Jenna Ortega’s coolness has been verified.
Death of a Unicorn star Paul Rudd, who shares the screen with Ortega, 22, in the comedy-horror, detailed what it was like filming together while speaking exclusively with PEOPLE at 2025 SXSW Film & TV Festival in Austin, Texas, on Saturday, March 8.
“I just was, and still am, always amazed at her level of coolness,” Rudd, 55, told PEOPLE. “It’s very real. She’s very bright. She’s funny, and there’s so much depth to her as a person and her talent.”
The two star as a father-daughter pair who accidentally run over the titular mythical creature while driving to visit a group that includes Will Poulter, Téa Leoni and Richard E. Grant.
“I enjoyed this experience across the board in every way, but getting to work with Jenna, it was a highlight,” Rudd added.
When told his costars described him as the “class clown on set,” Rudd gave credit to his castmates for being just as funny.
“Will Poulter is really funny and, of course, Richard E. Grant is rarefied air in the funny-incredible-person category,” Rudd said of his fellow MCU stars. “My humor comes out of nervousness, so I was probably just nervous around all of these people and then it just kept kind of spilling out and they thought it might have been funny when it was unintentional nervous.”
The longtime Kansas City Chiefs fan also addressed his Super Bowl reaction that went viral a month ago, when his favored team lost to the Philadelphia Eagles at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans on Sunday, Feb. 9.
Per footage shared to X by The Hollywood Reporter, Rudd was seen clutching his head in his hands during the third quarter as the Eagles scored one of many touchdowns during the game.
“Well, we, you know, we got crushed. That was what was going through my head. It’s OK,” he told PEOPLE. “I’m happy for all of those kids. There were a lot of kids in Eagles jerseys hugging their parents who were wearing Eagles jerseys, and having been through that experience with my own kid, I was legitimately happy that they got to have that experience. Because that’s what it’s about, really.”
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Death of a Unicorn will debut in theaters on March 28.
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