An actor in the news

At the research library of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, there is a folder full of news clippings for Paul Rudd that parenthetically notes “actor from ‘Clueless.’ ”

Though his role as Alicia Silverstone’s stepbrother in the 1995 hit may be what many know him from, Rudd, 35, has been plenty busy since then. Besides roles in bigger-budget pictures “The Cider House Rules” and “William Shakespeare’s Romeo + Juliet,” Rudd has appeared with Jennifer Aniston in “The Object of My Affection” and in such independent comedies as “The Chateau” and “Wet Hot American Summer.” He has been onstage in New York, London and Los Angeles and originated one of the leads in Neil LaBute’s play “The Shape of Things,” a role he reprised for the film adaptation.

He became something of a de facto “Friend” when his guest spot as boyfriend to Lisa Kudrow’s character, Phoebe, turned into a regular role and the two characters were married in the much-hyped buildup to the television show’s finale. Now, in “Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy,” Rudd plays a slightly dim, seriously womanizing investigative reporter in the spoof of local television news teams. He’s moved far beyond just “Clueless,” and perhaps someday soon someone will change the label on that folder to simply “actor.”

There’s probably no way to discuss your role in “Anchorman” without first talking about that Burt Reynolds/Geraldo Rivera mustache. Was it real? Did it take long for you to grow?

I didn’t have any fake hair in any way. That was my hair and my mustache and my sideburns. I got attached to it, I must say, and I was kind of bummed when I had to shave it off. I had always grown a beard before and had never gone with the straight mustache. And it didn’t take me long to grow at all. That being said, I now have hair creeping up on my shoulders like epaulets. It goes with the package.

It seems just about anything can happen within the world of “Ron Burgundy,” such as when the four-man news team suddenly breaks into an a cappella version of the sunshine pop classic “Afternoon Delight” for no apparent reason.

That was something that just happened, it wasn’t in the script or planned at all. [Co-star Steven] Carell and I were sitting around while they set up, and I had just been playing it in my dressing room. We decided we should learn “Afternoon Delight” because there’s four-part harmony. Not even to do in the movie, really, but it just seemed funny to learn it. I went over to Adam [McKay, director and co-writer of “Anchorman”] and said, “What do you think of us learning ‘Afternoon Delight?’ ” He goes, “Learn it, for sure.” Craig Wedren, a friend of mine who had done the music for “Wet Hot American Summer,” was in town and he came by and taught us our parts. About two weeks later we were shooting that scene and Adam says, “Hey, do ‘Afternoon Delight.’ ” None of us had really practiced or anything, so we took about 20 minutes to get it together and then just tied it to the scene. Later we rerecorded it, and it sounds weirdly good.

You must never have expected your role on “Friends” to become as much a part of the show as it did. By the time of the series finale did you feel like the Seventh Friend?

When I said I’d do it, it was really for two episodes, with an option for a third. For a while it wasn’t binding, there wasn’t really a contract, and they’d just say, “We’ve got one next week, you want to do it?” I never imagined it would turn into what it would turn into. But I always felt I was on the periphery of that show, and I was. That show was those six. They’re so good, and they work together so well. I felt a little bit like Ruben Sierra.

Pardon?

Ruben Sierra is on the New York Yankees and he doesn’t play in the field so much -- he’s really like a pinch hitter or a DH. He’s a part of the team, but he’s not somebody you associate with them. That was the way I felt. It felt as if, I suppose, by some sort of technicality I am on this team, like I’m going to get a ring if we win the World Series, but I had nothing to do with getting there. And that’s no offense to Ruben Sierra; the guy’s got a mean power swing.