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Paul Rudd says he felt nervous singing seriously in Power Ballad<\/em> alongside Nick Jonas and director John Carney<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n- \n\n
Rudd plays a wedding singer whose song helps reignite a pop star’s career while sparking a rivalry between them<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n
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Nick Jonas drew from his own experiences leaving a boy band to portray his character’s struggles in the film<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Paul Rudd<\/a> admits he was nervous to sing alongside Nick Jonas<\/a> in their new movie Power Ballad<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n“Yeah, I was nervous,” Rudd, 57, tells Jonas, 33, in a recent joint interview with PEOPLE. “I’d sung in movies before, but it was always silly \u2014 you get a lot of leeway. This was real, actual singing. I was doing it with you and [writer-director-producer] John Carney, who’s a musician himself. This job is always nerve-wracking. Acting, singing \u2014 you’re putting yourself out there, so you close your eyes and jump in the deep end.”<\/p>\n
In Power Ballad<\/em>, Rudd plays Rick, a “past-his-prime wedding singer” who performs at a wedding where Jonas’s pop star Danny is in attendance. The two bond over music during a late-night jam session, and when Danny turns one of Rick’s songs into a hit that reignites his career, Rick sets out to reclaim the recognition he believes he deserves \u2014 even if it risks everything he cares about.<\/p>\nRudd points to the 2008 comedy Role Models <\/em>as an instance where he improvised a song on screen, performing a comedic take on Kiss’s “Beth” for Elizabeth Banks\u2019s character. Power Ballad<\/em>, he says, is different: “It’s all serious singing from start to finish. So that’s what I did. But yeah, it was a little bit of a nervousness, for sure.”<\/p>\n“Well, you blew everybody away on set,” Jonas replies.<\/p>\n\n\n<\/div>\nNick Jonas and Paul Rudd in Power Ballad
Credit: David Cleary for Lionsgate<\/i><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n
Jonas, of course, is a successful singer-songwriter and Jonas Brothers band member. In the movie, his character Danny is struggling with his life and career after leaving a boy band.<\/p>\n
“I definitely brought some of my own experience to the role<\/a>,” he told PEOPLE at a recent screening of the movie. “I think it’s natural that Danny, who’s going through some of the same experiences that I went through in 2014 or \u201815, you know, would be able to pull on that and kind of incorporate some of those experiences into it.”<\/p>\n“And I was thrilled [to play the role], you know,” he added. “It was a dream of a lifetime.”<\/p>\n
Paul Rudd says he felt nervous singing seriously in Power Ballad<\/em> alongside Nick Jonas and director John Carney<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n Rudd plays a wedding singer whose song helps reignite a pop star’s career while sparking a rivalry between them<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n Nick Jonas drew from his own experiences leaving a boy band to portray his character’s struggles in the film<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n Paul Rudd<\/a> admits he was nervous to sing alongside Nick Jonas<\/a> in their new movie Power Ballad<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n “Yeah, I was nervous,” Rudd, 57, tells Jonas, 33, in a recent joint interview with PEOPLE. “I’d sung in movies before, but it was always silly \u2014 you get a lot of leeway. This was real, actual singing. I was doing it with you and [writer-director-producer] John Carney, who’s a musician himself. This job is always nerve-wracking. Acting, singing \u2014 you’re putting yourself out there, so you close your eyes and jump in the deep end.”<\/p>\n In Power Ballad<\/em>, Rudd plays Rick, a “past-his-prime wedding singer” who performs at a wedding where Jonas’s pop star Danny is in attendance. The two bond over music during a late-night jam session, and when Danny turns one of Rick’s songs into a hit that reignites his career, Rick sets out to reclaim the recognition he believes he deserves \u2014 even if it risks everything he cares about.<\/p>\n Rudd points to the 2008 comedy Role Models <\/em>as an instance where he improvised a song on screen, performing a comedic take on Kiss’s “Beth” for Elizabeth Banks\u2019s character. Power Ballad<\/em>, he says, is different: “It’s all serious singing from start to finish. So that’s what I did. But yeah, it was a little bit of a nervousness, for sure.”<\/p>\n “Well, you blew everybody away on set,” Jonas replies.<\/p>\n Nick Jonas and Paul Rudd in Power Ballad Jonas, of course, is a successful singer-songwriter and Jonas Brothers band member. In the movie, his character Danny is struggling with his life and career after leaving a boy band.<\/p>\n “I definitely brought some of my own experience to the role<\/a>,” he told PEOPLE at a recent screening of the movie. “I think it’s natural that Danny, who’s going through some of the same experiences that I went through in 2014 or \u201815, you know, would be able to pull on that and kind of incorporate some of those experiences into it.”<\/p>\n “And I was thrilled [to play the role], you know,” he added. “It was a dream of a lifetime.”<\/p>\n\n
Credit: David Cleary for Lionsgate<\/i><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n