Paul Rudd recalls innocent move almost lost him movie role

In Clueless, Paul Rudd played Josh, a smart college student. However, the actor, in real life, did something that was not smart at all at the time.

He had a haircut. This move, though benign, did lead to what he describes as a point where he almost lost the role in the 1995 movie.

He explains this is because he auditioned with longer, grunge-style hair. But shortly after, he had a buzzcut.

“I didn’t think about it after I auditioned for it. I was down the street and I walked past a barbershop and said, ‘Just buzz it.’ And they went and cut off all my hair,” the Marvel star tells Today.

Rudd, at the time, did not realise the gravity of the situation and had a run-in with Clueless director Amy Heckerling, whose reaction to his haircut alarmed him.

“Then about a week after that, I went to a restaurant and saw Amy Heckling, the director. She said, ‘What did you do to your hair?’ You were in the running for this part. You cut your hair,” he remembers.

As a last resort, Rudd recalls sporting a wig for a screen test, which he describes as "It didn’t look right."

Ultimately, the Ant-Man star ended up with the role, whose performance as Josh was widely praised.