Paul Rudd has a problem with technology, and he wants everyone to know it. Speaking at the New York Film Festival premiere of A Statement, the actor revealed he stopped bringing his phone to film sets entirely — and he blames the devices themselves for tearing society apart.
“I don’t go to sets with a phone,” Rudd told Variety Saturday evening. “It’s important to put it down. Anytime. They’re horrible things. I’m addicted to it like everybody else.”
The admission comes from a man who stars in a film about experts locked in a room trying to solve America’s climate crisis. In McCarthy’s adaptation, Rudd plays the moderator of the first-ever meeting dedicated to drafting a statement to Congress about carbon dioxide emissions. Set at a Florida beachside resort in 1980, the film follows 20 experts hashing out their differences over the weekend.
Rudd’s Phone-Free Practice
Rudd says he has been leaving his smartphone in his trailer for some time now. On A Statement, the practice was enforced by the director himself.
“The world has changed since cell phones have existed. We don’t look at each other or talk to each other quite the same way,” Rudd explained. “Now, [with the phone ban], we were forced to really spend time with each other and talk. Working on a movie set in 1980, we’re dressed in a certain kind of way. It felt like, ‘Oh, yeah. I remember this. This feels like it used to feel when people sat around and spoke to one another.'”
The result, according to Rudd, was a cast that bonded in a way modern filmmaking rarely allows. The experience of working without phones gave the actors a chance to connect in a more direct way, mirroring the kind of communication he remembers from earlier eras.
The Ensemble Cast
The film reunites Rudd with a formidable group of actors. Paul Giamatti, Tatiana Maslany and John Turturro join him in the sprawling ensemble, playing the 20 experts at the conference. Together they make up the full cast of the meeting where the statement about carbon dioxide emissions is drafted.
Ryan’s Case for Going Cold Turkey
Ryan echoed Rudd’s assessment of the phone-free set. She encouraged other filmmakers to adopt McCarthy’s approach, arguing that the absence of notifications and doomscrolling made the work richer.
“What happens is there’s a five-minute break and people are connected,” Ryan explained. “Hey, what are you doing? How’s your morning? What do you think of this scene?’ I equate it to like when you quit sugar. In three days, it’s out of your system. You don’t miss it! And hopefully, it becomes like a toy you’re gonna get sick of.”
Her comparison to quitting sugar is telling. Both Rudd and Ryan frame the phone ban as a withdrawal process, one that forces people to engage with each other directly rather than through screens. Ryan’s point is that once the habit of checking phones fades, people naturally revert to speaking face-to-face.
The Shared Message
| Element | Rudd’s View | Ryan’s View |
|---|---|---|
| Phone ban | Enforced by McCarthy | Encouraged by Ryan |
| Result | Closer bond between castmates | Richer work experience |
| Comparison | 1980-style filmmaking | Quitting sugar |
| Message | Phones are horrible things | Phones become a toy you’ll tire of |
The shared message is that the devices themselves are the problem. Rudd’s joke about being “addicted like everybody else” lands with extra force because he is also the one who decided to stop carrying a phone to set.
What the Admission Shows
Rudd’s admission is funny because it is sincere. He is not performing irony; he genuinely believes phones are terrible for human connection, and he is willing to live with the inconvenience of leaving his phone behind.
But the sincerity also makes the joke land harder. Rudd is both the rule-breaker and the moralizer. He is addicted like everybody else, yet he is the one who chose to put the phone down.
The film itself is a meditation on collective action in the face of a global crisis. Its characters are locked in a room arguing about the future of the planet, and Rudd’s real-life decision to lock his phone out of his own life echoes that theme.
The Verdict
Rudd’s admission is a small act of rebellion, and it is funny. But it is also a genuine warning about the tools we use every day.
Phones are horrible things, he says, and he is addicted like everybody else. The question is whether anybody listens.
The film is a reminder that sometimes the best solutions are the simplest ones. Put the phone down, look at each other, and talk.
Source material: “Paul Rudd Says He Stopped Bringing His Phone to Film Sets Because He’s ‘Addicted Like Everybody Else’: ‘They’re Facilitating Our Own Destruction’,” Variety.
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