Paul Robert Rust (born April 12, 1981) is an American actor, comedian and writer. He starred in the 2009 film ''

I Love You, Beth Cooper ''I Love You, Beth Cooper'' is a comedy novel written by former ''The Simpsons, Simpsons'' writer Larry Doyle (writer), Larry Doyle. ''I Love You, Beth Cooper'' follows a high school graduate who confesses his love for a cheerleader during his va ...

'' and in the Netflix series ''

Love Love encompasses a range of strong and positive emotional and mental states, from the most sublime virtue or good habit, the deepest Interpersonal relationship, interpersonal affection, to the simplest pleasure. An example of this range of ...

''.

Early life

Rust was born in

Le Mars, Iowa Le Mars is the county seat of Plymouth County, Iowa, United States. It is located on the Floyd River northeast of Sioux City. The population was 10,571 at the time of the 2020 census. Le Mars is part of the Sioux City metropolitan area. Histor ...

, the son of Jeanne and Bob Rust. His family is of

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

heritage. Rust was raised

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

and attended Gehlen Catholic High School. His mother was a teacher at Le Mars Community High School and his father owned a Western goods and boot-repair shop. He graduated from the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is org ...

in May 2004. Rust struggled with obsessive-compulsive disorder in his youth.

Career

Rust is best known as a stand-up and sketch comedian at the

Upright Citizens Brigade Theater The Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre (shorter UCB Theatre) is an American improvisational theatre company and training center founded by the Upright Citizens Brigade troupe members Matt Besser, Amy Poehler, Ian Roberts and Matt Walsh. Prior t ...

in Los Angeles, where he is a member of the sketch comedy group A Kiss from Daddy and the improv team Last Day of School. He has appeared in films such as ''

Inglourious Basterds ''Inglourious Basterds'' is a 2009 war film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino, starring Brad Pitt, Christoph Waltz, Michael Fassbender, Eli Roth, Diane Kruger, Daniel Brühl, Til Schweiger and Mélanie Laurent. The film tells an alter ...

'', ''

Ass Backwards ''Ass Backwards'' is a 2013 American female buddy black comedy film written by and starring June Diane Raphael and Casey Wilson. The film is directed by Chris Nelson and produced by Heather Rae. The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival ...

'', '' Freak Dance'', '' Paper Heart'' and ''

Semi-Pro ''Semi-Pro'' is a 2008 American sports comedy film. The film was directed by Kent Alterman in his directorial debut, written by Scot Armstrong, and produced by Jimmy Miller. It stars Will Ferrell, Woody Harrelson, André Benjamin and Maura Tier ...

''. He made his most high-profile acting role in summer 2009, playing the male lead in the comedy film ''

'' alongside

Hayden Panettiere Hayden Lesley Panettiere (; born August 21, 1989) is an American actress, model, and singer. She is best known for her lead roles as Claire Bennet on the NBC superhero series ''Heroes (American TV series), Heroes'' and Juliette Barnes in the Am ...

. Rust has written for television programs such as ''

Human Giant ''Human Giant'' is a sketch comedy show, starring writer/performers Aziz Ansari, Rob Huebel, and Paul Scheer, and directed primarily by Jason Woliner. The show ran for two seasons on MTV. In interviews, the group has mentioned that they were o ...

'' and ''

Moral Orel ''Moral Orel'' is an American adult stop-motion animated sitcom created by Dino Stamatopoulos which originally aired on Cartoon Network's nighttime programming block Adult Swim from December 13, 2005 to December 18, 2008. The series has been d ...

''. In November 2010, Rust appeared in the

Comedy Central Comedy Central is an American basic cable channel owned by Paramount Global through its network division's MTV Entertainment Group unit, based in Manhattan. The channel is geared towards young adults aged 18–34 and carries comedy programming ...

sketch comedy special ''This Show Will Get You High'', created by and starring

Matt Besser Matthew Gregory Besser (born September 22, 1967) is an American actor, comedian, director, producer, and writer, best known as one of the four founding members of the Upright Citizens Brigade sketch comedy troupe, who had their own show on Comedy ...

. He and

Paul Reubens Paul Reubens (; born Rubenfeld; August 27, 1952) is an American actor, comedian, writer, producer, and children's entertainer. He is known for his character Pee-wee Herman. Reubens joined the Los Angeles troupe The Groundlings in the 1970s, an ...

co-wrote the

Pee-Wee Herman Pee-wee Herman is a comic fictional character created and portrayed by American comedian Paul Reubens. He is best known for his films and television series during the 1980s. The childlike Pee-wee Herman character developed as a stage act that ...

film ''

Pee-wee's Big Holiday ''Pee-wee's Big Holiday'' is a 2016 American adventure comedy film directed by John Lee and written by Paul Reubens and Paul Rust. The film stars Reubens as Pee-wee Herman and Joe Manganiello as himself. The film was released on March 18, 2016, ...

'', which was released in 2016. Rust appears as a frequent guest on the ''

Comedy Bang! Bang! ''Comedy Bang! Bang!'' (formerly ''Comedy Death-Ray Radio'') is a weekly comedy audio podcast, which originally began airing as a radio show on May 1, 2009.A Special Thing Forums:Comedy Death-Ray Radio starts today! Popularly known as ''Humani ...

'' podcast, where he is best known for his "New No-Nos" segment. He has written for IFC's ''

'' and also as a writer and story editor on the revived for

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

fourth season of ''

Arrested Development The term "arrested development" has had multiple meanings for over 200 years. In the field of medicine, the term "arrested development" was first used, ''circa'' 1835–1836, to mean a stoppage of physical development; the term continues to be use ...

'' in 2013. Rust starred in the

Judd Apatow Judd Apatow (; born December 6, 1967) is an American comedian, director, producer, and screenwriter, best known for his work in comedy and drama films. He is the founder of Apatow Productions, through which he produced and directed the films '' ...

-produced Netflix series ''

'' (2016–2018) with

Gillian Jacobs Gillian MacLaren Jacobs (; born October 19, 1982) is an American actress and director. She is known for her roles as Britta Perry on the NBC sitcom ''Community'' (2009–2015) and Mickey Dobbs on the Netflix romantic comedy series ''Love'' (2016� ...

. He co-created the show with his wife,

Lesley Arfin Lesley Arfin (born 1979) is an American comedy writer and author. Life Arfin was born to a Jewish family in 1979 in Long Island, New York. She attended Syosset High School and Hampshire College. Career Lesley Arfin was a contributor to ''Vice' ...

. Rust and the comedian

Charlyne Yi Charlyne Amanda Yi (born January 4, 1986) is an American actor, comedian, musician, and writer. Their performances include music, magic, games, and often audience participation. Their screenwriting debut, the feature film '' Paper Heart'', wo ...

formed the band The Glass Beef in 2006. They appeared together in a video for "Song Away" by

Hockey Hockey is a term used to denote a family of various types of both summer and winter team sports which originated on either an outdoor field, sheet of ice, or dry floor such as in a gymnasium. While these sports vary in specific rules, numbers o ...

. He is also the lead singer and bass guitar player in the comedy rock duo Don't Stop or We'll Die with fellow comedian Michael Cassady. The band had

Harris Wittels Harris Lee Wittels (April 20, 1984 – February 19, 2015) was an American comedian. He was a writer for ''The Sarah Silverman Program'', a writer and executive producer for '' Parks and Recreation'', and a recurring guest on ''Comedy Bang! Bang!' ...

on drums until his death.

Personal life

Rust married the comedy writer and author Lesley Arfin in October 2015. They have a daughter born in 2017.

Filmography

Film

Television

Discography

;Albums (with Don't Stop or We'll Die) * ''Gorgeous'' (2014) * ''Dazzle Me'' (2018) *''SONG-A-WEEK Volume One: Bloom of the Goji'' (2021) *''Lives of Leisure, SONG-A-WEEK Volume II'' (2021) ;EPs (with Don't Stop or We'll Die) * ''The Ballad of Bird and Fox'' (2008) * ''One of the Gang'' (2011) *''Diamond Skies Over Western Dreams'' (2019)

References

External links

*
Paul Rust on Myspace
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rust, Paul 1981 births Living people Male actors from Iowa American comedy musicians American male film actors American stand-up comedians American male television actors American television writers American male television writers University of Iowa alumni American people of German descent People from Le Mars, Iowa Upright Citizens Brigade Theater performers Screenwriters from Iowa 21st-century American comedians American Roman Catholics 21st-century American screenwriters 21st-century American male writers