Paul Rudd's Self-Aware Acting and Meta-Commentary on Fame

Key Quotes

"when you're saving up for the things you really want you've got to make smart choices you know the other night i cooked dinner instead of ordering takeout for the sixth time in a week and there were a lot of choices involved do i have paprika do i have enough onions you know is caramel going to go in this the state farm personal price plan is another smart choice you can make it can help you create an affordable price when you choose to bundle home and auto insurance says jfk it's made for you by you talk to a state farm agent today to learn how you can choose to bundle and save with the personal price plan like a good neighbor state farm is there"

The speaker highlights the importance of making "smart choices" when managing finances, using the example of cooking at home instead of ordering takeout. The State Farm Personal Price Plan is presented as another such smart choice, emphasizing its ability to provide an affordable price through bundling home and auto insurance. This suggests a focus on practical, cost-saving decisions for consumers.

"hi my name is paul rudd and i feel right chuffed about being conan o'brien's friend fall is here hear the elk back to school ring the bell brand new shoes walking blues climb the fence books and pens i can tell that we are gonna be friends"

Paul Rudd expresses his pleasure at being Conan O'Brien's friend, using the British colloquialism "chuffed." He then transitions into a playful, rhyming introduction that evokes the feeling of autumn and the start of a new school year. This segment establishes a warm and friendly tone for the conversation, reinforcing the podcast's premise of friendship.

"i'm more curious why this pizza place doesn't have a refrigerator yeah well there was a blackout okay this is why i don't do prank calls and also this what kind of whack pack is this when you're just doing everything ring ring ring hello we're a hospital yeah i think one of the patients died sir what are you calling for april fools that's bad is that a prank call because someone could have died no that's what i'm banking on doctors are like hey the odds are someone probably did okay hello baked bean company yes do people eat your baked beans and then they have gas afterwards haha just kidding"

Conan O'Brien humorously critiques his own prank call attempts, questioning the logic of a pizza place without a refrigerator and the effectiveness of calling a hospital with an "April Fools" joke. He highlights the potential for prank calls to go awry, especially when dealing with sensitive situations or unexpected circumstances like a blackout. This segment showcases Conan's self-deprecating humor and his exploration of comedic failure.

"i'm told i make a lot of erratic motions yes you usually got your glasses on upside down yes it's funny can you say something you always got your headphones on uh front to back you do you have one one tooth walrus my joke is that's someone with esp doing a podcast he's got the headphones on his forehead and the back of his head that's the first time you have another joke for that that you usually do but that i don't know i just make up stuff that was pretty good yeah you do a pen mustache or sometimes you do one tooth walrus guy yeah i put uh one a pen on one side of my mouth so that just one pen's hanging down uh and i look at sona and i go i'm half a walrus and um this is while we're waiting for this person to pop up on screen yeah but then sona's responding to my i'm a tornado of of bad bits some of them quite good glasses upside down is funny because that's not the way you should wear them they're all pretty funny i mean that thank you so i'm doing my bits i'm getting my laughs and then she's trying to get me to calm down or responding to my attacks on her when sarah from cincinnati or buffalo comes up yeah just admit you want to do bits and you don't want me to react to that yes that's it oh that's what you want okay all right no no the answer is no"

Sona describes Conan's behavior while waiting for podcast guests, characterizing him as making "erratic motions" and engaging in "bits" such as wearing glasses upside down or adopting a "one tooth walrus" persona. Conan defends his actions as a way to entertain himself and the crew, while Sona suggests he does it to prove a point and avoid reacting to her. This exchange reveals a dynamic where Conan uses humor and improvisation to fill waiting periods, which Sona perceives as a deliberate performance.

"my dad was part of the titanic historical society back before even ballard discovered the ship i grew up going to uh i guess the way i would describe them might be trekkie conventions about the titanic with just other people who were interested in titanic and but nautical history uh presidential history world war ii history i mean he was a history fanatic my father and so uh yeah i grew up um around all kinds of this is a real side thing articles and cutouts and things like that all kinds of stuff cutouts of what and this is all did your dad i mean your dad has a cutout of neville chamberlain oh i have that one does"

Paul Rudd shares that his father was an avid history enthusiast and a member of the Titanic Historical Society, comparing the gatherings to "Trekki conventions about the Titanic." He explains that his upbringing was surrounded by historical articles and cutouts, indicating a deep immersion in various historical subjects. This anecdote highlights the significant influence of his father's passion for history on his own upbringing and interests.

"i don't think that i really fit into that mold so well so much for me even though the marvel thing is real i look at a guy like owen kirk and think well that guy did it and that guy is great at it well they always thought about that might have been maybe a key to why it works so well for bob is you know i i go way back with bob and he's you know god so insanely funny and creative and great but he does have he'd get angry about things and i thought oh i think that might have been his way in is you know his and he's tenacious and i could so i could see like where there are aspects of bob and you are hilariously funny guy who's also incredibly charming and i was like well that's kind of your way in you're very likable it's kind of your way in to that character i can see why it makes sense do you know well how it even came about was edgar wright who had was going to direct the film and i it was edgar that offered me that part and i didn't i really didn't know that much about marvel i mean i had seen some of their some of the films but and i had read some of the comics when i was a kid i knew what they were but it was never anything that i would have imagined getting involved with but it was edgar that offered you know and said like do you want to play this and i'd love ed