Paul Rudd is beside himself _ literally. On his Netflix series "Living With Yourself," premiering Friday, with all eight episodes, marketing executive Miles Elliott faces existential questions of memory and identity when he finds himself sharing his life with his new-and-improved clone. "New Miles" is optimistic, thoughtful and excited about everything _ especially Miles' architect wife (Aisling Bea).
There are comedic moments, but it's more a half-hour dramatic fable in which Rudd, 50 _ best known for such comedies as "Clueless" (1995), "Knocked Up" (2007) and "This Is 40" (2012), 18 episodes of "Friends" (2002-04), and the lighthearted Marvel Studios superhero Ant-Man _ portrays a beaten soul barely clinging to his marriage and career. While Rudd has done dramas, including the films "The Catcher Was a Spy" (2018) and "Diggers" (2006) and Broadway's "Three Days of Rain" (2006), his work here is Miles away.
Born in Passaic, N.J., and raised primarily in Kansas, Rudd trained at drama academies in Los Angeles and Oxford, England. His first major gig was a recurring role on the NBC family drama "Sisters" starting in 1992, and he hasn't had a lull since. He spoke by phone with Newsday contributor Frank Lovece.
