Happy Birthday Beard of the Day - Paul Rudd

Paul Rudd

Paul Stephen Rudd was born in Passaic, NJ.  His parents, both natives of London, were  Jewish and were descended from immigrants from Russia and Poland  (Hmm... I wonder if Paul knows that I too descended from Russian Jews... I always sensed that we were connected on a level other than the physcial...);  the family's original surname, "Rudnitzky", was changed by his grandfather to "Rudd".   His father, Michael, was a historical tour guide who was formerly the vice president of World Airways, while his mother, Gloria, was a sales manager at the television station KSMO-TV. When he was ten, Rudd's family moved to Kansas, where he was raised; his family also spent three years living in California, because of his father's occupation. He attended high school at Shwanee Mission West and college at the University of Kansas (sorry for your loss) where he was a member of the Nu Chapter of Sigma Nerd, I mean, Sigman Nu.  He spent three months studying Jacobean drama at the  British American Drama Academy based in Oxford, U.K.

Rudd made his breakout performance in the 1995 film Clueless, which turned him into a minor teen idol. Additional early-career credits include Wet Hot American Summer, Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers, The Cider House Rules, William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet and The Object of My Affection.

 

He also garnered recognition with a recurring role on the television sitcom Friends as Mike Hannigan, who married Phoebe Buffay as. Rudd'sBroadway acting credits include The Last Last Night of Ballyhoo (1997), Twelfth Night (1998), and Three Days of Rain (2006). In 2005 he starred in one of my all time favorite movies, one that is extremely underrated, The Baxter. He guest-starred as a has-been 1990s rock star, Desmond Fellows, on the television series, Veronica Mars, in an episode titled "Debasement Tapes". 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 2012 he signed to appear on three episodes of NBC's Parks and Recreation as Bobby Newport, a candidate for City Council and a rival of Amy Poehler's character Leslie Knope.

Rudd became a full-fledged comedy star with his roles in Judd Apatow pictures The 40-Year-Old Virgin and Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgandy.

In 2007, he starred as frustrated husband Pete in Knocked Up, his third collaboration with Apatow and Seth Rogen. That year he also starred in indie favorite  The Oh in Ohio and The Ten, which reunited him with David Wain and Michael Showalter. The former film was a box-office and critical disappointment as was his next starring vehicle, Over Her Dead Body with Eva Longoria. He bounced back with a memorable supporting role as Kunu (Hawaiian for "Chuck"), the drug-addled surf instructor in Nicholas Stoller's  Forgetting Sarah Marshall which also starred Jason Segal and Kristen Bell (Veronica Mars) and was produced by Apatow. The film was a hit, as was his next comedy Role Models, where he and co-star Seann William Scott portrayed energy-drink salesmen forced to perform community service in a child mentoring program. Rudd also made cameo appearances in Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story, Year One and Night at the Museum.

In 2009, Rudd again appeared with Jason Segel in I Love You Man. He lent his voice to the star-studded computer-animated hit movie Monsters Vs. Aliens. In 2010, he reunited with Steve Carell for the first time since for the Jay-Roach directed comedy Dinner for Schmucks, which also featured Zach Galifinakis and Ron Livingston.

To see a fill list of Rudd's upcoming films as well as his entire filmography, visit his IMDb page.




A few facts you may not know about Paul Rudd:

- Was a DJ at Bar Mitzvahs before his career took off.
- His favorite music is that of Tom Waits
- He is a self-described "mega-fan" of the TV show "Lost". He volunteered to interview "Lost" star Emile de Ravin, whom he has never met, for "Interview Magazine" because of his love for the show.
- Came up with the idea of the "Kelly Clarkson!" call-out during 'Steve Carell''s infamous chest wax in The 40 Year Old Virgin

- As part of a running gag during his appearances on "Late Night with Conan O'Brien", Rudd often brought a clip from the film Mac and Me where the wheelchair-bound Eric flies off a cliff while Mac watches on, instead of showing clips from the actual movie he is there to promote. The only exception was when he came to promote  Knocked Up. Judd Apatow showed up specifically to make sure Rudd wouldn't do it.

Sources: IMDb and Wikipedia