Paul Rudd ditches phone on set to fight addiction

Paul Rudd says he's banned his smartphone from film sets for years, calling the devices a destructive force. According to Variety, the actor revealed this at the New York Film Festival premiere of his new movie, "A Statement."

Rudd told the outlet he no longer brings a phone to work. "It's important to put it down," he said. "They're horrible things. I'm addicted to it like everybody else. They're facilitating our own destruction."

The film's director, Tom McCarthy, reportedly enforced a strict no-phones policy on set. Rudd said this forced the cast, which includes Paul Giamatti and Tatiana Maslany, to connect more deeply, making the shoot feel like a theater production.

Co-star Amy Ryan agreed, telling Variety the ban made the work "much more rich." She compared quitting the phone to quitting sugar, saying you stop missing it after a few days.

"A Statement" is a Tom McCarthy film set in 1980, where Rudd plays a moderator leading a climate crisis summit.