As Villanova students waited for hours outside of the Mullen Center preparing to cast their votes, they received a visit from an unexpected guest.
At around 2:45 p.m., American actor Paul Rudd showed up to Villanova with water, snacks and encouragement for voters.
Rudd, who has acted in almost 70 movies and shows, is most commonly known for his roles in Clueless, Friends, Parks and Recreation, The Hangover and several of the Marvel movies.
Paul Rudd was asked why he thinks it is important to support young voters by a reporter from The Villanovan.
“Because voting is very important, especially for young voters who are going to be having to live with the results longer than old farts like me,” Rudd said. “So, I encourage everyone to come out and vote, to keep our democracy alive, and I am thankful to see so many students out here today to do that.”
Quickly after Rudd arrived, crowds of students quickly formed around Rudd, each one hoping to get a picture with the movie star.
“When I heard Paul Rudd was here, I ran to get a photo,” senior Emily Schoonover said. “I loved him in Parks and Recreation. Seeing him made waiting in line worth it and it was cool to have people visit our school after seeing so many celebrities on other campuses in swing states.”
Other students who were not in line to vote also showed up to see Rudd, creating bigger crowds at the polling site and even encouraging some to vote.
“My friend was on the fence about voting because she didn’t want to wait in the two hour line, but that got her to get in line, and she ended up voting,”sophomore Kailey Fahy said.
“I only knew Paul Rudd from a few films and TV shows, but when I heard the news he was here, I went straight over to John Mullen,” student Patrick Casale said. “It was really cool, he was there out of nowhere and being interactive with Villanova students. It was awesome to see how many people voted on election day in Villanova.”
Senior Katie Stump echoed this point.
“I was super surprised when I first heard that Paul Rudd was here, but then we went to the Mullen Center where we saw him handing out water bottles,” she said.
In addition to Paul Rudd, actress Jennifer Garner also made an appearance at Villanova, but Garner tuned in virtually.
Student Natalie Zickel said she was waiting in line with her friend when a representative from the Harris campaign approached them and asked if they would like to speak with Garner. He then FaceTimed Garner, who intro- duced herself to Zickel and her friend and expressed appreciation for their political engagement.
“It felt very supportive,” Zickel said. “She made it personal by introducing herself and talking about her son who is also a first- time voter”
These celebrity appearances brought energy and excitement into what would otherwise have been a stressful and time consuming event.
