Paul Rudd Freaked Out When Reuben Rabasa Showed Up To The Ant-Man 3 Set
The latest MCU movie, "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania," dominated the box office on its Presidents Day weekend opening. Starring Paul Rudd as the titular Ant-Man, the film also gave the biggest platform yet to comedic actor Reuben Rabasa with a bit role as a café owner and Avengers fan in Ant-Man's neighborhood.
Rabasa became something of a cultural phenomenon after appearing on the Netflix sketch show "I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson." In one widely circulated clip from the surrealist comedy series, Rabasa plays a member of a focus group for new automobile features who quickly sways the group to his side after proposing, among other things, a car that's "Stinky!" and has "No space for mother-in-law!"
In "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania," Rabasa's signature off-kilter humor is on full display when his café owner mistakes Ant-Man for Spider-Man (Tom Holland) while giving him a free coffee. According to Rudd, meeting Rabasa was a dream come true, and the encounter more than met his expectations.
Paul Rudd is an I Think You Should Leave superfan
Speaking with PopBuzz to talk about "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania," Paul Rudd revealed the sheer excitement he felt upon meeting Reuben Rabasa. Rudd explained that he's a massive fan of "I Think You Should Leave" and the sketches therein featuring Rabasa. Said Rudd, "As a Tim Robinson 'I Think You Should Leave' enthusiast, when Reuben showed up, I believe the technical term would be I lost my s***."
According to Rudd, Rabasa lived up to his expectations, acting pretty much the same in real life as he comes across in Robinson's sketches. "He was amazing," Rudd enthused. "He really is kind of, you know, I don't think it would surprise—you say, 'Oh yeah, no, I think I know what that guy is like.' You'd be right."
Rabasa has worked for decades as an actor, appearing in films such as 1988's "Police Academy 5" and an episode of "Criminal Minds." But the massive franchise of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is the most high-profile role to date for the bizarrely funny performer.