Paul Rudd broke the Internet, and this time, he was not even trying. Named People Magazine’s “Sexiest Man Alive” 2021, Rudd has large shoes to fill, in the likes of George Clooney, Harrison Ford, and the last guy he dethroned, the very buff Michael B. Jordan.
While Paul Rudd himself declared that he was going to “lean on it hard”, the celebrities have reacted to his crowning glory, and not all seem on board with it. Here’s the dope.
Sexy Paul Rudd Already Anticipated Some Reactions
52-year-old Paul Rudd is affable, pleasant, cool and also, Ant-Man. Before his Marvel fame, he was Mike, Phoebe’s love interest and eventual husband in the sitcom, Friends, and no, he did not make it to the much-talked-about reunion. But he knows that the reactions to him being titled not just sexy, but “sexiest” is going to be a tad all over.
Said Rudd, “I do have an awareness, enough to know that when people hear that I’d be picked for this, they would say, ‘What?’ This is not false humility. So many people should get this before me.”
His wife of 18 years Julie, was “stupefied” as Rudd put it, and he expects most of his friends to give him grief for it. But then again, he’d decided not to be modest about it, saying, “I mean I’m going to lean into it hard. I’m going to own this. I’m getting business cards made. But all of my friends will destroy me and I expect them to. And that’s why they’re my friends.”
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The Avengers Have Spoken, For Paul Rudd
While Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, and Chris Pratt have kept mum, as has Robert Downey Jr, two of Rudd’s co-stars have applauded the move.
There’s Mark Ruffalo, who sent Rudd wishes never to age so that he could keep the title forever.
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And then there’s Jeremy Renner, who took the moment to bask in the spotlight, quite literally.
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Rudd has some celebrity friends and fans as well. Even in Drew Barrymore, who wrote, “Great choice in Paul Rudd” and Sharon Stone, who replied to People’s post sharing some behind-the-scene pics of Rudd, with “…and this is exactly why 😂😍👏”.
Even Seth Rogen, who co-starred with Rudd in movies like “The 40-Year-Old Virgin“, applauded the move, saying on Twitter, “No arguments here”.
But Some Have “Mixed Emotions”
Paul Rudd Is PEOPLE’s 2021 Sexiest Man Alive: ‘I’m Getting Business Cards Made’ #SexiestManAlive https://t.co/cII5b2htw2
— People (@people) November 10, 2021
Is everyone as pumped as fans are for Paul Rudd. Well, not quite. There’s Judd Apatow who worked with Rudd on “This is 4o and Knocked Up” who teased on Twitter, “I’m having mixed emotions about this”.
And then there is Ryan Reynolds, who declared, tongue-in-cheek that like many others before him, this honor “will be wasted on him like so many before him because he might play it shy, bashful [and] humble.”
He also advised Rudd to not waste the opportunity and “run like the wind” in an interview, also saying that had it been him, his family may have been in trouble. Said Reynolds, “If I got it now, I’m not saying I would leave my family, but they would need to go on without me. I would roam the world clutching my dog-eared PEOPLE magazine, going from town to town … sowing my wild oats like some nude, magical gardener. It would be amazing.”
And we agree although Rudd has decided to be more “mysterious” after this, and that is something we cannot wait to see!
We’re catching up with the one and only @VancityReynolds about his new film #RedNotice, family life and his TikTok fame! pic.twitter.com/XB21H7ZhjG
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) November 10, 2021
