joy to watch, giving the movie a deeply important emotional core, which wouldn’t feel possible without Rudd’s performance.
Based on the novel by Stephen Chbosky, The Perks of a Wallflowerfollows socially awkward teen Charlie as he discovers the joys of friendship, true love, music, and much more, all while his caring and supporting English teacher sparks his dreams of becoming a writer. However, as his friends prepare to leave for college, Charlie’s inner sadness and struggles with mental health begin to shatter his newfound confidence.
5 The 40 Year-Old Virgin (2005)
Starring as the scene-stealing side character David, Paul Rudd delivers a hilarious and adorable performance as a deeply-troubled electronic store worker, who has a hilarious, but similarly unhealthy obsession with his ex-girlfriend, Amy (Mindy Kaling). Judd Apatow and Steve Carell specifically wrote this character with Rudd in mind to play him. Much of Rudd’s laugh-out-loud moments come from the hilariously improvised back-and-fourths with the cast, most specifically, a scene with Seth Rogan as they exchange politically incorrect insults at each other while playing video games. While Rudd will make you keel over and laugh until it hurts, he ultimately delivers a heartfelt performance, providing a surprising layer of depth that only Rudd would be able to pull off.
The 40-Year-Old VirginFollows Andy (Steve Carell), an electronics store employee, who is secretly still a virgin. After his fellow workers find out, they all decide to help to set him up with women that Andy is not all that interested in. Eventually, Andy runs into a local Ebay seller, who he ultimately falls in love with.
4 I Love You, Man (2009)
Paul Rudd certainly “drops the bass” in his heartfelt and hilarious performance as Peter, a real estate agent, who doesn’t have many friends. After many failed attempts at finding friends, he forms an incomparable close bond to Jason Segel’s character, Sydney. Starring alongside Jason Segel once again, the chemistry between them is incredibly infectious, making every scene an absolute delight to watch. Up until this point, Rudd usually played the side character, but I Love You, Man proved that Paul Rudd is a comedic tour de force and a lovable leading man.
The film sees Peter, who only months before his wedding to Zooey (Rashida Jones) realize he doesn’t have many male friends. After many disastrous attempts, he ends up becoming immediate best friends with Sydney, whom he met at an open house event, while Sydney was attempting to hit on single women.
3 Wet Hot American Summer (2001)
USA Films
Rudd stars as the egotistical lifeguard, Andy, who doesn’t care about anyone or anything. Letting campers drown because he is too busy making out with girls, as well as openly cheating on and insulting his girlfriend. Thankfully, Andy does get his comeuppance by the end of the film, eventually losing his girlfriend to someone else. While Rudd typically stars as charming and lovable characters, Andy stands out for being equally detestable and hilarious. Rudd delivers an over-the-top performance with impeccable comic timing, resulting in an utterly hilarious and entertaining watch.
Set on the last day of camp, in the summer of 1981, Wet Hot American Summer follows a group of counselors trying to complete their unfinished business before the final day of camp ends. Pent-up sexual frustrations, post-traumatic stress, pending separations, and of course, the talent show, all weigh heavily on the minds of counselors and campers alike.
2 Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004)
DreamWorks Pictures
Starring as the iconic Brian Fantanna, as a part of Channel 4’s hit news team, Rudd delivers one of the funniest performances of his career, perfectly playing alongside comedy greats like Steve Carrell, Will Ferrell, and David Koechner. Brian is the resident ladies man and field reporter as part of Channel 4’s news team. He sports a truly iconic mustache and has a deep love and appreciation for cologne. Rudd’s description of the “Sex Panther” cologne is among some of the best moments in the film, and is sure to make anyone keel over in laughter every single time they hear the words “it’s made with bits of real panther”.
Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundyfollows San Diego’s number one news team, as they party, flirt with the ladies, and put mayonnaise in the toaster. Ron Burgundy (Will Ferrell) falls in love with Veronica Corningstone (Christine Applegate), but soon learns that Veronica is joining his news team to add diversity to the team. Taking his limelight and soon his job, the anchorman begins to lose it, having countless fights with Veronica and exchanging many ridiculous, but hilarious insults with each other.
1 The Marvel Cinematic Universe (2015-Present)
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
As perhaps his most famous and iconic role to date, Paul Rudd stars as the lovable Scott Lang, better known as Ant-Man. Bursting into the role first with Ant-Man, Rudd immediately stole the hearts of fans, and quickly returned to the role, making numerous appearances and cameos in a few more MCU projects, including Captain America: Civil War, Ant-Man and The Wasp, as well as the critically-acclaimed Avengers: Endgame. Fans are always excited and delighted to see Scott Lang on screen, with Rudd’s hilarious and relatable performance as the hero. Rudd owned the role of Ant-Man, bringing his infectious charm, and impeccable acting skills to the superhero franchise, adding a much-appreciated light-heartedness to the franchise. Rudd has made this role his own, and it is impossible to think of anyone else in the role.
