Paul Rudd has abandoned mobile phones on set, describing the devices as “horrible things” that facilitate “our own destruction.”
Speaking at the premiere of A Statement, the actor told Variety he no longer brings a phone to work. “I haven’t done that for a while now. It’s important to put it down. Anytime. They’re horrible things,” Rudd explained. “I’m addicted to it like everybody else. They’re facilitating our own destruction.”
Director Tom McCarthy enforced a strict no-phone policy on the environmental biographical drama’s set, which Rudd said created a theatrical atmosphere and bonded the cast, including Paul Giamatti, Tatiana Maslany, and John Turturro.
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
“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.'” He likened the adjustment to quitting 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.”
A Statement is based on Nathaniel Rich’s 2019 non-fiction book Losing Earth, with Rudd playing the moderator of an October 1980 convention where 20 scientists and environmental experts debated climate change evidence.
The film 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.
Rudd is also set to return as Ant-Man/Scott Lang in Avengers: Doomsday, releasing December 16 in the UK and two days later in the US.
