Paul Rudd on his DJ days: Bat mitzvahs, MC Hammer, and Glenn Miller
Synopsis
Before Ant-Man, before Clueless, Paul Rudd was reading the room at bar mitzvahs — dropping MC Hammer for the kids and Glenn Miller for the grandparents. His candid DJ confession at the Power Ballad screening is a reminder that one of Hollywood's most likeable stars built his instincts long before the cameras arrived.
Key Takeaways
Paul Rudd worked as a DJ at weddings, bat mitzvahs, and birthday parties for roughly a year while still a student.
His go-to tracks were MC Hammer 's 'Can't Touch This' for younger guests and Glenn Miller for older ones.
Rudd said even a 1991 Nintendo commercial did not make him feel famous; he still held a regular job alongside acting work.
He credits the pre-internet era for his slow, grounded rise to stardom, citing occasional Clueless (1995) recognition as his first taste of public attention.
Rudd praised co-star Nick Jonas as subtle and 'cool' at the advance screening of Power Ballad at 92NY, New York City on 18 May .
In Power Ballad , Rudd plays a wedding-band musician whose song idea is stolen by Jonas's pop-star character.
Actor Paul Rudd has revealed that he spent roughly a year working as a DJ at weddings, bar mitzvahs, and birthday parties while still a student, long before he became a household name in Hollywood. The candid recollection came ahead of an advance screening of his new film, Power Ballad, held at 92NY in New York City on Monday, 18 May.
The DJ Years
'I was in school. I could work on the weekends — Bat mitzvahs and weddings and birthdays. I did that for about a year,' Rudd told the audience at the event. He revealed his two reliable crowd-movers: MC Hammer's 'Can't Touch This' to get the younger guests dancing, and the music of Glenn Miller — the celebrated World War II-era big-band musician — to coax the grandparents onto the floor. 'Swear to God,' he added, for emphasis.
This is not the first time Rudd has spoken openly about the odd jobs he juggled in the 1990s while chasing an acting career. In an April 2025 interview, he recalled that even landing a Nintendo commercial in 1991 barely changed his day-to-day reality. 'I didn't really feel so famous,' he said. 'I was a working actor and I still had a regular job when I was doing the commercial.'
Slow Rise to Stardom
Rudd noted that recognition crept in only gradually, with occasional shout-outs referencing his breakout role in the 1995 teen comedy Clueless. He credited the pre-internet, pre-social-media era for the measured pace of his ascent. 'Everything just went by just a little bit slower,' said the Ant-Man actor. That unhurried climb, he suggested, gave him a grounded perspective that has stayed with him.
Power Ballad and Nick Jonas
At the 92NY screening and again at the film's official premiere in New York City on Tuesday, 19 May, Rudd was effusive about his co-star Nick Jonas. In Power Ballad, Rudd plays a wedding-band musician whose original song idea is stolen by a famous pop star played by Jonas, setting the two characters on a collision course.
'He's such a great actor and great musician, but boy, he made me feel comfortable right away, and we clicked day one. We really got on,' Rudd said of Jonas. He was particularly struck by Jonas's subtlety on screen. 'He'd be going through these dilemmas, and he's not saying anything, but you can read his mind. It's such good acting, and I was just amazed at some of the stuff he was doing,' Rudd added.
Rudd said seeing completed scenes he was not part of left him genuinely floored. 'When I saw the movie, it was like, "Oh my God." There were scenes that I wasn't there to film, and yeah, he knocked me out,' he continued. 'He just plays everything cool because he is cool.'
What to Expect from Power Ballad
The film pairs Rudd's underdog wedding-band persona against Jonas's chart-topping star in a story built around creative theft and musical rivalry. Given Rudd's own history performing at private events, the role carries an unexpected biographical echo. With both actors generating strong early buzz, Power Ballad looks set to be one of the more talked-about releases of the season.
Point of View
But it also points to something the entertainment press rarely interrogates: how long genuinely talented actors spend invisible before the industry notices them. Rudd's trajectory — bar mitzvahs to Nintendo ads to Clueless to the Marvel Cinematic Universe — spans nearly a decade of obscurity. His comfort discussing that period, rather than airbrushing it, is part of why he reads as unusually authentic in a publicity cycle otherwise dominated by managed narratives. The Power Ballad press run is also quietly notable: pairing a veteran character actor with a pop star co-lead is a commercial calculation, but Rudd's praise for Jonas sounds unscripted, which is either very good acting or a genuinely functional on-screen partnership.
NationPress
6 Aug 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
When did Paul Rudd work as a DJ?
Paul Rudd worked as a DJ for approximately one year while he was still a student, performing at weddings, bat mitzvahs, and birthday parties. He revealed this during an advance screening of his film Power Ballad at 92NY in New York City on 18 May.
What songs did Paul Rudd play as a DJ?
Rudd relied on MC Hammer's 'Can't Touch This' to get younger guests dancing and Glenn Miller's music to bring older guests to the dance floor. He described Glenn Miller as the famous World War II-era musician.
What is Paul Rudd's new movie Power Ballad about?
Power Ballad stars Paul Rudd as a wedding-band musician and Nick Jonas as a famous pop star whose character steals Rudd's song idea and turns it into a hit, sparking conflict between the two. The film had an advance screening at 92NY in New York City on 18 May, followed by an official premiere on 19 May.
What did Paul Rudd say about Nick Jonas as an actor?
Rudd called Jonas a 'great actor' who made him feel comfortable from day one on set. He was particularly impressed by Jonas's subtlety, saying Jonas conveyed complex emotions without dialogue in a way that 'knocked him out' when he watched the finished film.
When did Paul Rudd first gain public recognition?
Rudd said he began receiving occasional recognition after his role in the 1995 teen comedy Clueless, though he noted that even a Nintendo commercial in 1991 did not make him feel famous. He credited the pre-social-media era for his gradual, low-key rise to stardom.
