- When Paul Rudd was first cast in Ant-Man about a decade ago, he was taken by surprise.
- Like many actors joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Rudd had to shape his character.
- Rudd’s secrets to staying fit and looking youthful include getting enough sleep, exercise and salmon.
When Paul Rudd was tapped to star in Ant-Man nearly a decade ago, the multi-talented actor was initially taken aback. Starring in superhero movies was not the direction he envisioned for his career, nor was the Marvel Cinematic Universe the sprawling and prestigious cinematic empire it is today.
“My agent arranged a meeting with Kevin Feige, the president of Marvel Studios,” Rudd told Men’s Health. “Marvel is new. They’re not even part of Disney. Like someone said, what would you think of doing ‘Dancing with the Stars’?” The superhero franchise was never on my radar. “
Luther has previously appeared in movies like Incompetent, Wet Heat of American Summer, Shock and The Host: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, and it doesn’t seem like the most obvious choice to helm a superhero flick. This is a view that Rudd himself agrees with.
“I never really thought of me as the kind of actor they would deliver any of these parts,” Rudd said. “But when the idea came up, I was excited to do something very unusual, and I knew that if it was announced that I would be in a superhero franchise, most people would say, ‘What the fuck?'”
It’s no secret by now that getting in shape for a Marvel movie is a painstaking process, but one that yields impressive results. (Check out Kumail Nanjiani’s stunning physical transformation for 2021’s The Eternals.) For Rudd, preparing for the role of Scott Lang or Ant-Man has been a year-long process, in which Includes trainers and omits sugar.
When the 53-year-old actor was asked what was the secret to his superhero body and controversial youthful looks, Rudd put it down to “sleep”.
“Then diet,” Rudd continued, citing foods and drinks such as eggs, salmon and protein shakes without fruit. “Then weightlifting. Then cardio.”
Rudd added: “I wake up and have a cup of coffee and do cardio before I eat anything. I would never do that before. [“Ant-Man”]. I lift weights and hopefully at least three times a week. I learned a lot about how my body responds to food, how it responds to exercise, where I am happiest, and how much it affects my spirit. ”
Rudd reprises his role as Lang in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantum of Fury, which hits theaters Feb. 17.
