“I Adore Her,” Paul Rudd Gushes Over His Bestie Selena Gomez Every Chance He Gets

Selena Gomez and Paul Rudd’s friendship is one of Hollywood’s best-kept secrets. Despite their age difference and different paths in the entertainment industry, this unlikely pair first linked up while working on a movie together in 2016 and formed a close friendship. Since then, Rudd publicly expressed his admiration for Gomez multiple times, which got us completely hooked on their sweet bond.

Paul had barely heard of Selena when they first met.

In 2016, Paul Rudd and Selena Gomez starred in the film The Fundamentals of Caring. By that point, they were both very established names in Hollywood: Selena was a Disney star with numerous films, TV shows, and albums under her belt, while Paul was one of the biggest names in comedy in the industry and was beginning his promising path in the Marvel Cinematic Universe by starring in Ant-Man (2015).

And yet, despite being in the industry for decades, Rudd was utterly clueless about what a big deal his co-star was. He later admitted: “I’m so out of touch. It wasn’t until we were filming and I saw thousands of people turning out to try and see her that I realized what a phenomenon she is.” Paul also added that he was instantly impressed by the young star: “To see her deal with that kind of fame, I came away even more impressed with her. She’s extraordinary.”

They share common passions and values.

While Rudd and Gomez keep their unlikely friendship mostly private, there have been a few sightings of them appearing for charity events together. The 2 seem to be involved with Big Slick Kansas City, a charity organization that arranges yearly fundraisers for Children’s Mercy Hospital.

Paul and Selena participated in the organization’s celebrity bowl in 2015 (when they started filming their move together). Years later, they reunited for a celebrity softball game for the same fundraiser.

They were excited to work together again.

In 2022, the 2 friends finally came back together again to co-star in Selena’s hit TV show Only Murders in the Building. Gomez posted an Instagram photo in early 2023, revealing that the cast would be joined by Paul Rudd and Meryl Streep.

Not only was Rudd excited to join such a stellar cast, he also once again took that opportunity to praise Selena: “It’s the most amazing thing to be [part of], and to be in that room. Selena [Gomez] is great, and I’ve worked with Selena, she’s a really good friend of mine. I adore her.” We certainly can’t wait to see their chemistry on screen, and we hope that their friendship keeps getting stronger.