Paul Rudd doesn’t bring phone to set anymore: “They’re horrible things”

Paul Rudd has said he no longer brings his mobile phone to work because they’re “horrible”.

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Speaking on the red carpet of his latest movie A Statement, Rudd told Variety that he doesn’t take his phone to set any more. “I haven’t done that for a while now. It’s important to put it down. Anytime. They’re horrible things,” he explained.

“I’m addicted to it like everybody else. They’re facilitating our own destruction.”

Rudd went on to say that A Statement’s director Tom McCarthy enforced a strict no-phones policy on set which made working on the environmental biographical drama feel like a play and bonded the cast, which includes Paul Giamatti, Tatiana Maslany and John Turturro.

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“The world has changed since cell phones have existed. We don’t look at each other or talk to each other quite the same way,” Rudd explained. “[With the ban on phones], we were forced to really spend time with each other and talk. Working on a movie set in 1980, we’re dressed a certain way and it felt like, ‘Oh, yeah. I remember this. This feels like it used to feel when people sat around and spoke to one another.’”

Paul Rudd no longer brings his smartphone with him to set:

“I don’t go to sets with a phone. I haven’t done that for a while now. It’s important to put it down. Anytime. They’re horrible things. I’m addicted to it like everybody else. They’re facilitating our own destruction.”… pic.twitter.com/1rMmrZ2GYX

— Variety (@Variety) October 3, 2026

“I equate it to like when you quit sugar. In three days, it’s out of your system. You don’t miss it! And hopefully, it becomes like a toy you’re gonna get sick of,” he added.

A Statement is based on Nathaniel Rich’s 2019 non-fiction book ‘Losing Earth’. Rudd plays the moderator of a convention that took place in October 1980 and saw a group of 20 scientists and environmental experts debate the scientific evidence around climate change.

A Statement premiered at the New York Film Festival over the weekend and is due to hit cinemas in early 2027, though an exact release date is still to be confirmed.

Paul Rudd is also set to return as Ant-Man/Scott Lang in the upcoming Avengers: Doomsday, which will be released on December 16 in the UK and two days later in the US.