Watch Olivia Colman call into BBC Radio 1 to prank Paul Rudd
Colman pranked Rudd and chastised him for not telling her he was visiting London while he was on a BBC radio show doing press for Ant-Man
By Jon Blistein
Paul Rudd got a bit of a well-deserved “not-mad-just-disappointed” stick from his friend Olivia Colman when she prank-called him on a BBC Radio 1 show Friday morning, Feb. 17.
Rudd, in London for the new Ant-Man press tour, was doing a call-in segment called “Agony Ant-Man” where he dished out advice to troubled callers (think Frasier but make it Marvel, or something like that). This is when Colman called in to Greg James’ show, just slightly disguising her voice, and asking Rudd a very specific question.
“What would you do if you had a really good mate, like for over 20 years, and then this friend he doesn’t live in England, but he’s come to England, and he hasn’t told you about it. And then not only has he not told you about it, he’s come onto a radio show? What would you do? … Would you be offended?”
Rudd, sporting an extreme deer-in-headlights look, quipped, “Personally, if it’s me? Absolutely not! I tend to give everybody the benefit of the doubt!”
When Colman finally revealed herself, Rudd gave it up for the prank and said, “God, you really can do every accent!”
Colman and Rudd then offered a bit of background on their long friendship, which began when they were doing a play together in London, and Rudd would crash on the floor of Colman’s flat. Colman also explained the origins of the prank, noting she listens to this particular BBC morning show every day, heard Rudd was going to be a guest, so she emailed the host to ask if she could prank him, and — obviously — got a hearty, “Yes.”
It’s important to note, too, that in the grand scheme of karmic/prank retribution, Rudd absolutely had this coming for the prank he’s been pulling on Conan O’Brien for about 20 years. Starting in 2004, pretty much any time Rudd did an interview with O’Brien, he offered to “show a clip” from whatever he was promoting but just played a deranged scene from the 1988 sci-fi film Mac and Me. He even did it during a recent appearance on O’Brien’s podcast — you know, where there aren’t any visuals.