Anyone else feel like they just saw a ghost? Tuesday’s Only Murders in the Building featured the surprise return of Season 3 star Paul Rudd. Only this time around, he’s not playing the late Ben Glenroy; he’s playing the very-much-alive Glen Stubbins, CoBro’s longtime stunt double with a thick, Irish brogue!
Still mourning the loss of his number one, and out of work for the first time in 15 years, Glen has gone… well, a wee bit mad.He chases our trio out of stunt performers bar Concussions, then begs and pleads for a job in the Only Murders movie. He proceeds to “audition,” first by slamming a garbage can lid into his head, then diving into a nearby dumpster. Charles doesn’t need a double, but they agree to find him a part if he promises not to throw himself through a glass window.
Following the release of Episode 4, TVLine can confirm that Rudd will again appear in multiple episodes this year. Below, series co-creator/showrunner John Hoffman tells us how the Emmy nominee’s return came to be.
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TVLINE | Was it always the plan to have Paul back this year? Yes! I love Paul so much — that’s not a surprise for anyone who has met or worked with him — and he has a love for the show and the people on it. We knew Ben Glenroy was coming back [from the dead], after collapsing on stage, at the beginning of Season 3, and there’s something about Paul and the idea of killing him, then bringing him back, then killing him, then bringing him back… I really enjoy that notion. We were laughing a lot about that. I like writing things right up to the line, and maybe pushing them over the edge just a touch, as long as it’s grounded in something — in our world of believability.
We’re in a land of stunt doubles, so… who was Ben Glenroy’s stunt double? And was he so signature to Ben Glenroy in the way that Sazz was so signature to Charles that they were each other’s number ones? That felt like too rich an opportunity, and to have a part for Paul… and I think it’s more consequential than you might expect at this point. It’s not just a one-off. There’s more to come.
TVLINE | I love the Irish brogue. How much of the development of this new character was conceived in the writers’ room — the beard, the missing tooth, the Irish brogue! — and how much of it was a collaboration with Paul? It was hugely collaborative. Paul really got into it. The Irish accent, he brought it up first, and then we wrote it and he was, like, “Oh s–t. I said that, didn’t I?’ But he worked so hard on it! Right after we finished shooting Season 4, he went off to Ireland and made a film. I was getting texts [from him saying], “Oh, my God, I think I need to redo my Irish accent,” and I told him, “No, it’s charming.”
TVLINE | I love that you had Paul, supposedly one of the nicest guys on the planet, play the biggest a—hole last season. And now he’s back as this new character, who makes an a– of himself. [ Laughs ] Glen just can’t help himself, but it’s all from a good place. I love it. He’s brokenhearted, he may have been hit in the head [too much], he sees rats… like, something happened to that guy in the midst of some CoBro onslaught. Too many stunts in one week!
What did you think of Only Murders in the Building Season 4, Episode 4: “The Stunt Man”? Were you delighted to see Paul Rudd back in a new role? Hit the comments with your reactions.
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