(Credit: Netflix)

Paul Rudd has one of those careers that feels almost charmed. It doesn’t matter if he is the lead in the film or is playing a character role; he is unforgettable. From his debut in Clueless to scene-stealing roles in comedies that have stood the test of time, he has managed to stay in the public’s good books for decades.

But behind the charm and easy-going persona lies a story from his early days in Hollywood that could have ended very differently. A night when he found himself staring down the barrel of a gun.

It was the mid-1990s, and Clueless was in production. One evening, Rudd decided to grab a bite at Jerry’s Deli with a friend. The meal was uneventful, but the walk back to his car was anything but. Out of nowhere, a stranger confronted him, grabbed him and demanded his money. The man wasn’t bluffing either. “This is a real gun… Watch out, because I’ll kill you,” he threatened.

Rudd complied, but the robber was not convinced. “You don’t think it’s a real gun,” the man shouts before firing. The bullet missed, grazing through Rudd’s hair. The actor remembers the sound vividly, describing how people in the parking lot froze in fear, while he himself felt strangely calm in the chaos.

In the end, the thief only got away with Rudd’s rucksack. But here is the kicker: the bag contained nothing but a script of Clueless. “I’m sure the crackhead who held me up was thrilled to get the latest Clueless draft,” Rudd later joked, showing the kind of humour that would become one of his trademarks.

The very next day, he was back on set, dancing in a club scene as if nothing had happened. On the outside, it was business as usual, but the incident left its mark. Life in Los Angeles during that period was chaotic and a bit scary. An encounter like that made Rudd rethink whether it was the right place for him. It was one of the reasons he eventually decided to leave Los Angeles behind for a while.

What makes the story even more remarkable is how it showcases the strange duality of Hollywood life. One night, you can be a young actor facing a terrifying, life-threatening situation. The next day, you are dancing under bright lights, pretending it never happened. And if you are Paul Rudd, you eventually find a way to turn even the most frightening moments into something you can laugh about.

Today, the incident is a footnote in a long, successful career. But it is also a reminder that behind the charming smile and the easy-going persona lies a man who has faced more than his fair share of unexpected moments and lived to tell the tale with a punchline.

Not every actor can say they survived a gunpoint robbery, went to work the next day, and turned the whole thing into a story that fans now retell with the same affection as his film roles.