Paul Rudd has stopped bringing his phone to film sets, and a strict ban on his latest project convinced him he should have done it sooner.
The actor, 57, made the admission at the world premiere of “A Statement” on Saturday at the New York Film Festival. Speaking to Variety, he said he has gone without a phone on set for some time and called the devices harmful. He counts himself among the hooked. “They’re facilitating our own destruction,” he said.
Director Tom McCarthy enforced what Rudd described as a very strict no-phones policy during production. Rudd said the rule changed the way the cast worked. With screens locked away, actors spent downtime talking to each other, and the shoot took on the feel of a stage production. He said it reminded him of how people once gathered and spoke face to face.
The cast is large and prominent. Paul Giamatti, John Turturro, Tatiana Maslany, Evan Peters, Amy Ryan, Nina Arianda and Zach Woods fill out the ensemble. Rudd credits the ban with bringing that group closer than a typical set would.
The film runs 104 minutes and takes place in October 1980. Environmental activists, scientists and U.S. policymakers meet in a hotel on the eve of a presidential election to draft recommendations for Congress on the threat of climate change. Rudd plays the moderator of that gathering. Festival programmers describe it as a small moment in history with large consequences.
The period setting added to the effect. Rudd noted that dressing in 1980 clothing on a 1980 set made the absence of modern devices feel natural. Phones would have been an anachronism for the characters and a distraction for the actors.
His comments land amid a broader debate over screen time, and Rudd framed the problem as personal rather than abstract. He did not exempt himself, and he did not suggest a fix beyond leaving the phone behind.
“A Statement” has its festival debut this weekend. A wider theatrical release is scheduled for 2027.
