Paul Rudd was a DJ before ‘Clueless’ made him famous

Before making it big in Hollywood, Paul Rudd worked an array of odd jobs to get by.

Ahead of the New York City screening for his upcoming film “Power Ballad”, the actor revealed that his early 1990s weekends were spent DJing at weddings, birthday parties, and Bat Mitzvahs.

“I was in school. I could work on the weekends, Bat mitzvahs, weddings and birthdays. I did that for about a year,” said Rudd.

The actor also recalled the songs that would instantly fill the dance floor depending on the crowd.

“If I wanted the kids to get out there, I knew that ‘Can’t Touch This’ was a big one,” he said, referring to “U Can’t Touch This” by MC Hammer.

“But if I wanted the grandparents to dance, Glenn Miller,” he added with a laugh. “Swear to God.”

Rudd has often spoken candidly about balancing acting auditions with regular jobs while trying to establish himself in Hollywood. In an earlier interview in April 2025, the actor said he did not immediately feel famous after appearing in a Nintendo commercial in 1991.

“I didn’t really feel so famous,” Rudd recalled. “I was a working actor, and I still had a regular job when I was doing [the] commercial.”

Also read: Paul Rudd was a DJ before ‘Clueless’ made him famous

The actor said recognition only began gradually after his breakout role in “Clueless”.

“And then as it slowly started to, as I started getting more work, occasionally someone would say, ‘Hey, Clueless!,’ or whatever,” he said. “But it wasn’t, nothing felt so different, really,” he shared.

Rudd also reflected on how fame evolved differently in the pre-social media era. “And, you know, I think just the very nature of the time when there was no social media, there was no internet, everything just went by just a little bit slower,” the actor added.

During the New York screening event, Rudd also praised his Power Ballad co-star Nick Jonas, calling him an impressive performer and an easy collaborator. “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.

In “Power Ballad”, Jonas plays a famous singer who steals a song idea from Rudd’s wedding band musician character, leading to conflict between the two. According to the film’s synopsis, the movie is “a feel-good story about music, self-respect, friendship, and the price of ambition,”