My Green-Eyed Future Husband

As his breakthrough role in 1995's Clueless proved, Paul Rudd has the looks, charm, and charisma to be a romantic leading man. But instead, he gravitated toward funky independent projects and oddball supporting roles while alternating between film, theater, and television. In recent years, Rudd struck up a fruitful working relationship with Stella's David Wain and comedy honcho Judd Apatow, which led to roles in the 2004 smash Anchorman and its DVD spin-off Wake Up, Ron Burgundy, as well as The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Knocked Up, Walk Hard, and Forgetting Sarah Marshall. Rudd similarly collaborated with Wain and Stella-mate Michael Showalter on the 2001 cult classic Wet Hot American Summer, then produced and co-starred in Wain's sketch-comedy follow-up The Ten. He also co-wrote and stars in Wain's latest directorial effort, Role Models, a ribald crowd-pleaser about a pair of energy-drink shills (Rudd and Seann William Scott) who become Big Brothers as part of their community-service requirements after shenanigans involving a giant truck. The A.V. Club recently set down with Rudd in Chicago to discuss swearing in front of children, balancing comedy and emotion in Role Models, and the giddy highs of being a bar mitzvah DJ.


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