Paul Rudd has had quite a year, between reprising his role as Ant-Man in Avengers: Endgame, filming Ghostbusters 2020, and playing double duty in the Netflix series Living With Yourself. Rudd is in the middle of promoting the series, in which he plays a man and the cloned version of himself. Part of the press tour included an appearance on Conan, which Rudd injected his own signature brand of comedy into. In a video, which you can check out above, Rudd prepares for the show to present a clip from Living With Yourself — only for it to be a clip from the 1988 cult classic Mac and Me.
Videos by ComicBook.com
This is just the latest chapter in a pretty epic running joke between Rudd and Conan, where the actor has shown the same clip for every project he’s promoting for over fifteen years. The clip follows the main human protagonist, Eric (Jade Calegory), as his wheelchair plunges down a steep hill and into a lake nearby. This prompts a confused reaction from Mac, the “Mysterious Alien Creature” who has gravitated towards Eric’s family since landing on Earth. In the latest iteration of Rudd’s joke, the clip is edited slightly so there are two Macs onscreen, as a nod to the clones in Living With Yourself.
As Rudd explained in an interview on BBC’s Kermode and Mayo Show, the running joke spun out of relatively-innocent intentions.
“When I did a Conan O’Brien [show] about 15 or 16 years ago, I set up a clip — you know, they cut to a clip — so I set up the clip, and then I just showed the clip from Mac and Me with the kid going off the cliff in the wheelchair,” Rudd revealed. “And then I went back again to promote something else — like the last episode of Friends — and I said I actually have some footage from the show, and they set it up very seriously, and then just showed that Mac and Me clip. It’s the same clip… it has now gone on to such crazy lengths where I have shown the clip and then it cuts back.
“When I did Ant-Man, I actually had to work Ant-Man into the clip,” Rudd continued. “But it’s just a running joke.”
What do you think of Rudd continuing his Mac and Me joke on Conan? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!
Living With Yourself is now available to stream on Netflix.
