"Paul Rudd"

28 Apr 2025 · 49 min

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In short

SmartLess Podcast Episode Summary: Paul Rudd

Podcast Overview Hosts: Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes, Will Arnett Podcast Description: The podcast connects and unites listeners through thoughtful dialogue and organic hilarity, featuring a surprise guest each episode.

Episode Title

Paul Rudd Description: This episode features comedian and actor Paul Rudd. The discussion ranges from humorous anecdotes to personal experiences in various fields.

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Key Themes and Discussions

Opening Remarks

  • Cold Open: The hosts engage in light banter before introducing the episode.
  • Praise for Each Other: Jason praises Will's work on his movie and Sean's performance in "Black Rabbit," building a positive atmosphere before introducing the guest.

Guest Introduction

Paul Rudd

  • Background: Rudd shares fun facts about himself, such as being a diehard Kansas City Chiefs fan and co-owning a candy store in Rhinebeck, NY, named Samuel’s Sweet Shop.
  • Humor and Wit: Rudd's humor shines through as he interacts with the hosts and shares anecdotes.

Early Career and Work History

  • Acting Roots: Rudd discusses his early interest in acting, influenced by famous comedians and shows like SNL and Monty Python.
  • Forensics: He explains his high school experience in a speech class he humorously refers to as forensics, not knowing what it entailed at the time.

Notable Experiences

  • DJing: Rudd recounts a humorous story about DJing at weddings and bar mitzvahs during high school, including a memorable audition to get the job.
  • Glazing Hams: He shares a quirky job where he worked at a ham company, providing amusing details about the process.

Personal Life and Relationships

  • Meeting His Wife: Rudd narrates how he met his wife, Julie, while searching for a publicist after filming "Clueless."
  • Friendship: The bonds between the hosts and Rudd highlight the importance of friendship and support in their careers.

Insights on Comedy and Acting

  • Career Reflection: Rudd reflects on his 30-year career and discusses the evolution of comedy in film, especially his collaborations with Judd Apatow.
  • Improvisation in Film: He discusses the nature of improvisation in his recent work, emphasizing a focus on character-driven humor rather than forced jokes.

Memorable Anecdotes

  • On-Stage Incidents: Rudd shares two funny incidents from his theater experiences where unexpected events occurred in the audience (including someone vomitting and someone passing away).
  • Audience Reactions: He humorously navigates how he and fellow actors reacted to strange occurrences during performances.

Wrap-Up and Final Thoughts

  • Future Projects: The episode concludes with a teaser about Rudd's upcoming film, "Friendship," and a light-hearted discussion about sports teams from Kansas City.
  • Invitation: The hosts express a desire to visit Rudd's candy store, promising a fun outing in the future.

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Key Takeaways

  • Collaboration and Support: The episode reinforces the significance of friendships and collaborations in creative careers.
  • Humor as a Lifeline: Rudd's ability to find humor in various situations serves as a reminder of the importance of laughter in life.
  • Diverse Experiences: The conversation illustrates how varied experiences contribute to personal growth and career development in the entertainment industry.

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In Summary: This episode of SmartLess featuring Paul Rudd is a delightful mix of humor, personal anecdotes, and insights into the world of acting and comedy, showcasing Rudd's charm and the chemistry with the hosts.

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Transcript

Automatic transcript. May contain errors.

0:06So, uh, listen, this is, uh, this is, I know Sean's favorite part of the show. the cold open super fun chat and chew chat and chew well but no no no that is is his really favorite part of the show is what follows here after the fun music he gets to do his coffee chat but right now he sort of welcomes the listener in right how you doing how's everybody going gets a sense of everything asks everybody how they're doing and then like a little funny quip like what's the bit gonna be you know what I mean yeah or I could do a dad joke you know or whatever I could do like something like I could do something like I asked.

0:41Or I know you could do that. Yeah. Or you could just say to our audience, you could just say, hi. Hi. Welcome to Smartless. Welcome to Smartless. Smart. Less.

0:56Smart. Less.

1:02Smart. Less. I have to say something. Okay, this year, you guys, both of two of my best friends in the whole world, you, both of you, are doing some of the best work I've ever seen you do. I'm hanging out with Will on the set of his movie, and I've seen some footage, and Will, the work is truly, truly incredible. This is what I'm hearing, Will. Truly incredible. Mind-blowing. I've never seen it. People are going to be blown away. Not surprised. And Jay, when I sat down and watched Black Rabbit, I've already spoken about it. This year is so exciting. I'm so excited for people to see both of you in these two incredible pieces, and I know you cringe when I say this, pieces of art, because I do believe that they're two pieces of art.

1:48Thank you coming from the reigning Tony Award winning artist. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, that's not why I said it. That's not why I said it. No, but you set the tone for us. You kind of let out, and, you know, what a performer! I'm really spicy from the Tabasco theater. And now... That was unexpected! it. Nobody thought. Watch him go back. That's as he's getting yanked out. Nobody. Let me finish. I have a good, wait, I have a good. When do we start recording this episode, you guys? I got a hard out. I know. Listen, wait. Sean, your guess is going crazy. Do you want me, I know I'm going to get there, but do you want me to ask you guys a thoughtful question that we can riff on or I have a joke or we can just get to the guest.

2:35You had a choice of patter today, huh? Yeah. What do you want? What's happening? You've had some time. We haven't done one of these in a couple of weeks. I guess you've got some material. That's what I'm saying. That's what I'm saying. I'd love a dad joke. I'd like a joke, too. A dad joke. Okay, well, this is the... I have... Okay, I can do a dad joke. I can also do a... This is a great joke I just heard yesterday. Fuck, you have genres of jokes, too? You have subsections to your... All right, so... This guy, this patient is in your... that patient is in a urologist office, and the doctor says, well, the result is that you got to stop masturbating.

3:08And the patient says, why? And the doctor says, because I'm talking to you. I love it. Oh, really? I thought that was funny. I love it. I love it. Oh, wait. And then I got, wait, do I have? I've got one like that, but I don't have it yet. You know what? Hopefully, it's all, it's rusty. How about this? It's rusty. Yeah, go ahead. Why did the Mexican take anti-anxiety medication? Hmm. careful, for Hispanic attacks. Oh, that's all right. That's okay. I feel like that's okay. I feel like that's okay. Yeah. Okay, let's get to the guest. But also, for the record, no reaction. Zero reaction. Story of my life.

3:46Ready, here we go. I'm your America guffawing now. Guys, my guest today, who's far funnier than I am, grew up in the Kansas City area, and he's a diehard Kansas... Jason Sudeikis. Diehard Kansas City Chiefs fan. He's the co-owner of a candy store in Rhinebeck, New York. Paul Rudd. And he once said his secret for staying youthful and fit is eight hours of sleep. You've got to bury the tell stuff. People often still mistake him for Ben Affleck. He met his wife when looking for a publicist after filming Clueless. It's the hilarious, delightful, and widely talented Paul Rudd. What? Paul? Wait, did you guys already?

4:19Light reveal. Oh, he's doing his... Yeah. He's doing a slight reveal. This is a long overview. Wait, how did you know he was from Kansas City? Let me tell you something. Guys. Because there's only a few. There's Claire McCaskill. There's Rob Riggle. There's Jason Sudeikis. How did you know that? How do you know that? Paul, do you get mistaken for Claire McCaskill a lot? I get a lot of her emails.

4:46It's usually when they talk about the three from KC. The big three. It's Sudeikis, me, and McCaskill. How has it taken this long for Sean? I feel like this is Sean's fault. Couldn't make your deal any earlier than now. and now finally you've given us a manageable price. Aline Kashishian was rough in the negotiation. She rang us up on this. Are you with Aline too, Paul? Yeah. Yeah, there's a package right on this. That's your manager? That's great. Always. She's great. Back when she was my agent when she was an assistant. That's how far back we go. No way. Oh, wow. How about that? Wait a second.

5:23So she was working the phones for the real agent and that real agent kind of siphoned you off on the junior slash receptionist. Yeah, ICM. It was right since kind of clueless. Yeah. Wow. Wow. And wait, I want to go back because I didn't know you owned a candy store. Can you talk to me about the candy store, please? Sure. Like, where is it? Oh, you want an address on it? You want to cover Sean's passions role? Well, it's called Samuel's Sweet Shop and it's in Rhinebeck, New York. Wow. And it was started by a guy named Ira. Sure. And he was just this sweet guy. And he passed away, sadly, when he was very young.

6:04And we didn't want the candy store to kind of go away because it's not a big place, not a big town. And all the high school kids would work there and everyone needs a candy store. And so Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Hillary Burton, who are neighbors of mine. Yeah, let's, yeah. I know me some Jeffrey Dean. You do? I like that guy. I like all his performances. Sorry. Anyway, we went in, and another guy named Andy Ostroy, we went in and bought the candy store, and now we run it. Now, Rhinebeck is, you can't walk there from the city, right? That's a trip. You can. It'll take you a while. Yeah. Yeah. You'd need a lot of candy to fuel it.

6:47Yeah. Is it, it's like a two-hour drive? It's about a two-hour drive. Yeah, about an hour, depending on if you're leaving from the Upper West Side, it's about an hour and 45. Well, I'll get a head start. Jenny Slate also owns a small store like upstate New York. Massachusetts. Oh, never mind. Moving on. A general storage. She has a general storage. Are we going to start going down, Sean? You want to start listing people who also own businesses? Just come on down to 85 and let us know. Paul's got a candy store in Rhinebeck, okay? Started by Ira. And that's it. Wait, so go back. So you met Aline that way and then you met your wife because you were looking for a publicist.

7:27Is that right? Yes, well, I was the director of Clueless. You were the director? Oh, Amy Heckerliss. I was not. So Amy Heckerliss said, after we filmed Clueless, I knew nothing about anything. I still don't that much, really. Were you Clueless? I was Clueless. Well done, you. Welcome to Smartless. Guys, we're cooking with gas. Emphasis on smart. Yeah, I mean. Yeah. By the way, I love Julie, your wife, Julie. She's awesome. Oh, thank you. Julie, that's what it is. Thank you. She loves you guys. And she said to say hi. And she also said say nice things about her. So I love my wife. And she's an avid listener.

8:08And then we just hear the page flip. And then you go. It's enough of her. And so, yeah. So what were you talking about? I was talking about meeting Julie. Looking for a publicist on Clueless, Amy Heckerling. Paul, you're upstate. So you meet your wife, Julie. you meet her through she's your publicist we've been through that I mean let's just get down to that here are the brass tacks nobody really cares you are a guy who has been they do I do you've been working at the highest level for over 30 years and I mean that in a way you have been consistently doing stuff comedy drama awesome stuff all this like right always no missteps no missteps yeah not one I think there are a few no not even not even Halloween 6 not even that I saw that you were fucking great in that that was 75 years ago That was so good.

8:54That was the first thing I ever did, the first movie. No, was it really? Thank you. Is that true? Yeah. Now, had you seen the first five parts? Are you kidding me? I mean, I've seen all of them. I saw all of them. You saw them all. Yeah, I loved them. I saw the first and loved it. There was five more. Is that right? No, he was in six. There might have been even more than that, yeah. The first is a classic. When you get to six, plot holes. What are you talking about? I loved it. There's some shark jumping? Yeah. Oh, yeah. Do you end up getting killed in that one? Spoiler? No, I survived. Do you get a good shot in on him?

9:30I remember, yeah. We have a, we get into it. We had some scrapes. Knife fight? Yeah, now because you've done so many movies, do you really truly remember? Sorry, Jason's asking. No, wait, I want to wrap. What was the weapon that you guys were tossing with? Whoa. You and Mike Myers. I think I hit him with a pipe. Okay. I think I maybe hit him with a pipe. That's a good choice. So you stun him for a second, but then he continues after you. Yeah, by the way, didn't kill him. He never runs. It didn't kill him. No, that's what's horrifying about Mike Myers, is that he never runs. He just walks because he's going to get you.

10:01He just walks. He's going to take his time. Did you ever do a tie-in around Halloween at the candy store with, like, photos of yourself from the SteelStyle movie? That'd be good. This is a great idea. Thank you, Will. That's a great idea. I don't know. I haven't done it. Yeah. I haven't really done that yet, but maybe this year. Write this stuff down, Will. So you end up surviving six, but was not in seven. Did you know? No, they didn't ask me about seven. They did like a cast change like Fargo or - I think they kind of went. I want to say in seven, it might've been Josh Hartnett. They did a White Lotus swap.

10:35That might've been H2O. Oh, H2O, I remember that one. I think it came back strong in seven. If I had been a reviewer of seven and knowing, and that you weren't in it, my headline for my review would have been all trick and no treat. Oh, jeez. You know? Oh, man. Yeah. You know, Paul, you're in a pretty special episode of Smart was so far. We're only 31 minutes in. That's really sweet. And we're not even to the first question yet. 29 of which my microphone went down. I know. I did want... I know. Can I just say also how fun it is just to, you know, to listen to you guys. We're only halfway through.

11:11To listen to you guys before I come on and to hear the jokes, which I really, really liked. Did you like my urologist joke? I did like the urologist joke. See, you're the one. I'm a fan of the dad jokes. I heard one not that long ago that I really liked, which was, where do McKidd melons go for the summer? Where? Where? To John Cougar's melon camp. Nice. That's a good one. I love it. I've remembered my urologist joke. Guy goes in for a prostate exam. Shit. No, Jesus. No, come on. Watch this, Paul. Watch this. It's not going to happen. We don't have any kids listening to this. I like a good prostate exam joke.

11:49No, Paul, watch how you bludgeoning joke. Keep going, Jason. Watch this. Go. Jason, try it. I will stumble right before I cross. No, try it. Right before I chest the tape, I will fall. Here we go. So, guy walks in to urologist. Hey, he's got to get his prostate exam. And so, he's got to lean over the table. He's got to get the old. And so, the doctor says, okey-doke, here we go. this time, Jimmy, no hard-on. And the guy turns around and he says, my name's Bill. He goes, yeah, no, I'm Jimmy. Yeah. That's not even... I've heard Jason try to tell that joke 50 times. By the way, it's a great joke.

12:25One time he's like, and the guy Paul says, and then Paul says, Jimmy, and he goes, Bill, I'm not Paul, I'm Jimmy. And I'm like, what are you... I looked at him like, what are you doing? Listen, I don't write. I speak. Wait, we're gonna get... We're gonna get to your life. Okay, here's Sean. Sean, I'm going to grab the reins here. What are you talking about? I've been trying. You're all gussied up on Pop-Tarts. Paul, I was saying that you've been at the top of the level. So you start out of the gate. Sure, you do Halloween 6. It's amazing. But then you just do so many movies. So how was it that you came?

13:01First of all, what was your first professional job? Not necessarily movie, but how did you know? It seems like you've been doing it at the highest level from moment one. but what was moment one for you? Like how did you leave Kansas City? What was that thing? Oh yeah, I didn't have any of those questions prepared. Go ahead. Well, fuck, we're 25 minutes in, man. What fault is that? Paul's microphone. It is, totally. It's this weak connection that I have. Thank you for saying that, Will. Thank you, Colin. I don't think it's totally true. I've made many missteps and I've been very fortunate in many instances.

13:38But when I was a kid, I just loved comedians. I loved watching SNL and all of that stuff and listening to Steve Martin albums. And I think that when I was kind of in school, we had speech class. We had a radio and TV class. I loved watching the David Letterman show. And I used to start making little videos like he used to do. And I used to perform in speech competitions. and when I was, I want to say about 16 years old, my neighbor in Kansas City said, what do you think you want to study? What do you think you want to pursue? And I said, I don't know, I like the arts and I like drawing and all of that.

14:21And he said, what about an actor? It seems like that's something that you would maybe like to do. And I think it was some kind of lightning bolt moment where I thought, yeah, maybe that is what I'd like to do because I certainly always liked funny stuff and movies and everything else. And it feels like from that moment on, I decided, oh, this is exactly what I'm going to try and pursue. And I then went to school for it and I studied it. And what was this humorous interpretation thing? Because we had something similar in high school, but it was called forensics. I don't know why it was called forensics.

14:52Yeah, forensics, exactly. This is, it was called forensics in Kansas City too. And sometimes I would tell people I study forensics and they think it's like what Quincy did. Yeah, right. Quincy, yeah, Quincy. For all the young listeners, Quincy. Do we know why it's called forensics, Sean? I don't. I don't. And in high school, people would be standing against a wall and talking to it. And I didn't know what they were doing, but they were rehearsing. But really close to a wall and talking to a wall, I thought that was the weirdest thing. But now I get it. They were just rehearsing their monologue or their forensics or whatever it was.

15:25You sure you weren't institutionalized? You weren't in an institution at that point? It looks like an institution. You may have still been at the hospital, Sean. it wasn't even comedic forensics. That I would understand. Well, there were different categories. There was dramatic interpretation, humorous interpretation, prose and poetry, improvised duet acting.

15:49And we will be right back.

15:54And now back to the show. So Paul, I heard you were a DJ for a while, right? Well, I mean, barely. You know, I did. I thought it was like a long, I thought it was a years long thing. I really did DJ. But when you say to people that, you know, oh, I used to DJ, that sounds like it was kind of a cool thing. But the way I DJed was not cool in any way. It was like weddings and bar mitzvahs and stuff. Yeah, bar mitzvahs. And by the way, eventually it was that. The first time I DJed was, I was in high school. Just an ice cream truck. And I went, nobody, they're like, we don't even have equipment in this thing.

16:34We, I was trying to get a job as a waiter. I was in high school. And, and I went to different restaurants and I had really long hair and I didn't want to cut my hair because I was a, I was a, I was a cheese ball and I'm like, I got to keep this. You're crushing it. And so, and so I was getting rejected at every waiting, you know, application I'd fill out. Like, there's no way I couldn't get a job. And I went to this bar called Studebaker's, which was like a 50s bar in Kansas City. Had to be 23 to get in. They didn't want any of the younger crowd. Wow. Sure. Yeah. They didn't even want new drinkers.

17:22You had to have at least two years under your belt. They want some certified 23-year-olds who like, who's going to go to a 50s bar anyway? Right. You had to be born in the 50s to get here. To even want to go to this place. That's funny. And so I went to try and get a job and they said, we're not hiring. And I saw that they had a DJ booth and I said, do you need a DJ? Because I also DJ, which is not true. I didn't. But they said, actually, we do. But here's the thing. at Studebaker's, every hour on the hour, we do these things called showtimes where all the waiters hop on the bar and they do like, you know, board and a hand jive or some dumb dance thing.

18:11Sean, we don't need to, the next sentence out of your mouth doesn't need to be, you mean like this? Like this. Or are they still in business? Or what are their hours? Address, please. That's right. Any of those sentences are a no. So you lied, so you lied, but you knew you had a stack of wax in the car. So I lied and they said, well, here's the thing. You got to audition because we do these showtimes. So I had to audition with a lip sync of a 50s song. Which one? I know you still know. So I chose Volare. Volare. Yeah. And which was, I just thought it'd be funny because it's in, you know, Italian.

18:48And, but I put on a tuxedo and a pompadour to cover my long hair. Oh my God. like an Elvis wig, right? And so anyway, I got the job. And then they saw that I had really long hair and they said, you got to cut your hair. We're a 50s bar, not a 60s bar. And I said, well, I won't do it. So they made me wear the Elvis wig every time I worked. Oh, right. You wear the pompadour every time? Yeah, and it was also a really bad pompadour. So it was a really cheap wig. And so it started to lose its pompadour shape and it just turned into like a big weird black tuft of something. And when I was working, people didn't realize that I had long hair and had to cover it up.

19:35So they just thought I was some young kid with this weird wig. I don't know what they thought. But anyway, that started my DJing career. You know what, it reminds me, you make me think, you hear about famously Michael Jordan, when he had his Hall of Fame speech. And then he's being celebrated for being the greatest basketball player. And then he really harped on his high school coach who cut him from the basketball team and all the people who didn't, right? That he still hung on to that. And I think we should get stickers made up and go around to these Kansas City establishments that rejected you and stick it on the front window.

20:13This place rejected Paul Rudd, right? Really let that stink linger on him. You know what I mean? Your hiring practices are ridiculous. Yeah. You know what I mean? Are ridiculous. Yeah, that's great. Speaking of your original last name was Rudnitsky? Rudnitsky? Rudnitsky? What is it? Rudnitsky. Down like way back, not while I was born or my grandparents. They were way back. Great, great grandparents. Wow. Rudnitsky. Like Russian, Belarus, Eastern European. Yeah. Have you done the thing where you do the whole look back and like, do you know your people? What they did, where they were? Yeah. The wars they fought in?

20:56And I found that it was mainly kind of like in an area of Belarus. Yeah. Something cool. A town called Holmec. Oh. Anybody who's listening from Holmec, holler at your boy, you know? But no, wait, so Paul, let me tell you if I got this right. You were born in Jersey, moved to Kansas City, had a bar mitzvah in Canada. Your parents were from England. Yeah. So you were all over the place. Wait, bar mitzvah in Canada? Now I'm interested. Yeah. I mean, why so many different places? Well, being, you know, everyone in my family was kind of, was British, both my parents. Everyone was kind of around London.

21:38Right. My grandparents were in London. But we moved to the States. And then, or my parents did anyway. Most of the family went to Canada. And so I had grandparents and aunts and uncle in Toronto and in the GTA. No, he really knows it. I know it. That's right, eh? And the way he said Toronto, too. This is real. I'd walk to the byway, get my Empire Strikes Back cards in French. Yes. The byway. Are you still a Maple Leaf fan? Past the Mr. Submarine. This is all for you, Will. This is such good stuff, Pizza, Pizza 967. It's Mr. Sub, though, isn't it? Mr. Sub, it's now Mr. Sub. Wait, did you live in Canada?

22:24No, but I'd been going there my whole life. Yeah. Wow. And so most of my relatives were in Canada. So when I had to get a bar mitzvah, my parents said, well, just do it in Canada because that's where most of the family is. Where was it in Canada? In Toronto? In Toronto, yeah. No way. Paul, come home. Come home. Wait, and so your mom - Sure. By the way, great. Yeah. I will. So your parents are in England. Your dad was a tour guide or something and was the vice president of TWA and your mom - Oh, no, he wasn't the vice president. That would have been nice. No, he did work for TWA. TWA was the airline, TWA, their hub was in Kansas City, which is why we wound up in Kansas City.

23:13Oh, I see. Got it, got it, got it. When my dad left London when he was a kid, he was about nine years old, and then they moved to New Jersey, his family. And they were in Patterson, New Jersey. But he eventually started working with TWA before I was born. And he kept getting job transfers. So we moved around a lot when I was a kid. I was born in New Jersey. And then I lived in New Jersey. And then I moved to Kansas for about a year. And then I moved to California for a few years. And then I moved back to Kansas. So we moved around quite a bit. What about all the moving around and stuff? Was there like that?

23:48It's giving me anxiety. All the schools. And then LA. All the kids. Oh, look at the new kid. Did you grow up in one spot? Yes. Did you always? I mean, Jason, you were always LA, right? Since I was seven, I've been in Los Angeles, yeah. Where were you before that? I was in Salt Lake City from four to seven. I was in Boston from two to four. And I was in New York from zero to two. Just outside in Rye. Oh, beautiful. But what about you adapting into all those different environments? Did you have a sibling to sort of protect you or did you do the protecting? I have a younger sister. She's two and a half years younger than me.

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24:27And I think, yeah, we always were just kind of the new kids in school. We got very used to it. We didn't really know any different. But like did that shape your, at an age where you're kind of learning your personality and kind of what your strong suit is and what isn't. You know, are you funny? Are you blah, blah, blah. Like, did you find that you were perhaps made you nicer earlier because you had to be accepted by these new groups all the time? Uh-huh, yeah. Possibly. Yeah, I sometimes think that, you know, a good way to kind of ingratiate yourself or just not get your ass kicked is to just be kind of pleasant and if you can make somebody laugh, then you can be accepted a little bit easier.

25:13I certainly was drawn and always have been drawn to people who are funny. I mean, my dad was hilarious. And I think that, you know, when I'd be, yeah, probably in some new school or something, I'd go home and I'd listen to those Steve Martin records. Yeah, that album, Get Small. Did you ever listen to that? Yeah. What about British humor? Because my mom's British as well And she really shaped my taste in dry, kind of no-winking humor. Did your dad do that for you? Well, I think that some of the earliest things I can really remember laughing at was they used to show Monty Python's Flying Circus on PBS.

25:56Yeah, I loved it. And my parents loved it and we'd watch it and I thought it was hilarious. I never really understood or thought in terms of like British comedy or British sensibility but I did always respond to that and then when Fawlty Towers was on it was just one of my favorite shows of all time oh you guys like that? Monty Python's a great example holy shit there's no way you guys like Fawlty Towers? Sean you really like that? fucking let the world know man yeah you guys discovered this but like Monty Python and there's like, there's the broad half of the, of the troop. And then there's like the dry half of the troop.

26:35Like there's Michael Palin, you know, being crazy and goofy. And then you cut to John Cleese and he's just blinking at him like you fool. Which, which were you drawn to? Was, was it the John Cleese side since you, you went to Fawlty Towers? Well, Cleese is always, yeah, hilarious. I think that, I think I just, there was like an absurdity to it. And there was also something it might have been the first time and maybe why i was drawn to steve martin as well but it was like oh my god there are grown-ups that are being completely silly i remember that twit of the year competition as a kid and i crying i couldn't believe how funny it was to see these grown-ups acting this way yeah and i mean there was still so much with same with steve martin where it was this kind of ridiculous, I'm getting happy feet kind of thing.

27:26Right, yeah. I want to know about glazing hams because that was one of your odd jobs out of school. What do you mean glazing hams? What does that even mean? It means glazing hams. Yeah. Like what does that though? What do you mean? Did you work at Honey Baked Ham? No, that was our competitor. Sorry, sorry. No, no. What do you mean glazing them though? Oh, it's still touchy. Yeah, it's a hot spot. Look, it's just, Please don't bring that up to anyone at Holiday Ham Company because they had a real issue with honey bake. Wait, but how do you glaze a ham? Like, what do you do? It's a whole process, Sean.

28:01Let's keep it clean here. Sounds like a YouTube how-to video. How do you glaze a ham? Is it like in a factory? No, no. It was in like a mini mall. Oh, I see. Like personalized ham. It was a standalone store. Oh, got it. Honey bake, I believe, is a chain, isn't it? Okay, got it. I just want to know. I don't mean to besmirch Honey Baked. No, no, no. Nobody took it that way. No, no, no. Thanks. I think we're a public company by now. There's one thing I don't want to do. It's piss off the people at Honey Baked Ham. No. Paul, you don't have a target on your back now. Don't worry. The gang over at Honey Glazed, okay?

28:40I love... Yeah, go ahead. Oh, no, no. What do you love? No, you go. You go. What were you going to say? Guys, don't fight. All right. I was gonna... You go. Jesus. No, you go. This is a great bit. Please. It is a great bit. It's the new Laurel and Hardy. I wanna know where you worked. I wanna know where you worked. Oh. I worked at the Holiday Ham Company. No, you were gonna say something else about working. So I worked at this place. Yeah. And it was a whole... When I say it was a whole process, I would get there very early in the morning and I would unload a truck filled with ham. Naked ham. These aren't glazed yet.

29:17Right? These are unglazed. Oh, you're talking about unglazed hams. Yeah. All hams. By the way, this isn't like pigs hanging in a truck. These were ham hocks. Are they hocks? Thank you. Sure. And they were cryovacked, vacuum sealed. Oh, wow. And what I would have to do is unload a truck at like five in the morning, and then I would have to cut open. Release them from their sheaths? Yes, exactly. cut open the plastic, and then I would have to put them, these entire ham hocks. So far, I haven't heard one thing that we're going to keep in the episode, but go ahead. Yeah, no, no, this is absolutely, it's boring myself as I even listened to myself to describe it.

30:04So there you are. You're unloading. You got a truck full of unblazed hands. So I got a truck. So I got to put it on a thing. I slice it. I dice the whole thing. I got to cut it in half with a saw. I put it on a spit, and then I take a propane torch and a sugar sifter and I have to wear protective gear on my wrists. Same approach to acting. Same approach to your acting. That's exactly right. That is how I approach all of my roles. And how long were you longer in this job than you were at the Bevic's place, the 50s joint? Oh, at the - Studebaker's. Yeah, at Studebaker's. I went from Studebaker's to Holiday Ham Company.

30:41So, you know - Did you cut your hair before you were handling those hams? Sorry, can I ask, did you have the long hair when you were handling the hams, or did you have hair? Yeah, they didn't care. No, but you had to put that shit in a net, though, didn't you? By the way, I think I had it in a net. Yeah. Net the hair. Yeah. It was in a net. I was in the back. So if I was up front dealing with customers, there's no way they'd have it. You snapped that off. There's no way they'd allow it. Comb it out. Yeah. Now, I can only imagine, though, you know at least one or two of those long hairs as we're getting glazed into the ham.

31:13I just thought it would be a good Italian place called I Can Only Imagine. It's just cannolis. It's terrible. It's terrible stuff. It's Saturday. It's Saturday, and it's free. And it's free. So go ahead, Sean. Sean, get to your laundry list of questions and forget trying to have a conversation with Paul Rudd. Let me help you out, Sean. Fucking check off your fucking... We've got Paul fucking Rudd here. He's one of the most handsome... By the way, Paul, and I've seen it in stuff before. you look you always look so fucking good you're so handsome you're so good we're around the same age what are you doing just honestly just an email with a couple tips he sleeps in an olive oil bag eight hours a day you say the most important thing is eight hours a day that's what you say it isn't what I said I think I said something about sleep once where it was like oh yeah this is you try and get enough sleep I sleep a lot I don't look anything like you can I you know what the secret is what love oh my god that's our time who knew love and love Love and laughter.

32:12You saved it. I mean, Julie will have you back now. Who knew? This is, ugh. We'll be right back.

32:22And now, back to the show. No, seriously, Paul, anything weird ever happen on stage? Real quick, before we're out of time. No, no, no. Well, yeah. You did a lot of theater. I don't know if you listen to the podcast, but I love good theater stories where something went wrong. I know, of course. Yeah? I do. Do you have anything ready? Or you can sub it out for a Star Wars story if you ever audition for it. No, I have lots of other questions. Great theater stories. Yeah, yeah, something bad happened in a theater. Oh, something really bad. Yeah, no, no, I've had, I actually, well, I've done a show where somebody died in the audience.

32:54On stage? Oh, in the audience. There was a death. There was a death in the audience. There was somebody went to the bathroom in like the fourth row. That was an interesting thing. They get a whiff of that during the scene. No way. Somebody lost control of their bowels. So not only did you kill, but you acted the shit out of that part. Nice. Bravo! Thanks, guys. Well, it wasn't me that did it. Oh. Yeah. No, that would be, actually, that would be horrifying. Wait, what was the show and somebody really died? Somebody died last night of Ballyhoo was the show. These were two separate occasions. Okay.

33:31Unless I'm conflating them and they shit themselves in the way. And they die, because that often happens. By the way, it's often, I think it even happens in the other order where it's like you die and then you wind up just shitting yourself. That's how shake that happens. So wait, so the person died. I've had somebody, by the way, I've also done a show where somebody in the middle of a scene, I heard a bunch of commotion in the audience and then didn't realize it didn't subside. So it's like, what is happening? Only later came to realize that somebody in the front row of the balcony leaned over and puked on all of the people below.

34:06Oh, my. No way. Swear to God. Yeah. It was a show called Grace. And there was a scene, and I was doing it with Michael Shannon. No way. And Michael Shannon had this long monologue. We're doing the scene. It's just the two of us. We hear this noise. We're both aware that, like, there's a commotion. But usually it dies down, and it's getting louder and louder. and Michael is pissed off and starts screaming his lines toward the direction of the noise. To make a point. Which, of course, when Michael Shannon is yelling at you, like it's the most terrifying thing. It's the thing that did make everybody kind of quiet down.

34:49And then after this scene, I have to rush over to the wings to do a costume change. And I asked the stage manager, I said, what the hell's happened? What happened out there? and he's the one that said somebody threw up. Somebody was drunk and threw up over the balcony and it puked onto about 10 different people. I'm covered in barf. This show's not for you, huh?

35:18Fucking matinees. That's amazing. Should've seen the Lion King.

35:30Yeah. So, yeah. Wow. That was a great button. Fucking wait, Sean, this is like your fucking dream come true. I know, finally. A million great theater stories. I know. Talk about the person who died. Learn that after the fact. You're like, oh my God. They had to close down and then eventually they had to bring somebody, like a stretcher to get somebody out of there. Oh, wow. Wow. It's weird. I mean, you know, you hear of people dying on stage. Yeah. But you don't hear as much about people dying near the stage. Yeah, yeah. but did you so you stopped the show yeah you stopped and they right we did not stop you didn't keep going you kept going I don't think dude are you kidding are you kidding he fucking he killed by the way died the guy we slayed him yeah died nearing the end of the show yeah and so you finished I'm not so sure anyone realized oh right until until it was over until people were shuffling out of the theater and one guy stayed sounds like a nice peaceful passing It was definitely a courteous way to go for us, for the actors.

36:34That's great. Now, Sean, I know you have plenty. I've told, I think I've told every single good one on here. Is there one you haven't told yet? I mean, I'd have to think about it. Me and Raina are at the dinner theater. Yeah, right. I've had, by the way, I had one. Now they're all kind of coming, they're flooding back. I did a scene, I was lying on top of a bed. I was doing a scene I was lying on top of a bed and I'm with this woman Rachel Weisz was in the show and I was wearing boxer shorts and a t-shirt and all of a sudden this had never happened before I heard the audience laughing and I'm like what is going on and I realized it's because I was lying on the bed I had my leg up and kind of like and I realized my balls were hanging out.

37:27No. Which is worse than actually like even your penis. It's like when it's just your balls. Or just one ball. By the way, it might have been just one ball. But it was loose fitting boxers. You know what's crazy about that? Yeah. You know what's crazy about that? Your balls were showing in that show and the show was The Shape of Things. Yeah. That's exactly right. Nice. That's exactly right. That was the show. The shape of things. Yeah. That's nice. They were pendulous. I have one that's not as racist. The shape of things should have been, and the poster should have been your balls hanging out of shorts.

38:02I think we've all seen the shape of those things. With the great Fred Weller, with our mutual friend Fred Weller, whom we adore. Yes. Great Fred Weller. You guys go back. Do you, you know, what's another one in my mind is, we were doing West Side Story. This isn't as funny, but we were doing West Side Story and, you know, the Jets and the Sharks, and when they negotiate the rumble, they say, you know, knives, guns, pipes, fists, whatever. And this one guy, Darren... Yeah, well, you just blew the joke. But, uh... But, you know, it's like that. So Darren, Darren, my friend Darren, who's the most gayest man on the face of the planet, and wears it with a badge of honor.

38:40He's very, very, very funny. But he was a jet and he's trying to act tough. And, you know, during performance 250, they go, guns, knives, you know, pipes, fists. And he just jumps out and he goes, purses.

38:55Same joke. Same joke as dance. No, I guess. That's funny. You had to be there. You had to be there. All right, so listen. When you're scrolling through because you've been in... I want to go through before you leave. I mean, my God. I had all these things. You're in an hour 10. Let this guy get back into his weekend. I know. Sorry. Wild Oats and Clueless. Your credits are fucking sick. A Wet Hot American Summer and Friends. You run on Friends as an anchorman. By the way, and then 40-year-old Virgin and Knocked Up and working with Judd Apatow and role models and Ant-Man that you wrote. I didn't know you wrote Ant-Man.

39:25That's crazy. No shit. I didn't know that. Yeah. Well, one of them. One of the writers. One of the writers. It was originally written by Edgar Wright, who I just worked with, who's the best. The best. I love him. We love Edgar. He's a friend of the show. He's a friend of the show. He should come on, Willie. Adore him. Yeah. So wait, what do you expect? I might need to be a two-parter. Yeah, I know. There's so many things. I know. Shit. You get into the fucking credits are crazy. I know. But anyway, so friendship, though. You don't have to get into my credits, honestly. No, it's incredible. But the people, they want to know Paul.

40:00I know. You know? They want to know about the moments and the movies. I can't believe they didn't even ask him about it. The Apatow years. I know. I mean, you and Judd collaborated on so many of those movies that were huge, seminal comedies. Yeah. That really kind of changed. Yeah. Think about it. At that time, when you guys did 40-Year-Old Virgin, and that really changed the trajectory of comedy films. Like it kind of went into a, it created a whole new lane. He's a great Judd Apatow. He launched all kinds of folks. Yeah. He's great. The first time I ever met Judd was, it really is a weird thing.

40:39I don't know if you guys feel this way about those Steve Martin records. I know we've talked about them a lot, but it seems as if a lot of people in our generation, those albums had a big effect on them. Sure, yeah. And as did Steve Martin in general. And one time I was at a dinner and I was talking about fake names and how it's so difficult to come up with a perfect, funny, fake name. And I said, a great example is Gern Blanston, which was from an early Steve Martin routine. And someone at the dinner said, Gern Blanston oh that explains Judd Apatow's email address oh wow and and I and I think at this time there was only AOL I'm like oh that's hilarious yeah he's like Gern Blanston I don't think he has this anymore in case anybody wants to email him um but uh anyway I I went home and emailed Judd I'd never met him.

41:35No way. And I said, hey, man, nice reference on your email address. That's amazing. And he emailed me back. And that's how you guys started? And that's how we met. And then he emailed me back and said, oh, I'm glad you've emailed me. It's nice to connect with you. Now I know who to hit up if I ever need tickets to a new Neal Abute play because I've just done a bunch of Neal Abute plays. Anyway, we kept emailing each other for about a year. We became kind of pen pals, never met each other. And it wasn't until Anchorman that I actually met him in person. Oh, wow. That's crazy. Wow. And when I went into audition, he was there.

42:14And it was a little bit like, you know, meeting your pen pal. It's like, oh my God. Wow. I can't believe, there you are. I can touch you. The person who's been catfishing. I didn't want to touch him, but. It didn't mean real. Yeah. Now that your character in Anchorman looks very similar to the character in Friendship. Was that on purpose? no, it wasn't on purpose. Although in Friendship, in the script, the character that I was playing was originally called Brian, which was the name of my character in Anchorman. And I thought, maybe we should change that name just because I also have another mustache.

42:50The mustache was just something that seemed like, oh, this is the kind of thing that this guy would probably. Yeah, yeah, for sure. It's a weatherman. He's a weatherman. And so it's really funny. You're so good in it. And the movie is so great. Well, I got to say, you know, Tim, it's really Tim. And Tim is so funny. And I don't know if you've ever watched I Think You Should Be, which I think you probably have. He's a brilliant, brilliant, brilliant. He's incredible. I mean, he really has his own take on all of this stuff. And that was just such a blast to kind of get to work with him and see what he was doing.

43:26Have you ever seen a show? What is it, Detroit? Is it just called Detroiters? Yeah. What's his name? Tim what? Detroiters is incredible. Robinson. It's incredible. You would love him, Jason. I remember I met him when he was a writer on SNL. And, you know, everyone, even at that time at SNL, said, oh, well, I mean, this guy, Tim Robinson, is the funniest. Yeah. And he directed and wrote and is an actor in this film, Friendship? He is starring in it. He didn't write it. It might be the only thing I think he's ever done that he didn't write. However, the guy who directed it is a guy named Andrew D.

44:02Young. Yeah, he's great. He also wrote it, and he's friends with Tim and completely captures Tim's voice. I mean, when I read it, I would have sworn that Tim wrote it. Was there a lot of improv on the movie? I mean, there was some, but, you know, it's funny. When we kind of started, we were talking about it, and Tim said, let's take out all of the jokes. He wanted no jokes. and so it was very it wasn't really like this perceived as this silly comedy I mean I know that Andy the director said that he envisioned the master the Paul Thomas Anderson movie we could do like a weird comedy version but very strange of that and so it wasn't really there was certainly some improvisation but but neither one of us was trying to really hit anything too funny.

45:01And I apologize. Can we see this now? It's coming out. Can't see it now. I think it's coming out in, I don't know, April or May. What the fuck did Sean see it? I got a little screen. He gets a link. So depending on when this airs, perhaps. Yeah, so April, May. It's a spring release on this, huh? Yeah, spring release. Like all the beautiful things that come out in spring. Well, we're really excited about it. We're really excited about you, Paul. We love you. Paul. You're a tremendous talent. I'm so happy. I'm so happy. Bullish about your career. I think you're going to do great. Thank you. I'm so happy to be doing this.

45:35And like, it's such a, you guys are so awesome. The show is so funny. I'm so happy to be on this finally. Yeah. I know. It's a crime. We broke a lean down and we got you here. Yeah. No. No. Look, you guys have, you got a lot of people to talk to. I'm honored to be one of them. We're very, very happy that you came. Yeah, honored that you came. Thank you for spending some Saturday nights. I sure wish my connection was better. No, no, no. Don't think twice about that. Don't worry about getting at Honeyham's or your Wi-Fi connection. None of it. Don't think. I'm not going to. Yeah. We didn't talk about the Royals.

46:14We didn't talk about the Chiefs. We didn't talk about the Blues. Yeah, nobody wants to talk about that. Nobody wants to talk about that. By the way, well done with the Dodgers. You really want to lose the audience? Shut up, baby. Part two. Part two Rudd. You get two U's, you get two episodes. I'll tell you who would turn the volume up. Jason Sudeikis and Claire McCaskill. That's who you're right. Yeah, yeah, yeah. They would. What's Bobby Witt going to do this year? And the great Dandies also of Kansas City fame. The great Dandies friend of the show. The great Dandies. Good friend of ours. Double D.

46:44Paul Rudd. Pauly. You're just... Good to see you, my friend. All the love to you and Julie and the kids. You're world-class. Tip-top. Thank you. Tip-top, Paul. You guys are the best. And I can't wait to see you in person. It can't come here soon enough. We'll be at the candy shop soon. Yeah, we're going to do a Smartless outing. Let's do a live show from the candy shop. Oh, there we go. Look, anytime you want. Claude Hoppers for all of you. Free. That's a good fake name. I know something. Claude Hoppers. We're sweet on you, Paul. Oh, there it is. All right. Beautiful button. What a button. A candy button.

47:25I'm on my way to, I can only believe it.

47:31Pauly, have a great day. We love you. Goodbye. Thank you. Love you guys. Thanks so much. Yes. Thanks, dude. Take care. Bye. Bye, pal. Paul Rudd. Paul Rudd. What can you say? I mean, we've said this before about people, but that is an overdo of overdoes. Yeah, I know. Should have been on a lot of time ago. It's almost embarrassing how overdue we are. I feel bad I didn't get into his stuff, you know, like all the... You didn't get into anything, Sean. This is one of the least prepared episodes I've ever seen you host. And I can't believe a former member, Jason, a former host of the year nominee.

48:05Remember? Yeah, for sure. Well, you know, but if he gets into the sugar, like any fucking little three-year-old, you can't count on him. Guys, I've failed you again. I bet they are regretting that nomination a couple years ago in that gang when they... Well, aren't you on that board too? Yeah. The iHeartRadio? Yeah. No. Well, these days I'm only bored when you're hosting, you know what I mean? Yeah. But I do think if we ever soften on the repeat guest policy, you guys are enforcing like fucking... Live show. He'd be a live show. Oh, that'd be a good live show. I'll be a good live. We could just go through all its credits and talk about funny stories.

48:41Yeah, we'll go funny stories. I love that. Yeah, I do like that man a lot. But Willie, remember when he was talking about walking in Canada and he was walking on the, what was it? Here comes a bye. He's walking on the... He went to the Byway! By... Smart. Less.

49:03Smart. Less. Smartless is 100 % organic and artisanally handcrafted by Rob Armjarf, Bennett Barbaco, and Michael Grant Terry.

49:21Smart Less.

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Pull out your ham glazing kit, it’s Paul Rudd. Forensics, a death in the audience, and the best WiFi in town. Are they hocks? They can be. It’s an all-new SmartLess.

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