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Paul Rudd is an Internet Boyfriend and while he isn’t that cute to me, he’s also one of the few celebrities that I genuinely believe is probably a pretty nice person. Also, the joke is that he looks forever young because he’s nice, but he definitely gets professional help with that–most celebrity men do. And it’s not just getting good sleep like he says. Anyway, Paul was at a New Jersey Taylor Swift concert back in May when he met a young musician Claud Mintz, who goes by Claud. Claud is signed to the same label as Taylor’s friend and opener Phoebe Bridgers, and they are up-and-coming. Claud has a song called “Paul Rudd” on their latest album. Paul listened to Claud’s songs and loved what he heard. Long story short, he ended up starring in a music video for Claud’s song “A Good Thing.” In it Paul plays a bumbling, lonely mailman. It’s a cute little video and a sweet story–Claud says it was the best day of their life.

How Paul and Claud met: Taylor Swift unwittingly helped Paul Rudd land his latest role as a loveless, bumbling mailman. His cameo in the music video for “A Good Thing” came about when the artist, Claud Mintz — who goes by Claud — met him at Swift’s The Eras Tour earlier this year. “I, like, randomly met him in passing at the Eras Tour, at the Taylor Swift concert. I walked kind of like past the VIP tent,” Claud explained in a TikTok posted July 16. “I was like, ‘Paul Rudd, this sounds kind of weird but there’s a song on my album. The song’s called ‘Paul Rudd.’ I hope this isn’t weird.'”

How Paul got involved in the music video: “He was, like, so nice about it and he gave me his email and he was like, ‘Send it to me. Like, I’d love to hear your album,'” Claud said. Claud sent Rudd their album, “Supermodels,” and explained that track eight, titled “Paul Rudd,” is named after him because “it’s me, like, trying to envision myself as, like, this cool, confident, charismatic, lovable character that you play.” That’s how Rudd comes across in real life, too, Claud said. But Claud believes they often don’t have those same qualities. Claud adds Rudd told them he “loved the album.”

This opened the door for Claud to invite Rudd to the filming of their music video: “Would you ever consider stopping by?” He ended up staying for “the whole entire day,” Claud said. “He stayed for, like, five hours and we shot, like, that whole scene and danced outside and it was the best day of my life,” they said.

[From USA Today]

Am I surprised that Paul is apparently a Swiftie? I have to say I am. But it’s charming that he wanted to be a part of this music video. I’m sure that he recognized his involvement would raise Claud’s profile and help more people discover them. They are very similar-sounding to Phoebe Bridgers, if that’s your thing. The music video is fun (there is also a cute cat in it) and the song is catchy. Claud makes it seem like his visit to the music video set wasn’t planned but I think it must have been because he has a costume and everything! It is cool that Paul stayed for so long when I’m sure his scenes were quick to shoot. I like that Paul doesn’t take himself too seriously and is happy to be the comedic relief. He doesn’t give off vibes of having a big ego, which is rare in his industry. His reputation as a sweet guy is seemingly well-earned. Now if we could just figure out who his aesthetician is, then we’d be cooking with gas.

Photos credit: Avalon.red, Cover Images and via Instagram