SMA Paul Rudd just hangs with family & does crosswords when he’s not working

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We have a tradition in the Hecate household. Every year when the Sexiest Man Alive issue of People comes out, I cut out a picture of Prof Hecate’s face and tape it over whomever’s on the cover. But so I don’t think I will this year because when Prof H heard Paul Rudd got the title, he seemed as excited as I was. Everyman respects Everyman. Don’t get me wrong, I think Paul’s hot (I happen to find my husband hot, too) but he’s approachable hot. As cliché as it sounds, he’s the kind of guy with whom you could have a conversation. And going by his SMA interview, that’s exactly the kind of guy he is. According to Paul, when he’s not at movie premieres or awards shows, he’s hanging out at home in his gym shorts and hotel slippers doing the crosswords and making the school run.

When he’s not being sexy, Paul Rudd is a busy man.

The actor, 52, who was just crowned PEOPLE’s Sexiest Man Alive for 2021, is re-teaming with Will Ferrell for the new Apple TV+ series The Shrink Next Door and taking on one of Hollywood’s most treasured franchises with the upcoming movie Ghostbusters: Afterlife.

But home in New York City with his wife of 18 years, Julie, 53, and their kids Jack, 17, and Darby, 12, is Rudd’s happy place.
“When I think about myself, I think of myself as a husband and a father — like, I’m that,” he tells PEOPLE in this week’s cover story. “I just hang out with my family when I’m not working. That’s what I kind of like the most.”

Rudd, whose at-home attire consists of “T-shirts and gym shorts — with hotel slippers,” insists his days off from work are pretty typical. “I get up and take my kids to school,” he says. “If my wife was sitting next to me, she would do a spit take and then say, ‘Okay.’ But I do, I do. I’ll try to do some form of exercise and read a bit, you know, maybe do a crossword puzzle. I like the idea of sitting and just taking in things.”

Despite his new title, Rudd has stayed grounded over the years because he’s “never really felt as if I’ve earned anything,” he says. “This is all a job. I don’t put any false importance on it. It’s all kind of fleeting and unimportant. My life and my day-to-day is the real stuff. And my family, they don’t let anything slide. If anything, they go hard into the opposite, which is the way it should be.”

[From People]

Ah bless him. Prof. H would say he takes the kids to school too. But when you can count your efforts on one hand… I kid! Normally I would accuse a high-earning actor of trying to peddle this “aw shucks” homebody image but I feel like it fits Paul. Everything about him suggests he does hang out with his wife and kids and shuffles around in slippers he pinched from some fancy hotel Marvel put him up in. I also think that all of that has to do with Paul not putting, “any false importance” on being an actor. It’s a job and he does what he needs to to keep earning money. My mother would say that Paul “has his priorities in order.”

Later in the interview Paul said his daughter Darby has discovered Friends. He said he hadn’t watched the show in a while but seeing the episodes now brought back all these memories. So he started sharing all these stories from the show. But Darby was unimpressed with his secondary status, letting him know, “Well, you’re not Joey [Matt LeBlanc].” No, but he was Mike, who got to marry the best Friend!

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Photo credit: People, Avalon and InStar Images

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23 Responses to “SMA Paul Rudd just hangs with family & does crosswords when he’s not working”

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  1. Bettyrose says:

    I believe every word. Because I want to but also we’ve seen zero evidence to the contrary.

    • Twin falls says:

      +1

    • Katherine says:

      He’s just so wholesome, I love him. Just hearing about him here and there puts a smile on my face and makes me feel better about the world. And to me, he isn’t approachable sexy at all, I would be just as nervous as with any other guy I find hot ^-^

  2. TIFFANY says:

    The more I read about this, the more that People got it right.

    I have always liked Paul. I think he is a great comedic actor and a fantastic talk show guest.

    His skit about being a 40 year old One Direction fan is seriously one of the best things SNL has done in a long time.

    I was in a bird app conversation with people who have seen celebs out and about. And several people say they have seen Paul out at a bar with friends and he was…..just out with friends, playing pool and drinking beer.

    So I can see the crosswords, school runs and hanging in shorts as his thing.

  3. bluhare says:

    I love Paul Rudd, I do. I would love to do crosswords with him; we could do the Sunday New York Times one in pen! I think he’s a lovely man, really funny, and an all around good guy. But I don’t think he’s sexy in the sexy sense of the word.

    But SUCH a better choice than Blake Shelton!

  4. Susie Whitt says:

    The husband and I were talking about “Mike” last night! there was only ever going to be one (possible) husband for Phoebe and that could ONLY be Paul Rudd!! Also, “Bobby Newport!”

    • TIFFANY says:

      The tide really changed when the character of Mike was introduced on Friends and for the better. And Paul sold it and you know he was the adult in that expected Phoebe to be the same. He knew how the handle that crew of idiots and didn’t expect his wife to continue to be one either. His introduction was the only reason I watched towards the end of the shows run. Seriously, I only watched when they said he was appearing.

      • Sigmund says:

        Mike is so funny and great (and hot). I wish they’d brought him on the show earlier. We only got what, one season with him? 😭

  5. ooshpick says:

    stars: they’re just like us 🙂

    • Bettyrose says:

      But he wasn’t a star yet in Clueless when my crush began, and as he apparently hasn’t aged a day since then, he’s just a new face on the scene to me. A-list action star? Wut?

  6. tealily says:

    He really does seem like a normal, doesn’t he? I just love him!

  7. MattyLove says:

    My husband (a doctor) once kicked Paul Rudd out of a kid’s hospital room (he was super sleep deprived and didn’t realize who he was). Paul didn’t say anything and left the room as asked. Good guy.

  8. Bobbie says:

    “he’s hanging out at home … doing the crosswords and making the school run.”
    Yeah, not really sexy. SMA needs to exude an energy that he’d know what to do if he got you alone in a room. 🙂

  9. The Recluse says:

    Rudd is such a cool guy. A real mensch. I love that he’s a family guy who doesn’t take his work too seriously. And you could tell when he was on Colbert the other night that he’s game for all sorts of tomfoolery, including spoofing the whole Sexiest guy thing. I loved that they did the whole beauty queen moment with him: tiara, sash and flowers and him bawling. Fabulous.