Every single Paul Rudd movie, ranked

paul rudd movie ranking

Paul Rudd is an actor known for his seemingly ageless appearance and his lovable sense of humor.
He's been a wide range of films, from romantic comedies to superhero flicks.
Insider ranked all of Paul Rudd's films based on critic scores on Rotten Tomatoes.
"Avengers: Endgame" (2019) an "The Little Prince" (2016) are two of his highest-rated movies of all time, per critics.
VisitInsider'shomepage for more stories.

Over the past few decades, Paul Rudd has become a household name and a true staple in the rom-com and comedy genres.

And although he's been in a variety of beloved hits, not all of his films have been adored by critics.

Here is every movie Paul Rudd has been in, ranked by critic scores on Rotten Tomatoes.

Note: All scores were current on the date of publication and are subject to change. Keep in mind that documentaries and some made-for-TV flicks were not included in this list.

Rudd played Tommy Doyle in "Halloween - The Curse of Michael Myers" (1995).

Synopsis: In the sixth installment of the "Halloween" franchise, Rudd played young Tommy Doyle, a man obsessed with the legacy of the Myers family who suddenly finds himself caring for the child of Michael Myers' estranged niece.

In the film, Doyle teams up with Michael Myers' past psychiatrist Dr. Loomis to end the familial "curse."

Rotten Tomatoes score: 6%

He was a silly version of a biblical character in "Year One" (2009).

Synopsis: The slapstick stone-age comedy stars Jack Black and Michael Cera as clueless cavemen in the leading roles, with Rudd playing Abel opposite David Cross' Cain.

Although he had a fairly small part, Rudd joined a cast of well-known guest stars that included Bill Hader, June Diane Raphael, Olivia Wilde, and Christopher Mintz-Plasse.

Rotten Tomatoes score: 15%

In "Over Her Dead Body" (2008), Rudd played a man who recently lost his fiancée.

Synopsis: In "Over Her Dead Body," Rudd portrays Henry, a young man who is inconsolable after the tragic loss of his fiancée (Eva Longoria).

When he seeks out the help of a psychic, played by Lake Bell, he finds himself falling for her. There's only one problem: his deceased girlfriend is haunting his new one.

Rotten Tomatoes score: 15%

Rudd played a cattle hand in "The Locusts" (1997).

Synopsis: In the melodrama "The Locusts," tension swirls in a small Kansas town when Clay Hewitt, played by Vince Vaughn, rolls in.

The Midwestern community is forever changed by the turn of events spurred by Hewitt's new life in town. In the film, Rudd had a small role as Earl, a young cattle hand who helps Hewitt get a job at the cattle ranch.

Rotten Tomatoes score: 18%

In "The Ex" (2007), Rudd played Zach Braff’s rude boss.

Synopsis: In "The Ex," Zach Braff played a new dad named Tom who takes a job to support his family. He quickly learns his new boss (Jason Bateman) was his wife's high school boyfriend and has intentions of winning her back.

Rudd had a small role in the film as Tom's former boss Leon, the manager of a restaurant.

Rotten Tomatoes score: 18%

Rudd was a black-market surgeon in "Mute" (2018).

Synopsis: The futuristic science-fiction "Mute" follows a mute bartender who ventures into Berlin's criminal underbelly in search of his lost love. Rudd played Cactus Bill, a black-market surgeon who hopes to leave the crime-infested city.

Rotten Tomatoes score: 20%

In "The Oh in Ohio" (2006) Rudd starred opposite Parker Posey.

Synopsis: The indie-romance "The Oh in Ohio" centers around Jack Chase (Rudd) and his wife Priscilla (Parker Posey) as a sexually frustrated couple that separates in the hopes of reuniting once they work things out.

Mischa Barton, Liza Minnelli, and Danny DeVito also appeared in the flick.

Rotten Tomatoes score: 22%

Rudd was a loser hoping to make it in Los Angeles in "Nerdland" (2016).

Synopsis: In the animated comedy "Nerdland," Paul Rudd and Patton Oswalt voice John and Elliot, two best friends who believe they're destined for fame in Hollywood, however misguided that dream may be.

Rotten Tomatoes score: 23%

He was one of many New Yorkers in "200 Cigarettes" (1999).

Synopsis: The independent drama "200 Cigarettes" is an ensemble film with comedic notes that takes place in New York.

Rudd played Kevin, a sardonic New Yorker who finds himself falling for his best friend (Courtney Love) on New Year's Eve.

Rotten Tomatoes score: 29%

Rudd portrayed a baseball player-turned-spy in "The Catcher Was A Spy" (2018).

Synopsis: In the historical drama "The Catcher Was A Spy," Rudd portrays Moe Berg, a real-life Major-League player who doubled as a US spy during World War II.

Rotten Tomatoes score: 32%

The actor was Michelle Williams’ boyfriend in "The Baxter" (2005).

Synopsis: In "The Baxter," Elliot Sherman (Michael Showalter) is set to marry his fianceé Caroline (Elizabeth Banks) right as her ex-boyfriend turns up out of the blue. Rudd co-starred in the romantic comedy as lackluster boyfriend Dan Abbott.

Rotten Tomatoes score: 32%

Rudd vied for Reese Witherspoon’s affections in "How Do You Know" (2010).

Synopsis: In "How Do You Know," Reese Witherspoon stars as Lisa Jorgenson, a former softball player who feels adrift after she's cut from her team.

Lisa finds herself falling for a womanizer (Owen Wilson) and a stockbroker (Rudd) at the same time and is soon stuck in the middle of a love triangle.

Rotten Tomatoes score: 32%

He played a drug lord in "Reno 911!: Miami" (2007).

Synopsis: Based on the Comedy-Central series of the same name, "Reno 911!: Miami" follows the team of underdog cops as they are called to action when a terrorist attack strikes Miami Beach on spring break. In the movie, Rudd played Ethan, a drug lord.

Rotten Tomatoes score: 34%

In "Wet Hot American Summer" (2001), Rudd played a camp counselor.

Synopsis: The cult comedy "Wet Hot American Summer" takes place in 1981 and follows the lives of campers and counselors at a summer camp as they try to make the most of their last day.

Rudd played the notoriously rude Andy, a camp counselor who would rather let a camper drown than pause his make-out session with Lindsay (Elizabeth Banks).

Rotten Tomatoes score: 36%

He was the star of "The Ten" (2007).

Synopsis: "The Ten" is an ensemble comedy that tells 10 stories, and each vignette inspired by one of the 10 Commandments from the Bible.

Rudd played pseudo-narrator Jeff Reigert in the film, which also stars Adam Brody, Jon Hamm, Winona Ryder, and Ken Marino.

Rotten Tomatoes score: 36%

Rudd played Tina Fey’s love interest in "Admission" (2013).

Synopsis: In the romantic drama "Admission," Tina Fey played a college-admissions officer who makes a visit to a high school and bumps into former classmate John Pressman (Rudd).

Rudd introduces her to a child prodigy, who she believes may be the child she gave up years ago.

Rotten Tomatoes score: 39%

The actor brought Steve Carell to dinner in "Dinner for Schmucks" (2010).

Synopsis: In the comedy "Dinner for Schmucks," Rudd played a financial analyst named Tim Conrad who discovers that his work bosses meet up for dinner regularly to make fun of the idiotic house guests they tote along with them.

Tim is appalled by the idea until he finds Barry Speck (Steve Carell) and realizes he would make the perfect schmuck for the dinner party.

Rotten Tomatoes score: 41%

Rudd was Ben Stiller’s rival in "Night at the Museum" (2006).

Synopsis: In the family-centric adventure comedy "Night at the Museum" (2006), security guard Larry Daley (Ben Stiller) discovers that the exhibits at the Museum of Natural History come alive at night.

In the film, Rudd played a bond trader named Don, who's set to become Larry's son's new step-dad.

Rotten Tomatoes score: 42%

Rudd was paired up with Witherspoon for the first time in "Overnight Delivery" (1998).

Synopsis: In addition to them playing romantic partners in "How Do You Know," Rudd and Witherspoon also starred opposite each other in the 1998 romantic comedy "Overnight Delivery."

In the film, Rudd played a high-school student who tries to retrieve a break-up letter sent to his long-distance girlfriend after he's told that she's been cheating on him. Witherspoon played a stripper who helped Rudd in his quest.

Rotten Tomatoes score: 43%

He was a Christmas-tree salesman in "All Is Bright" (2013).

Synopsis: In the comedic drama "All Is Bright," Paul Giamatti played an ex-criminal out on parole who must take a job selling Christmas trees with his old friend Rene (Rudd) so that he can afford a piano for his daughter.

Rotten Tomatoes score: 48%

In "The Chateau" (2001), Rudd played an American in France.

Synopsis: In "The Chateau," Paul Rudd and Romany Malco star as Graham and Allen Granville, estranged brothers who must go to France to claim their inheritance from a long-lost relative, which includes the mansion they left behind.

Rotten Tomatoes score: 50%

Rudd and Leslie Mann had a mid-life crisis in "This Is 40" (2012).

Synopsis: In the romantic comedy "This is 40," written and directed by Judd Apatow, Rudd and Leslie Mann star as a husband and wife who are both set to turn 40.

The movie examines the ups and downs of married life and their struggle to raise their two daughters, played by Apatow and Mann's real-life daughters Iris and Maude Apatow.

Rotten Tomatoes score: 52%

Jennifer Aniston fell for Rudd in "The Object of My Affection" (1998).

Synopsis: Based on a novel of the same name, "The Object of My Affection" is a romantic drama in which social worker Nina (Jennifer Aniston) falls for a first-grade teacher named George (Rudd) even though he is gay.

Besmitten with George, Nina asks him to help her raise her child after the father leaves the picture.

Rotten Tomatoes score: 54%

Rudd had a small role in the drama "P.S." (2004).

Synopsis: "P.S." is a drama starring Laura Linney as Louise, an admissions officer who believes that a young student (Topher Grace) may be the reincarnation of her high-school flame who died in a car accident years prior.

Rudd appears in the film as Louise's brother, Sammy.

Rotten Tomatoes score: 54%

Once again, Rudd and Aniston were a couple in "Wanderlust" (2012).

Synopsis: Rudd was once again paired up with Aniston for the film "Wanderlust," a comedy about a married couple who tries to escape the mundanity of marriage by joining a commune in Georgia to reinvent themselves after they're both left unemployed on the same day.

Rotten Tomatoes score: 59%

Rudd was manipulated by Rachel Weisz in "The Shape of Things" (2002).

Synopsis: "The Shape of Things" is a drama in which disheveled Adam (Rudd) catches the eye of an art student named Evelyn (Rachel Weisz) who begins dating him on the condition that he change his outfit, hairstyle, and even the shape of his nose.

Adam's friends grow concerned as Evelyn exacts more and more control over his life until he's a completely different person.

Rotten Tomatoes score: 64%

In "I Could Never Be Your Woman" (2007), Rudd was a young actor.

Synopsis: Written and directed by Amy Heckerling, "I Could Never Be Your Woman" is a romantic comedy in which Rudd plays Adam Pearl, a bright young actor who impresses television scriptwriter Rosie (Michelle Pfeiffer) at an audition and begins a relationship with her.

Rotten Tomatoes score: 64%

Rudd tried to parent a young boy in "Ideal Home" (2018).

Synopsis: In the comedic drama "Ideal Home," Steve Coogan and Rudd played a wealthy gay couple named Erasmus and Paul whose lives are upended by a young boy who shows up on their doorstep claiming to be Erasmus' grandson.

When they realize he's telling the truth, the pair tries to create a suitable home for him.

Rotten Tomatoes score: 65%

"Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy" (2004) featured Rudd as a field reporter.

Synopsis: In "Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy," Will Ferrell stars as the titular Ron Burgundy, who works at a television news station in the 1970s alongside his lifelong friends (newscasters played by Rudd, Steve Carell, and David Koechner).

Rotten Tomatoes score: 66%

The actor parodied past romantic comedy characters in "They Came Together" (2014).

Synopsis: The romantic farce "They Came Together" takes aim at worn-out romantic-comedy tropes by pairing small-business owner (Amy Poehler) up a with corporate sell-out (Paul Rudd).

Through changing seasons, silly break-ups, and quirky shared traits ("You like fiction books, too?") the couple tries to stand the test of time.

Rotten Tomatoes score: 68%

Rudd was a hapless sibling in "Our Idiot Brother" (2011).

Synopsis: Forced to live with his three sisters after an incident with weed lands him in jail, Rudd stars in "Our Idiot Brother" as the titular brother Ned who throws a wrench into the lives of his siblings while actually helping them become better people.

Rotten Tomatoes score: 70%

In "Diggers" (2007), Rudd played a working-class clam digger.

Synopsis: "Diggers" is a coming-of-age story about four friends who work as clam diggers while living in Long Island, New York. In the comedic drama, Rudd stars as a clam digger named Hunt, acting alongside Josh Hamilton, Ron Eldard, and Ken Marino.

Rotten Tomatoes score: 70%

Rudd was an air-force pilot in "The Cider House Rules" (1999).

Synopsis: "The Cider House Rules" is an intense drama about the upbringing of Homer Wells (Topher Grace), a young child who lives in a Maine orphanage run by a kindly doctor who secretly performs illegal abortions.

Rudd acts alongside Grace as young Air-Force pilot Wally Worthington.

Rotten Tomatoes score: 71%

In "Romeo + Juliet" (1996), he played Dave Paris.

Synopsis: "Romeo + Juliet" is a heavily stylized modern retelling of Shakespeare's classic play, with Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes at its helm.

Rudd played Paris, the man set to marry Juliet before Romeo steals her heart away.

Rotten Tomatoes score: 72%

Rudd shared another acting credit with Witherspoon in "Monsters vs. Aliens" (2009).

Synopsis: In the animated comedy "Monsters vs. Aliens," a group of monsters sanctioned by the US government are sent to defeat an alien species from taking Earth.

In the film, Rudd voiced Derek Dietl, the man set to marry Susan (Reese Witherspoon) before a meteorite hits her and transforms her into one of the monsters enlisted by the government.

Rotten Tomatoes score: 73%

He portrayed John Lennon in "Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story" (2007).

Synopsis: In the musical comedy "Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story," John C. Reilly stars as fictional musician Dewey Cox.

Rudd made a small cameo in the film as John Lennon, accompanied by Jack Black as Paul McCartney, Jason Schwartzman as Ringo Starr, and Justin Long as George Harrison.

Rotten Tomatoes score: 74%

Rudd returned for "Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues" (2013).

Synopsis: The sequel to the first "Anchorman," this movie picks up seven years later as Ron Burgundy (Will Ferrell) is tasked with assembling his old crew for the first 24-hour global cable network.

Rudd returned as field reporter Brian Fantana.

Rotten Tomatoes score: 74%

In "The Fundamentals of Caring" (2016), Rudd played a retired writer.

Synopsis: In the Netflix drama "The Fundamentals of Caring," Rudd played a writer who retires in the aftermath of a personal tragedy and becomes a caregiver for a teenager who is disabled.

The indie-drama builds up to a road trip that sets them on a path of self-discovery.

Rotten Tomatoes score: 77%

Rudd was sent to a mentorship program in "Role Models" (2008).

Synopsis: In the comedy "Role Models," Rudd co-stars with Seann William Scott as a pair of salesmen who total a company truck and must enlist in a mentoring program as punishment.

Christopher Mintz-Plasse and Bobb'e J. Thompson also star in the film as the addled youth that require their help.

Rotten Tomatoes score: 77%

In "Clueless" (1995), he starred opposite Alicia Silverstone.

Synopsis: In the teen comedy "Clueless" Alicia Silverstone is Cher, the most popular girl in high school who uses her charm and social prowess to play matchmaker.

Rudd plays her ex-step-brother Josh, who gives her a much-needed reality check.

Rotten Tomatoes score: 79%

In "Prince Avalanche" (2013), he was a road-crew worker.

Synopsis: Set in the summer of 1988, the dramatic comedy "Prince Avalanche" stars Rudd and Emile Hirsch as two road-crew workers who find themselves fighting with their spouses and each other on a relentless construction job.

Rotten Tomatoes score: 82%

Rudd played himself in "This Is The End" (2013).

Synopsis: Jonah Hill, Seth Rogen, Danny McBride, and Craig Robinson play heightened versions of themselves in this disaster comedy about the end of the world.

Rudd also played himself in the rapture comedy, joining other big-name stars like Emma Watson, Channing Tatum, and Rihanna.