Paul Rudd was attacked and shot in Los Angeles while working on CLUELESS

Former Sexiest Man Alive and America’s Sweetheart Paul Rudd has come a long way since starring in the fan-favorite 90s comedy In the dark. The actor joined Marvel as Ant man, and has been in a string of comedies that fans continue to enjoy. But he had such a tough time in Los Angeles when he started out, we’re lucky that he’s continued to act.

In an old interview with GQ, Rudd detailed a scary incident that happened while living in Los Angeles. One evening during the In the dark shoot, had gone to dinner with a friend at Jerry’s Deli in the Valley. Back to his car, a guy grabbed him and told him to give him his money.

“This is a real gun,” he told Rudd. “Careful, because I’ll fucking kill you.” Rudd assured him that he believed him and that he was fine. “You don’t think it’s a real gun,” the boy said, and fired. The bullet went through Rudd’s hair.

Rudd told him he had no cash but he could take whatever he wanted. He offered his backpack and the gunman ran off.

“I just remember the sound. I remember people in the parking lot being really freaked out. But I became very calm. Then I had to go to work the next day. It was a scene in a club. I was dancing. And I just had my night before.”

If that wasn’t enough, he then had a series of car accidents. His car was wrecked in a hit and run while it was parked. He borrowed a friend’s car, and the next week, when he braked going down a hill, he hydroplaned and hit another car. So he rented a car and was woken up one morning by an accident: someone had hit the rental car. He began to wonder if he was time to leave the city.

He had been thinking about moving to New York for some time, but was waiting for the right moment. Then he went to a theater audition and one of the monologues he had prepared came from him Amedeo, and as he was walking down the street trying to memorize lines, he bumped into someone. Unlikely, it was Tom Hulce, who played exactly the part he was rehearsing in the film and was one of Rudd’s most admired actors. He didn’t know Hulce, but she told him what he was doing, and for some reason Hulce asked, “Does he live in New York?” Rudd told him that he lived in California but was considering moving.

“You should,” she told him. “You would like.” This has decided. “I didn’t need any more signs,” Rudd says. After the audition, he called his landlord and said he was moving. “And I did, and I’ve been here ever since.”

It seems that Los Angeles was not the right place for Rudd. But it all worked out, and the rest is history. I’m glad he survived and is still making great movies!