Over his storied career as a writer, director, and producer, Judd Apatow has worked with a wide array of talent, often in multiple projects. Among them is Paul Rudd, who starred in Apatow’s Knocked Up and This is 40, and who remains a close friend of the director. In a recent appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Apatow addressed his friendship with Rudd, and the biggest downside of it (which apparently, doesn’t have to do with his fascination with Mac and Me). In particular, Apatow joined the majority of the Internet in arguing that Rudd does not appear to physically age, which has made him feel self-conscious by comparison, and has affected his efforts to create the This is 40 follow-up This is 50.
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“I have one big problem, is that Paul Rudd and Leslie don’t age,” Apatow explained. “So, it’s 10 years later and they look exactly the same. And I think it would annoy people, right?”
“The worst part about being friends with Paul Rudd, as the guy who doesn’t age, is [that] I age,” Apatow continued. “So every picture with him — like, I have pictures with him for the last like 20 years, and he just doesn’t change and I’m slowly falling apart.”
“He looks exactly the same right now, and I look like his dad,” Apatow added.
Apatow spoke earlier this year about wanting to make This is 50, revealing that he’s writing the project right now.
“I’ve always wanted to make This Is 50 and it is time,” Apatow revealed. “I’m hoping that comes together. I have an idea that I really like for it.”
“I couldn’t have done it five years ago and I can’t do it five years from now, so I’ve been outlining that and hope it’s something that we get to do,” Apatow added. “I feel like [This Is 40] has really aged well, and it always feels like everyone watches it when they turn 40 and they go, ‘Oh, I understand it all now’ (laughs). So I’m enthusiastic about putting that together.”
As for why Rudd has remained ageless, the actor argued during an appearance at the Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo in 2019 that it’s thanks to “pure darkness,” among other things.
“I’m 80 years old on the inside,” Rudd said of himself. “In here, pure darkness – and a little moisturizer.”
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