Publicly elected nice-guy of Hollywood, Paul Rudd, has taken a break from Marvel epics to star in new series Living with Yourself. The show, which co-stars Irish actress and comedian Aisling Bea (This Way Up, The Fall), was created by Timothy Greenberg and will air exclusively on Netflix on October 18th. Rudd plays Miles Elliot, a man struggling his way through life and love, and Miles’ much happier clone. You heard that right – two Paul Rudd’s.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5w54yW2Ur50
The trailer begins by giving us a glimpse into Miles’ miserable life after he kills a fly and claims it should be grateful for his act of kindness. “The path of life brings us many troubles” Miles says, as we watch him go about his daily life. He hates his job, his marriage is crumbling, and the only answer he can seem to find is at the bottom of a bottle – we’ve heard it all before. In order to get his life back together again, Miles visits a ‘Happy Spa’ and undergoes treatment – which works! Only later, we discover that the new, happier Miles is a clone who can deal with the downfalls of life much better than he can. The rather joyful-sounding trailer, like Miles’ life, starts to collapse. The line, “do you know a place that sells guns?” is a surprising turning point and the various Rudd vs Rudd clips become more intense. Mixed in with joyful music, it closes with the ultimate question: “How can you be sure that you are you?”
Many people took to Twitter to express their excitement, including user @Allthelxvesm who tweeted: “Thank you Netflix for not only giving us a comedy series starring PAUL RUDD but TWO PAUL RUDD’S. wow.” Casting director Jen Euston also pointed out just how easy it is to know whether you’re dealing with ‘happy’ or ‘sad’ Paul: “I love how Paul Rudd with bad, messy hair pushed forwards means depressed or disturbed Paul Rudd, but fluffy hair means successful and fun Paul Rudd.”
Rudd’s latest film Avengers: Endgame broke records at the box office, including beating Avatar to the top spot of highest-grossing film worldwide, but it’s refreshing to see him change out of the Ant-Man suit and step into something smaller again. If you don’t think that’s the case, don’t worry – he’ll be voicing Scott Lang again in the upcoming animated series, What If…?
All eight episodes of Living with Yourself will be available to stream on Netflix on October 18th, 2019.
Words by Libby Briggs