You’ve probably seen the title and thought to yourself “in what world? Not my Paul Rudd!” Paul Rudd is known for a lot of roles. Most recently in the MCU as Scott Lang aka Ant-Man. He’s had a long career of portraying lovable, yet sometimes daft characters. When you look at Rudd, he just looks wholesome. You’d never want to see him in a part where he is the bad guy. Hear me out, though; because I think it’s about time Rudd plays the villain in a movie.
I will give you two examples as to why I feel this way. First, I will let you in on something a dear friend of mine pointed out. And ever since he told me, I believe it to be true. Comedians can play those dark characters. In order to be in comedy, you must pull inspiration from some truly dark places. It’s why the funny guys are often great in darker roles. Look at Jordan Peele. As a part of one of the funniest duos ever, he’s always brought us some of the best horror movies. Also look at Jim Carey, who has been just as successful in his darker-toned projects as he has in his lighter ones.
Now, back to Rudd. Rudd recently played two characters in Netflix’s Living With Yourself. While it’s not an overly dark character, there were a few moments where one of his characters shifted into someone calculating and ever so slightly dangerous. The change was subtle, but it was enough for me to look Rudd in the face and know that he has it in him.
The biggest example is that he did essentially play a villain once. In a not so great movie, but he was the best part of it. I’ve reviewed Netflix’s Mute. I’ve even said that Rudd was the standout in this film. A true asshole – his character was sarcastic, conniving, murderous, and at times, deadly serious. It was a role I had never seen Rudd in before. After Mute, I wanted more. The thing is, Hollywood does not see a villain when they see Rudd. It’s okay – Rudd seems like a great guy. And his comedy roles are lovable. He’s great as Ant-Man. But, I want a villain and I think he’d be great at it.
Would you like to see Rudd in a villain role?
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