Paul Rust is an American actor, comedian and writer. He starred in the 2009 film I Love You, Beth Cooper and in the Netflix series Love.
Early life
Rust was born in Iowa, the son of Jeanne and Bob Rust. His family is of German heritage. Rust was raised Roman Catholic 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 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 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, Ass Backwards, Freak Dance, Paper Heart and Semi-Pro. He made his most high-profile acting role in summer 2009, playing the male lead in the comedy film I Love You, Beth Cooper alongside Hayden Panettiere. Rust has written for television programs such as Human Giant and Moral Orel.
In November 2010, Rust appeared in the Comedy Central sketch comedy special This Show Will Get You High, created by and starring Matt Besser. He and Paul Reubens co-wrote the Pee-Wee Herman film Pee-wee's Big Holiday, which was released in 2016.
Rust appears as a frequent guest on the Comedy Bang! Bang! podcast, where he is best known for his "New No-Nos" segment. He has written for IFC's Comedy Bang! Bang! and also as a writer and story editor on the revived for Netflix fourth season of Arrested Development in 2013.
Rust starred in the Judd Apatow-produced Netflix series Love (2016–2018) with Gillian Jacobs. He co-created the show with his wife, Lesley Arfin.
Rust and the comedian Charlyne Yi formed the band The Glass Beef in 2006. They appeared together in a video for "Song Away" by Hockey. 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 on drums until his death.
In 2018, he started hosting In Voorhees We Trust With Gourley and Rust with Matt Gourley, a podcast series reviewing every film in the Friday the 13th franchise. The self-proclaimed "easy-listening cozy-cast," now simply titled With Gourley and Rust, has had several seasons analyzing and discussing horror films.
Personal life
Rust married the comedy writer and author Lesley Arfin in October 2015. They have a daughter born in 2017.
