Adam Scott recalls this A-list actor getting ‘suddenly famous': ‘It was so crazy'
The actor, 52, revealed what it was like to watch his college friend, Paul Rudd, shoot to stardom after the cult classic 'Clueless' came out in 1995.
'When Paul got that job, that's when everything changed and one of my friends was suddenly famous,' Scott recalled while on Entertainment Weekly's 'The Awardist' podcast. 'It was so crazy. Yeah, and that was 30 years ago, too.'
8 Rudd and Adam Scott at the 77th Annual Golden Globe Awards.
NBCU Photo Bank
The actors first became pals while attending the same university.
'I started at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts the year after he graduated, and already he was kind of famous on campus,' Scott explained. 'I got to school and people were… There was chatter about this guy Paul Rudd, and part of it was because he had already gotten a Nintendo commercial that was airing and it was like, 'Whoa.''
8 Adam Scott and producer Paul Rudd attend 'Fun Mom Dinner.'
George Pimentel
And everyone on campus knew that the 'Ant-Man' actor, 56, 'was going to explode' at some point soon.
Meanwhile, Scott and Rudd didn't meet in person until the 'Parks and Recreation' alum graduated.
'He was there giving out an award as the past star of the school,' Scott reflected. 'And so we hung out after the graduation and became fast friends.'
8 Paul Rudd and Alicia Silverstone in 'Clueless.'
ph: Elliot Marks / © Paramount Pictures/ Courtesy: Everett Collection
Luckily, being in the same industry hasn't proven to be competitive thus far.
'I remember I auditioned for 'Clueless,' but not for the role Paul played,' Scott shared. 'I auditioned for some other role.'
Rudd's portrayal of Josh in 'Clueless,' opposite Alicia Silverstone's Cher, was the funny man's breakout role.
After 'Clueless,' Rudd starred in the 1996 adaptation of 'Romeo + Juliet,' the drama 'The Locusts' in 1997, and 1998's rom-com 'The Object of My Affection' with Jennifer Aniston.
8 Paul Rudd, Rachel Blanchard in the TV series 'Clueless.'
©Paramount/Courtesy Everett Collection
In 2000, Rudd played Nick Carraway in 'The Great Gatsby.'
For Scott's part, he rose to fame on a slew of hit '90s series, including 'ER,' 'Boy Meets World,' and 'Party of Five.'
One of his most beloved roles was starring on the sitcom 'Parks and Recreation' for seven seasons. Rudd guest-starred on the show alongside his pal.
They also starred in the 2011 comedy 'Our Idiot Brother' together.
8 Adam Scott in 'Passenger Side.'
©Strand Releasing/Courtesy Everett Collection
Earlier this summer, 'Clueless' celebrated its 30th anniversary.
'I don't know if I have a favorite line,' Rudd told Access Hollywood in March while reminiscing on the film. 'It's the 30th anniversary? Oh my god! That was a while ago. Doesn't seem like it was that long ago, but it was.'
In April, it was announced that Silverstone, 48, would reprise her iconic role in a 'Clueless' sequel series. The star will also executive produce alongside Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage.
'Totally buggin'… in the best way 💁♀️✨,' Silverstone wrote on Instagram about the news.
8 Adam Scott in 'Step Brothers.'
©Columbia Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection
Along with Rudd and Silverstone, the movie included Brittany Murphy, who died in 2009 at age 32, Stacey Dash, Breckin Meyer, Donald Faison and Jeremy Sisto.
The comedy was loosely based on Jane Austen's novel, 'Emma.'
This isn't the first time 'Clueless' has made its way to the small screen. In 1996, there was a 'Clueless' TV series on ABC with Rachel Blanchard as Cher Horowitz.
8 Adam Scott and Paul Rudd.
Patrick McMullan via Getty Images
In 2019, Schwartz, 48, explained why he 'loves' telling stories about teen romance.
'Obviously as I've gotten older, I've started to have a different perspective on teenagers, and maybe even more empathy for the fragility of that time. I also have more empathy for parents, now,' he told the Post at the time.
Looking back on the beloved character, Silverstone told Vogue in honor of the film's 25th anniversary that she found 'Cher on the page to be materialistic and unappealing.'
8 Adam Scott and Paul Rudd attend a ceremony honoring actor Paul Rudd with a star on The Hollywood Walk Of Fame.
WireImage
'And really annoying, to be honest. Just everything I sort of loathed,' she added. 'But I realized that was just me judging her, and once I started working on her I found all the heart and all the love.'
'She loves her daddy so much! And she's trying to be a supportive friend, so I just sorta put all of my love and heart into this character with these other aspects that were cringeworthy.'
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'What e-commerce has done is reset consumer expectations for the ways that retailers should behave,' Rogers said. But goosing sales with lenient returns quickly turned into a logistical and costly headache for retailers. Returns were projected to reach $890 billion in 2024, according to a report by the National Retail Federation and Happy Returns, a UPS company. Retailers estimated that nearly 17% of their annual sales in 2024 would be returned. The vast majority (93%) of retailers point to retail fraud and other exploitative behaviors as a major issue for their business, citing the increased operations expenses to process returns and increased shipping costs. "They created this monster that they now have to deal with,' Rogers said. America's $890 billion bad habit With so much merchandise headed for liquidation centers or landfills, many retailers have responded by shrinking their refund windows or by charging return fees. Despite the high costs, retailers are still cautious about how much they rein in liberal return policies, worried that discouraging returns will discourage people from making the purchases in the first place. But they aren't the only ones stuck footing the bill. 'As a vendor, we are required to accept 100% of the returns of our products, no questions asked, regardless of the reason,' an executive for a vendor told USA TODAY on the condition of anonymity because he feared losing business from Costco and other big-box stores. Return rates can run as high as 20% or more depending on the product, he said. It's not just lost sales vendors have to absorb. They have to cover the cost of shipping returned products back to the warehouse and all other associated fees. A few years ago, Costco briefly considered narrowing the return window to 90 days on outdoor power equipment, but management rejected the proposal, according to the executive, and vendors have paid the price. When he worked for a company that sold lawnmowers to Costco, the lawnmowers would fly out the door in the spring, only to fly back in come October. 'We would get used lawnmowers back and they were not even our brand,' he said. 'People would go buy a new mower, put their old mower in the box and return it.' That behavior 'is not the norm,' he said. 'But it's not the exception either.' Is a returns crackdown coming? Neil Saunders, a retail analyst at the research and analytics firm GlobalData, said he expects to see more retailers crack down on bad behavior. Home Depot, sometimes referred to as "Rent a Depot" or 'Returns Depot' because of returns abuses, recently instituted a 7-day return policy on pressure washers, dehumidifiers, window and portable air conditioners and generators. A spokeswoman denied that frequent returns were behind the policy shift. 'We added the 7-day return policy for categories that our customers need in the event of a natural disaster,' Beth Marlowe said in a written statement. 'By shortening the return window, we can have more inventory on hand to quickly move to the communities where these products are needed most.' Whatever the motivation, the new policy has slowed returns in these product categories, according to store employees. A Home Depot worker in Virginia, who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of losing his job, said he used to watch customers return window AC units typically within two to three weeks. After the new policy took effect in June, he overheard some customers saying they planned to buy an air conditioning unit to cool off during a heatwave. When they approached him, he pointed out the new policy and they left without buying one. But what about customers with legit returns? When Josh Powell, a 31-year-old organ transplant coordinator from Sherwood, Arkansas, fired up the pressure washer he bought online from Home Depot to clean the siding on his new house, it began belching black smoke. So he packed up the big box and crammed into his compact SUV for the 10-minute drive to his local store. With a full refund in hand, he bought another pressure washer on the spot, but this was before the 7-day policy went into effect. Now, Powell worries what will happen if he has a problem outside that window. Too often, he says manufacturers make it difficult to return defective goods. Will he get stuck with a $500 lemon? 'People are always looking for the best benefit for them and they will take advantage of any policy they can find, so I understand why certain retailers are cracking down,' he said. At the same time, he says he would go 'full Karen' if a retailer refused to return a faulty product. 'I don't know what the answer is,' Powell said.
