Paul Rudd made his acting debut in the American television series ‘Sisters’ in 1992. He played the role of ‘Kirby Philby’ and remained a part of the show until 1995. He went on to make his big-screen debut in the 1995 American coming-of-age teen comedy film ‘Clueless’ directed by Amy Heckerling. The film garnered praise from critics and was a major commercial success, grossing over $56.6 million on a budget of $12 million. That same year, he portrayed ‘Tommy Doyle’ in the Joe Chappelle-directed American slasher film ‘Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers.’ The film received mostly unfavorable reviews from critics and sits on a 9% approval score on Rotten Tomatoes. In 1996, he portrayed ‘Dave Paris’ in the romantic crime tragedy film ‘Romeo + Juliet’ directed by Baz Luhrmann. The film received mostly positive reviews from critics and grossed over $147.6 million on a budget of $14.5 million. He next starred in films like ‘The Locusts’ (1997), ‘The Object of My Affection’ (1998), ‘200 Cigarettes’ (1999), ‘Gen-Y Cops’ (2000), and ‘Wet Hot American Summer’ (2001). In 2002, he joined the cast of the American television sitcom ‘Friends’ created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman. He played the role of ‘Mike Hannigan’ and remained a part of the show until 2004. He played the role of ‘Brian Fantana’ in the 2004 American satirical comedy film ‘Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy’ directed by Adam McKay. The film was warmly received by critics and grossed over $90.6 million on a budget of $26 million.
Rudd continued to star in films like ‘The 40-Year-Old Virgin’ (2005), ‘The Oh in Ohio’ (2006), ‘Night at the Museum’ (2006), ‘Reno 911!: Miami’ (2007), ‘Knocked Up’ (2007), ‘The Ten’ (2007), ‘Over Her Dead Body’ (2008), ‘Role Models’ (2008), ‘I Love You, Man’ (2009), ‘How Do You Know’ (2010), ‘Our Idiot Brother’ (2011), ‘Wanderlust’ (2012), and ‘The Perks of Being a Wallflower’ (2012). In 2012, he starred as ‘Pete’ in the American comedy film ‘This Is 40’ directed by Judd Apatow. The film received a mixed response from critics and earned a 51% approval score on Rotten Tomatoes. He went on to appear in films like ‘Admission’ (2013), ‘Prince Avalanche’ (2013), ‘Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues’ (2013), ‘They Came Together’ (2014), ‘The Little Prince’ (2015). In 2015, he portrayed ‘Scott Lang / Ant-Man’ in the American superhero film ‘Ant-Man’ directed by Peyton Reed. The film received positive reviews from critics and was a major financial success, grossing over $519.3 million on a budget of $169.3 million. He was next seen in films like ‘Captain America: Civil War’ (2016), ‘Sausage Party’ (2016), ‘Fun Mom Dinner’ (2017), ‘The Catcher Was a Spy’ (2018), ‘Mute’ (2018), ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp’ (2018), ‘Avengers: Endgame’ (2019), ‘Ghostbusters: Afterlife’ (2021), and ‘Chip ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers’ (2022). He last appeared in the 2022 American animated musical comedy film ‘The Bob's Burgers Movie’ directed by Loren Bouchard and Bernard Derriman. The film received a positive response from critics.