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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 40) Passaic, New Jersey, U.S.
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1992–present
Spouse(s)	Julie Yaeger (2003–present)

Paul Stephen Rudd (born April 6, 1969) is an American actor and screenwriter. He primarily plays comedy roles, and is most well-known for his roles in the films The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, Knocked Up, Role Models, and I Love You, Man, as well as portraying Mike Hannigan for two years in Friends.

Early life

Rudd was born in Passaic, New Jersey, the son of Jewish immigrants from England;¹²³ his family's original surname was "Rudnitzky."⁴ 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.⁵⁶ Rudd was raised in Overland Park, Kansas. He attended high school at Shawnee Mission West and college at the University of Kansas, where he was a member of Sigma Nu fraternity.⁷

Career

Rudd made his breakout performance in the 1995 film Clueless. Additional credits include Wet Hot American Summer, Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers, The Cider House Rules, Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet, Friends (in the recurring role of Mike Hannigan, who married Phoebe Buffay in 2004), The Object of My Affection, and The 40-Year-Old Virgin. While he played the original Josh in Clueless, he returned to play the character of Sonny when the movie was adapted into a television show in 1996. 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 recording of John Hodgman's book The Areas of My Expertise.

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. In 2007, he appeared in the films Knocked Up (his third collaboration with Judd Apatow and Seth Rogen), and The Ten (which reunites him with frequent collaborators David Wain and Michael Showalter). The same year, Rudd provided his voice for the narration of the HBO/NFL Films series Hard Knocks: Training Camp With The Kansas City Chiefs. In 2008, Rudd starred in Over Her Dead Body opposite Eva Longoria, the direct-to-video release I Could Never Be Your Woman opposite Michelle Pfeiffer (reuniting him with Clueless director Amy Heckerling), Forgetting Sarah Marshall, and Role Models. He also appeared on Little Britain USA as the French President. In 2009, he starred in I Love You, Man with Jason Segel.

Running gag on Conan O'Brien

As part of a running gag during his appearances on Late Night With Conan O'Brien, Rudd brings clips from the infamous 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.⁸⁹

Personal life

In 2003, he married his girlfriend of five years, Julie Yaeger. In 2005, their son Jack was born. Although they live in Manhattan, Rudd frequently travels to Los Angeles if he is shooting a movie,^{citation needed} and Overland Park, Kansas where he went to high school.¹⁰¹¹ He is a fan of the National Football League's Kansas City Chiefs, for whom he narrated the HBO special Hard Knocks in 2007.

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

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Paul Rudd

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