Paul Rudd Was Laughed At When He Was Cast As Ant-Man

Actor Paul Rudd is 53 years old, not that you can guess it by looking at him. His sanguine diet is to be held responsible for his looks. Rudd had been known for his romantic comedies, but ever since he starred as Ant-Man in the Marvel movies, that has become his identity, especially for the Gen Z.

Ant-Man was a minor superhero in the comics. However, when the character went to Rudd with Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige’s commitment to bringing out lesser-known characters from the comics, Ant-Man movies got critical and commercial success. 

But there is a different side to this story. According to the Indian Express, Rudd revealed that people thought it was a joke and laughed at him when he was cast as the Ant-Man. Rudd was in conversation with MCU actor Chris Evans on the Variety’s Actors on Actors series, when he said, “I would say, ‘I got this part, I’m playing Ant-Man,’ and then they would say, ‘Well what does Ant-Man do?’ I would say, ‘He can shrink to the size of an ant but he retains strength and he can also control ants and talk to ants.’ And people would laugh as I’d explain what the character does.”

He mentioned that he was not the first choice of people when it came to an actor playing a superhero. Rudd further added, “I wanted to try and make a character, a superhero, who was kind of a regular person. The whole world of it, of superherodom, seemed overwhelming and it’s like, ‘What do you do with this?’ you know, to make it identifiable. These characters are important to many people and you want to treat them with respect and want to do the character a service. And certainly, the character – when he was created by Jack Kirby and Stan Lee and everyone at Marvel – has been around for a while.”

Director Peyton Reed’s ‘Ant-Man’ (2015) saw the debut of Rudd in the MCU. The storyline follows thief Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) who finds a suit that helps him shrink to an ants size. He was also seen in ‘Avengers: The Civil War’ as a part of Captain America’s team. 

As of now, the actor is shooting for the third instalment of Ant-Man, ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’.