Paul Rudd

Paul Stephen Rudd is an American actor born on April 6, 1969, in Passaic, New Jersey, to English Jewish parents. He is widely recognized for his leading roles in major feature films, television series, and his portrayal of Scott Lang / Ant-Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Across his career, he has earned a Critics' Choice Television Award, along with nominations for a Golden Globe Award, two Primetime Emmy Awards, and two Actor Awards. He was featured on the Forbes Celebrity 100 list in 2019 and named People magazine's "Sexiest Man Alive" in 2021.

Raised in New Jersey and later Lenexa, Kansas, Rudd graduated from Shawnee Mission West High School in 1987. He studied theater at the University of Kansas, attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, and completed a program in Jacobean drama at the British American Drama Academy in Oxford. Before establishing his acting career, he worked as a bar mitzvah disc jockey and glazed hams.

Rudd made his professional screen debut in 1991 in a commercial before securing a recurring role on the television drama Sisters in 1992. His breakout film role came in the 1995 comedy Clueless. He followed this with supporting appearances in films such as Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers, William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet, The Object of My Affection, and The Cider House Rules, which received a Screen Actors Guild ensemble nomination.

Beginning in 2004, Rudd frequently collaborated with director and producer Judd Apatow, starring in comedy films such as Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Knocked Up, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, and This Is 40. His other notable film roles include Wet Hot American Summer, Role Models, and I Love You, Man. On television, he portrayed Mike Hannigan in Friends from 2002 to 2004, co-created the comedy series Party Down, and won a Critics' Choice Television Award for his guest role in Parks and Recreation.

In 2015, Rudd took on the role of Scott Lang / Ant-Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, starring in Ant-Man and reprising the character in films including Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Endgame, and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. He also played Gary Grooberson in Ghostbusters: Afterlife and Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire. Alongside his screen work, he has performed on Broadway in plays such as The Last Night of Ballyhoo, Three Days of Rain, and Grace.

His recent television work includes a dual role in Netflix's Living with Yourself, which earned him a Golden Globe nomination, and a role in Only Murders in the Building, for which he received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination. Rudd married Julie Yaeger in 2003, and they reside in Rhinebeck, New York, where he co-owns Samuel's Sweet Shop. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2015 and supports charitable organizations including the Stuttering Association for the Young and The Big Slick.