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. 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) and
I Love You, Man (2009). Rudd also wrote and starred in
Role Models (2008, with
Christopher Mintz-Plasse).
Extra credit: Rudd is an Apatow regular who was
not in the 1999 TV series
Freaks and Geeks... He has a running gag with
Conan O'Brien's show -- when he shows up to promote a new movie Rudd shows a clip from the 1988 movie
Mac and Me instead.
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