Olivia Colman Prank-Calls Her Old Pal Paul Rudd During A BBC Radio Interview

By Liz Kocan @lizburrito
Published Feb. 17, 2023, 1:40 p.m. ET

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Paul Rudd and Olivia Colman have to be two of the most charming, delightful people in show business, which is why it is even more delightful to report that these two have been friends for over 20 years. And as a result of said delightful friendship, they like to pull pranks on one another, and Colman got Rudd pretty good recently during his press tour for Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania.

While Rudd was a guest on BBC Radio 1’s Breakfast with Greg James, The Crown actress made a prank phone call to the show during a segment where fans dialed in to ask Rudd to solve their problems.

Colman called in during the segment called “Agony Ant-Man” and asked, “So, what would you do if you had a really, like a really good mate, like for over 20 years, and 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?”

“Oh my God. Oh no,” the Ant-Man 3 star answered, smiling. Though Colman was disguising her voice, Rudd immediately realized he was being had.”Personally, if it was me, absolutely not. I tend to give everybody the benefit of the doubt,” he said jokingly, still seeming unsure of who the caller was.

After Colman revealed herself, Rudd praised her acting, telling her, “God, you really can do every accent!”

As for how the pair actually met, Colman explained that they did a play together many years ago in London, and Paul would visit and sometimes crash at Olivia’s apartment while he lived there. Colman says that when she heard Rudd would be a guest on the radio show, she emailed host Greg James to ask if she could play a prank on her friend, to which James responded, “Hell yeah!”

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania hits theaters today, Feb. 17, and it will likely be available on Disney+ this spring.