Paul Rudd reveals people laughed at him when he was cast as Ant-Man

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

Before ANT-MAN was released, Paul Rudd was probably not the guy you would think of when you thought comic book superhero. Rudd is a charming and likable performer that has thrived in comedies such as CLUELESS, I LOVE YOU, MAN, KNOCKED UP and THIS IS 40 but there is nothing about his persona that screams action hero. Rudd reveals that when he did land the Marvel role that it led to laughter and a bit of disbelief.

During a conversation with Captain America himself, Chris Evans, for "Variety's" Actors on Actors At Home Series, Rudd admitted that people thought it was a joke when he was first picked to headline Marvel's ANT-MAN:

"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 his strength and he can also control ants and talk to ants.' And people would laugh as I'd explain what the character does."

Rudd goes on to say not only would people laugh about his character's offbeat abilities but they were more amused by the fact that he was chosen to play a superhero. Rudd reveals that he ultimately took their disbelief as an opportunity to make the character more relatable:

"I'm not the first guy that people would think of when it comes to playing a big superhero. 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."

It turns out that any hesitation or disbelief that anyone had was unfounded because it was Rudd's charming and relatable personality that turned Ant-Man into one of the MCU's best heroes. For me, other than Jeremy Renner's underrated Hawkeye, Ant-Man is probably my favorite MCU character because as a hero he's unusual but as a human being he has layers and a lot of that has to do with his relationship with his young daughter. I wasn't familiar with the character prior to his introduction in the films but Rudd explains that he knew there were fans of the character out there and he wanted to impress them in the end:

"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 back Jack Kirby and Stan Lee and everyone at Marvel, has been around for a while."

Rudd has played the character in ANT-MAN, CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR, ANT-MAN AND THE WASP and AVENGERS: ENDGAME. A third film is in the works but there is no word where that film will land in Marvel's phase of upcoming films but it has secured a screenwriter and director Peyton Reed is returning to helm the film with Evangeline Lilly and Michael Douglas both expected to return to the cast.

Do YOU think Paul Rudd was the right choice for ANT-MAN?