Paul Rudd Originally Wanted to Play Christian in ‘Clueless,’ Felt It Was the ‘Most Interesting Part’

Paul Rudd revealed that he wasn’t initially happy to land his breakout film role in the 1995 film Clueless, explaining that he was more interested in taking on a different character.

The Ant-Man actor, 57, played Josh, the stepbrother of Alicia Silverstone’s Cher who ends up being her love interest in the movie. The role solidified Rudd’s place in Hollywood as a heartthrob and comedic actor. However, if the star had his way, things would have been much different.

Speaking in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, published Wednesday, June 3, he revealed that he strongly preferred the part of Christian, Cher’s crush who turns out to be gay. The role ultimately went to Justin Walker, but Rudd said he was enamored with the idea of getting the part.

“I remember reading it, like, ‘Wait a minute, this is a gay character, who’s also the coolest character in the movie? I’ve never seen this before and it’s the most interesting part,’” he explained.

Director Amy Heckerling allowed him to read for the role but ultimately cast him as Josh. Rudd revealed that he also liked the idea of playing Donald Faison’s character, Murray, before he realized the role was written for a Black actor.

Still, the experience of not landing Christian made it so Rudd wasn’t very excited about the prospect of costarring in the film that would put him on the map.

Even after it was clear that Josh would be Rudd’s breakout role in Hollywood, he made the baffling decision to leave L.A. for New York City to pursue a career in theater. He was cast in The Last Night of Ballyhoo, which his team at the time found utterly baffling.

“My agent was like, ‘What … are you doing?’ ” he recalled. “But I was so excited. I was 25 or 26, and I was about to be on Broadway.”