Ant-Man Star Paul Rudd Suffered From A 'Horrible' Diet For Marvel Superhero Physique
Even though his character was the size of an ant at times, it didn't preclude Paul Rudd from getting buff to play Ant-Man. In an interview with the podcast "Off Menu," the Marvel Cinematic Universe star spilled the secret ingredients that were used to get him into fighting shape to play the diminutive superhero, who made his MCU debut in 2015's "Ant-Man."
Noting that his diet consisted of boring food that he ate over and over again, Rudd told the podcast, "When I was having to train for the 'Ant-Man' movie and I was on a very restrictive diet, my reward was sparkling water. That's how horrible that diet was."
Of course, the first "Ant-Man" movie wasn't a one-and-done acting gig for Rudd. He also starred as Scott Lang in its sequels, "Ant-Man and the Wasp" and "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania," in 2018 and 2023, respectively, as well as 2016's "Captain America: Civil War" and 2019's "Avengers: Endgame."
Rudd admits to questioning the point of all the physical training to play Ant-Man
While Paul Rudd wasn't bothered by the food he had to eat, the actor wasn't exactly down with the reasoning for it. "'Well, what's the point of any of this?' Why am I killing myself when [Chris Hemsworth] can exist, and then I'd look at what I'm doing, and I'm like, 'And then this exists.' I can never achieve that," he told "Off Menu." "That was the good thing, is that [it was] Ant-Man. It isn't Thor."
Rudd, of course, was directed in all three "Ant-Man" films by Peyton Reed. And while the original "Ant-Man" director, Edgar Wright, can't speak about his version of the film because of a nondisclosure agreement, it would be interesting to know if Rudd's diet would have been less restrictive under the auspices of the "Shaun of the Dead" filmmaker.
Wright revealed the "crucial difference" in his version of "Ant-Man" in an interview with the podcast "Reel Feedback," noting, "Scott Lang was an actual criminal at the start of the film and not already a 100% good guy." Would that have meant less physical training? Only the ants creeping around in the nooks and crannies of Wright's office will ever know.