Paul Rudd blew kisses and joked with UF students Monday night.
Rudd spoke at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center about his Jewish roots, past roles and the Marvel Cinematic Universe. David Itzkoff, a New York Times reporter, interviewed him in front of more than 1,000 students.
Itzkoff quoted Wesley Huffman, a UF telecommunication senior, who was quoted saying he was excited to see Rudd in a previous Alligator article.
When Huffman heard his name, he stood up and blew Rudd a kiss.
“It was so natural, the first thing I thought of was, ‘I’m going to blow this guy a kiss,’” the 21-year-old said. “It was wet, hot and American.”
Rudd then talked moving around during his childhood because of his father’s job.
“I think I always felt a little bit like an outsider,” he said. “As a way to fit in, I would clown around.”
For his first movie that came out, “Clueless,” the producer called him saying it was a success, he said.
“He said, ‘Congratulations, this is a hit. Don’t get used to it,’” Rudd said.
The audience cheered when Rudd talked about his role in “Friends.” He said getting on the show was a fluke.
“I always felt a little bit like a prop,” he said. “Like nobody’s tuning into this show to see what’s going on with Mike.”
He said that feeling carried over to the set of “Captain America: Civil War,” the next Marvel movie Rudd will act in. Rudd also played Scott Lang in “Ant-Man.” He said he felt more like a spectator than an actor on set.
“I felt like I’m somewhere I’m really not supposed to be,” he said. “I feel like I’m watching someone bathe.”
He told young actors looking to move to Los Angeles to be themselves.
“Everything is a big blob, there’s no one way of anything happening,” Rudd said. “It’s a town full of weirdos and none of it is personal.”
Evan Kleiner, a UF business administration freshman, said he was excited to see his favorite comedian. He won a Facebook contest through the Accent Speakers Bureau to sit closer to Rudd.
“He seems like a very down-to-earth kind of guy,” the 18-year-old said.
Kleiner said he brought his friend Adam Weiss, 19, to the event as a fellow VIP because Weiss offered him free Chipotle.
“It was beautiful,” Weiss, also a UF business administration freshman, said.
Weiss said his favorite part of the night was when Rudd acted out a move from his movie “I Love You Man” called “slapping the bass,” in which he plays air guitar, with a student in the audience.
“That made my night,” said Weiss. “I just want to see Paul Rudd slap the bass.”
Contact Kaitlyn Newberg at knewberg@alligator.org and follow her on Twitter @k_newberg.
Movie star Paul Rudd speaks with The New York Times culture reporter David Itzkoff about his acting career at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center on Monday evening. "I feel like I'm somewhere I'm really not supposed to be," Rudd said about being in the Marvel superhero movie franchise.
