Paul Rudd confesses the ‘Clueless’ role he really wanted two decades later

By Page Six | Created at 2026-06-04 14:47:44 | Updated at 2026-06-07 13:10:41 2 days ago

Paul Rudd revealed he initially didn’t want to play Cher’s former stepbrother-turned-love interest, Josh Lucas, in “Clueless.”

During a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Rudd admitted he was more interested in portraying Cher’s (Alicia Silverstone) love interest, Christian, who turns out to be gay. The role ultimately went to Justin Walker.

“I remember reading it, like, ‘Wait a minute, this is a gay character, who’s also the coolest character in the movie?” Rudd recalled to the outlet.

Paul Rudd told The Hollywood Reporter he initially didn’t want to play Josh Lucas in “Clueless.” Beau Grealy

The actor (seen above at the 2026 Big Slick Celebrity Weekend) said he was more intrigued by the roles of Christian (played by Justin Walker) and Murray (played by Donald Faison). Getty Images

“I’ve never seen this before and it’s the most interesting part,'” the 57-year-old actor added.

Rudd said he was also intrigued by the role of Dionne’s (Stacey Dash) boyfriend, Murray, before realizing the character was black. Donald Faison was cast as Murray.

Director Amy Heckerling ended up letting Rudd read for the parts of Christian and Josh. He got the latter role.

However, Rudd wasn’t hellbent on starring in the 1995 film before he was officially cast.

Rudd (seen above in the film with Alicia Silverstone) said when he read the script he thought Christian, who turns out to be gay, was “the coolest character in the movie.” ph: Elliot Marks / © Paramount Pictures/ Courtesy: Everett Collection

“I’ve never seen this before and it’s the most interesting part,'” Rudd said about Walker’s character (Walker and Silverstone are pictured above). ©Paramount/Courtesy Everett Collection

Rudd said he also wanted to play Murray before he realized the character was black (Faison is pictured above as Murray). ©Paramount/Courtesy Everett Collection

“After the audition was done, I was not on the phone with my agents, like, ‘Did I get it? Did I get it?'” he recalled in the interview.

Adam Scott, who went to acting school with Rudd, told the outlet he knew Rudd’s career would blow up once “Clueless” came out.

“I was at the premiere of ‘Clueless’ out in Malibu with him, and it comes up on this big screen on the beach, and immediately I was like, ‘Oh, Paul’s going to be a famous person now,'” the “Severance” star shared.

“And sure enough,” Scott added, “everything changed after that. Suddenly, we could just walk into any bar. It was like, ‘Whoa, what the f–k is going on? This is incredible.’ ”

Rudd (seen above with Silverstone) read for the parts of Christian and Josh before he was cast as the latter. ©Paramount/Courtesy Everett Collection

But Rudd (pictured aboev with the rest of the “Clueless” cast) said he wasn’t stressed about getting cast in the film after he auditioned. ph: Elliot Marks / © Paramount Pictures/ Courtesy: Everett Collection

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