Paul Rudd Just Detailed His Seriously NSFW Live Theater Wardrobe Malfunction, And I'm Genuinely Mortified On His Behalf

Buzz Feed

30-04-2025

Paul Rudd just recalled a seriously unfortunate wardrobe malfunction that he suffered during a live stage performance with Rachel Weisz, and I am mortified on his behalf.
While the 56-year-old actor is arguably best known for his movie roles, Paul was asked about his theater career during a recent appearance on the SmartLess podcast. The hosts asked the star if 'anything weird' had ever happened while he was on stage, and boy, did he deliver.
'I did a show where somebody died in the audience, there was a death in the audience,' Paul began, before reeling off other anecdotes: 'Somebody went to the bathroom in, like, the fourth row. That was an interesting thing to get a whiff of that during the scene; somebody lost control of their bowels.'
'By the way, I've also done a show where somebody… In the middle of a scene, I heard a bunch of commotion in the audience, it didn't subside, I was like: 'What is happening?'' he recalled. 'Only later came to realize that somebody in the front row of the balcony leaned over and puked on all the people below them, swear to god.'
'It was a show called Grace, I was doing it with Michael Shannon,' Paul went on. 'Michael Shannon had this long monologue, we're dong the scene, it's just the two of us, we hear this noise, we'e both aware that there's a commotion but it usually dies down and it's getting louder and louder, and Michael is pissed off and starts screaming his lines toward the direction of the noise to make a point.'
'Of course, when Michael Shannon is yelling, it's the most terrifying thing,' he noted. 'That's the thing that did make everything kind of quiet down. Then, after the scene, I have to rush over to the wings to do a costume change, and I asked the stage manager, I said: 'What the hell? What happened out there?' And he said somebody threw up. Somebody was drunk, threw up over the balcony, and puked onto about 10 different people.'
The hosts then circled back to Paul's first comment about a patron dying during the show, which Paul said happened during a Broadway performance of The Last Night Of Ballyhoo, which he starred in between 1997 and 1998.
'We learned that after the fact,' he explained. 'Like, oh my god, they had to close down and eventually bring a stretcher to get somebody out of there.'
When asked if they had to stop the show, Paul reiterated that they didn't realize the person had died until the end. He said: 'I'm not sure anyone realized until people were shuffling out of the theater, and one guy stayed."
Paul then remembered a final theater anecdote, which happened when he starred alongside Rachel in a production of The Shape Of Things back in 2001.
'They're flooding back!' the star said of his theater memories. 'I did a scene, I was lying on top of a bed doing a scene, I was lying on top of a bed, and I'm with this woman, Rachel Weisz was in the show, and I was wearing boxer shorts and a T-shirt. All of a sudden, this had never happened before, I heard the audience laughing, and I was like: 'What is going on?''
'I realized… Because I was lying on the bed, I had my leg up, and kind of realized my balls were hanging out,' Paul laughed. 'Which is worse than actually, like, even your penis. When it's just your balls… By the way, it might have been just one ball. Loose-fitting boxers.'
Ron Galella, Ltd. / Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images
Host Will Arnett then poked fun at the fact the play was called The Shape Of Things, quipping: 'The poster should've been your balls hanging out of your shorts."
Thankfully, Paul can laugh about the mishap now — which definitely means that we can, too. What do you make of all of his revelations? Let me know in the comments below!