In an age where even the most minor transgressions can have the cancel culture folks calling for your head, it takes more effort than ever to retain the almost unachievable status of being universally beloved. In terms of the acting industry, there are very few names that are held in such high regard, but along with Keanu Reeves and Tom Hanks, Paul Rudd is definitely one of them.
The actor’s wholesome personality has won him a legion of fans, and he’s never been a bigger star than he is right now, thanks to his involvement as the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s tiniest superhero, with his third solo outing, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania set to begin shooting later this year.
The ageless 51 year-old may have made his first big screen appearance in Clueless all the way back in 1995, before going on to star in Baz Luhrmann’s lavish Romeo + Juliet the following year, but it wasn’t until he became embedded in Judd Apatow’s regular troupe of collaborators that he began rapidly ascending up the Hollywood ladder.
Even then, he was rarely afforded the opportunity to take center stage, but one of his most underrated leading roles has just landed on streaming, with Our Idiot Brother now available on Netflix. Rudd plays a burnout jailed for selling weed to a cop, who turns to his sisters for help following his release, but his lifestyle winds up having a huge impact on their lives.
Our Idiot Brother was largely overlooked when it first hit theaters a decade ago, but Rudd is a much bigger name now than he was then, so it definitely stands a great chance of finding a major new audience on the world’s most popular platform.