Whether he’s goofing off in a light-hearted comedy or enjoying the center of the stage in his very own addition to the enormously popular Marvel franchise, Rudd’s career has been stable and steady. Though he plays a superhero famed for his ability to take on miniature proportions, one thing unable to do the same is Rudd’s paychecks.
Paul Rudd has made between $300 thousand and $20 million per movie, depending on the film. Starring in an incredibly popular franchise like Marvel is what skews the numbers on Rudd’s paychecks.
Superhero movies have proven to be an absolute goldmine for actors looking to snag a role that will both be incredibly popular with an endlessly enthusiastic fanbase, and also shell out a multi-million dollar payday.
Rudd didn’t always have a mountain of Marvel money to roll around in, however.
Rudd’s First Big Break
Rudd’s been in a steady stream of movies since his silver screen debut in the mid-90s, and we’ve seen him transform since then. It was a career beginning that started with him assuming a sort of heartthrob style role, even despite his protests about not particularly connecting with that kind of character.
That was all the way back in 1995 that Rudd got his breakout role as Josh in the cult classic Clueless. As time went on he slowly developed from romantic interest to a male lead known for his charm and comedic persona.
Though he played a fairly big part in the story of Clueless, serving as the love interest to character Cher Horowitz, it’s doubtful that he was dragging a particularly large paycheck along to the bank.
Starring opposite Alicia Silverstone in what is now a classic teen coming-of-age movie was a boost for his career, to be sure, but his relatively unknown status meant that he wouldn’t have been picking up millions for the role.
Anchored In Comedy
Comedy is definitely Rudd’s main stomping ground when it comes to his preferred movie genres. It’s where most of his best work has been done, seemingly being a perfect fit for his natural ability to get audiences giggling.
A few of the biggest movies in the genre that he has been a part of were alongside fellow powerhouse comedy actors Will Ferrell and Steve Carrell in Anchorman. These movies aren’t where we’ll find Rudd’s biggest paychecks either, however.
Despite being a big success with fans, they actually faced some trouble in managing to get support for a sequel. All of the star actors of the movie, including Rudd, even took a slashed paycheck in order to ensure that they get the green light to make the sequel.
Outside of his movies, he’s got a beat badge of honor for his appearance in one of the greatest sitcoms of all time, Friends. Though he was only in the show for 18 episodes, he played a fairly large part in the story as the husband of fan-favorite Phoebe.
A Marvellous Opportunity
Here it comes, the Marvel gravy train. That probably isn’t exactly what Rudd was thinking when he got a phone call from Marvel to star in one of their franchise movies, but it surely must have been at least a little bit on his mind.
Getting to star in a superhero movie usually brings with it an equally heroic paycheck, but for Rudd, there was something a little different in the cards. His phone call was for the part of Ant-Man – an entertaining character, but only well-known by the more serious comic fans in the audience.
This meant that instead of getting the usual seven-figure salary that other Marvel actors enjoyed on their debut outing, Rudd was offered a comparatively paltry $300,000 for his role as Scott Lang.
A successful outing as Ant-Man meant that the future held even more promising rewards, however. With solid success in his first superhero appearance, Rudd had cemented himself and the character in the heart of fans.
When the blockbuster monster Avengers rose to take the movie world by storm, Rudd and Ant-Man were along for the ride, earning him those fat million-dollar paychecks. His net worth basically doubled in the years that he was a part of those movies, so that should tell you how significant those paydays must have been!