Paul Rudd says he lied about being directed by Sir Ben Kingsley on his CV

Hollywood actor Paul Rudd has said one of his first managers lied on his CV and said he had been directed by Sir Ben Kingsley.

The Ant-Man star, 56, had done “an afternoon masterclass” with Oscar-winning Sir Ben when he was in school and put this on his CV as he “had no credits to put” on it.

Both Rudd and Sir Ben, 81, are part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with the Gandhi star playing Trevor Slattery in movies such as Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings (2021).

Speaking to The Graham Norton Show, Rudd said: “When I first got a manager, I had no credits to put on my CV, but I’d once done an afternoon masterclass with Sir Ben Kingsley when I was in school.

“My manager put this down as, ‘Paul played Hamlet in a production directed by Sir Ben Kingsley’. I lived in fear that he would one day see my CV!”

Rudd, who has starred in Clueless (1995) and This Is 40 (2012), is currently promoting a new film with Jack Black about a group of friends who attempt to film an amateur remake of the 1997 film Anaconda.

He said: “Jack and I are both huge fans of Tom Gormican’s The Unbearable Weight Of Massive Talent and when this script showed up it seemed to have similar DNA in that it was a clever meta comedy take on a reboot.

“I was very excited to work on it particularly when I found out Jack was involved.”

Black, 56, added: “It is really very funny and crazy. I had never read anything like it.

“I was mainly excited to work with Paul because he makes me laugh so much.

“I made sure he was definitely attached to the film before I signed anything.”

He continued: “When I read a script, I need at least three ‘worth the price of admission’ moments and this definitely has some powerful scenes.”

This week Hamnet star Jessie Buckley and comedian and former model Michelle de Swarte also join Norton on the sofa.

Buckley said she cried when she watched her new film Hamnet which tells the story of William Shakespeare’s marriage to his wife, who is named Agnes in the film, and the tumult that follows the death of the couple’s young son.

“There have been some beautiful moments in putting it out into the world”, she said.

“I watched it first when I was eight months pregnant and I was not OK. It was so embarrassing to cry at my own film, but it was so beautiful.”

Also on the show, singer Tom Odell performs When I Close My Eyes, from his album, A Wonderful Life (Epilogue) live in the studio, before joining the guests on the sofa.

The Graham Norton Show airs on BBC One and iPlayer on Friday at 10.40pm.