In Our Idiot Brother, Paul Rudd plays the shaggy-haired titular character, a guy so naively idiotic that he hands a uniformed police officer marijuana after the cop claims to be having a bad day. How did Rudd transform himself from a socially conscious law student who romances his hot ex-stepsister in Clueless to a socially imbecilic drifter who yearns for his dog Willie Nelson? You can always trace a direct line through a few important roles to illustrate what led to an actor's current success. As such, let's look at nine pivotal performances that track the evolution of Paul Rudd.
Clueless (1994)
After a series of small parts in TV movies and a recurring role on the short-lived Fox sitcom Wild Oats, the University of Kansas graduate earned what would be his breakthrough part in Amy Heckerling's '90s gem Clueless. Rudd reportedly auditioned to play Murray (which went to Donald Faison), Elton (Jeremy Sisto) and Christian (Justin Walker), but Heckerling cast the 25-year-old as Alicia Silverstone's onscreen ex-stepbrother and eventual love interest -- a role that earned him the title of MTV audience crush object. Over a decade later, Rudd would re-team with Heckerling less successfully for the straight-to-DVD flop I Could Never Be Your Woman.
Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers (1995)
Just two months later, Rudd (who was still being credited as Paul Stephen Rudd at the time) returned to the box office for his first leading role. In the sixth installment of the Halloween franchise, which was filmed before Clueless, the Kansas U. grad replaced Brian Andrews as Tommy Doyle, the adult version of the child that Laurie Strode babysat in the first Halloween film. Although critics hated the movie, it did decently at the box office, coming in second to David Fincher's Se7en its opening weekend.
Cider House Rules (1999)
Four years later -- after playing the object of Jennifer Aniston's affection in, well, The Object of My Affection and appearing in MTV's ensemble bomb 200 Cigarettes -- Rudd earned his first role in a marquee drama. In Lasse Hallström's adaptation of the best-selling novel of the same name, Rudd played Charlize Theron's apple farm owner boyfriend who leaves her to fight in World War II. Cider House Rules would be the most critically successful drama of Rudd's career and also his only Academy Award-winning title. (The film won Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Actor in a Supporting Role for Michael Caine.)
Wet Hot American Summer (2001)
At this point in his career, Rudd was being recognized as a serviceable dramatic actor and romcom love interest but he had not yet had the chance to display his serious comedic talents. That would change with David Wain and Michael Showalter's summer camp cult classic Wet Hot American Summer. Opposite Janeane Garofalo, David Hyde Pierce, Elizabeth Banks, Michael Ian Black, Bradley Cooper, Amy Poehler and more, Rudd played an inattentive boyfriend/lifeguard who rocks a sweet jean jacket. While the film received negative reviews at the time of its release, it has since accumulated a devoted following that is praying for a prequel.
The Shape of Things (2003)
After Wet Hot American Summer, Rudd once again returned to his dramatic roots (the actor studied at the British American Drama Academy following college) to star in Neil LaBute's play The Shape of Things. As a college student who becomes a real-life science (and thesis) project for his girlfriend (Rachel Weisz), Rudd performed the play in London without an interval or curtain call. Two years later, Rudd and his cast mates appeared in the Focus Features adaptation which was also directed by LaBute. Previously, Rudd had worked with the playwright on his off-Broadway production of Bash.
The 40 Year Old Virgin (2005)
If Wet Hot American Summer was the role that put Rudd on the comedy map, than 40 Year Old Virgin is the role that placed him in the comedy big leagues. As Steve Carell's electronic store co-worker David, Rudd's ex-girlfriend obsessed character stole a number of scenes in his second Judd Apatow production (after Anchorman), notably the "You know how I know you're gay?" interaction with Seth Rogen, and the scene in which he has an emotional breakdown over his ex Amy (Mindy Kaling) at a speed-dating event. After seeing that Rudd could hold his own against Carell and Rogen, Apatow cast him again in Knocked Up, Forgetting Sarah Marshall and his upcoming Knocked Up sequel.
I Love You, Man (2008)
But it was with I Love You, Man that Rudd got his first leading role in a big-screen comedy. As Peter Klaven, a real estate agent desperately in search of a friend and best man in the weeks before his wedding, Rudd again perfected the role of clean-cut, wise-cracking dork opposite Jason Segel, Rashida Jones (who he would team up with again for Our Idiot Brother) and Rush, the Canadian band that deserves full billing in this well-reviewed bromance.
Party Down (2009)
Seventeen years after beginning his professional acting career, Rudd kicked off his career as an executive producer with the Starz series Party Down. Three years earlier, Rudd had produced his buddy David Wain's comedy The Ten and the year before, he co-wrote the Role Models script (also with Wain), but Party Down would be the actor's first behind-the-camera television experience. Along with John Enborn, Rob Thomas and Dan Etheridge, Rudd co-created and executive produced all twenty episodes of the beloved (and very much missed) series about actors who moonlight as Los Angeles caterers. He was also almost the star of the series, too, when Party Down initially sold to HBO. The leading role eventually went to Rudd's longtime pal Adam Scott.
Our Idiot Brother (2011)
In this weekend's Our Idiot Brother, Rudd again assumes comedic lead. This time as a directionless (but compassionate) loser, his character struggles to get respect from his three sisters as they each attempt to sort out their own colossal fuck-ups. Whether he is playing an unshowered, unshaven hippie or a buttoned up '90s law student, Movieline adores Paul Rudd and cannot wait to see how he continues to transform himself onscreen. (We just hope that his continued evolution includes a Wet Hot American Summer movie.)