Paul Rudd is one of those ageless beauties in the same vein as Rob Lowe or Dolly Parton. It doesn’t matter how much time has passed; they age so flawlessly that they appear to be practically ageless. Le sigh. Rudd joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) back in 2015, playing Scott Lang aka Ant-Man. Even if you don’t know anything about the movies or the comics, you could probably deduct that they are (generally) about attractive, regular people going through something that turns them into hot, buff people with superpowers.
Throughout the years, there have been actors and actresses that have spoken out about the crazy training and diets they had to do in order to get and stay in shape for their action-hero roles. Hugh Jackman famously consumes 8,000 calories a day while working out nonstop in order to get into shape to play Wolverine. It never occurred to me that Rudd, the beautiful, beautiful man that he is, was also working really hard at getting buff in order to play Ant-Man. But, he was, and for him, it was not quite the rewarding experience he thought it would be. Before we go on, I want to give a gentle TW that Rudd discusses body image issues in the podcast interview that’s quoted.
During a recent appearance on the Off Menu podcast, Paul detailed what he had to go through diet-wise to portray Ant-Man in the MCU films — and, surprise surprise, it does not sound even remotely worth it.
“When I was having to train for the Ant-Man movie, and I was on a very restrictive diet, my reward was sparkling water,” he revealed. “That’s how horrible that diet was.”
“I was like, ‘Alright, I’m gonna have some sparkling water now, I’ve earned it.’ Yeah, it was great. It wasn’t flavored, I wasn’t gonna go crazy.”
Paul also explained that he adhered to the diet for all of his work in the MCU films, which comprised of eating “really boring food, every time, over and over again” — and that adhering to it was “actually not too hard” once he was in it. But Paul also said that, even though he engaged in workout regimens in a similar manner as his MCU costars, he could never quite achieve the same results as his colleagues.
“I worked out harder than anyone, I would eat better than everyone, and I looked worse than all of them,” he admitted. “I had to work out all the time, eat perfectly, just to look kind of bad. Not even like great.”
“I remember on Endgame, Chris Hemsworth would always have these Tupperware containers and he’s eating this gruel of just a mash of stuff,” he further recalled. “He’s working out, and then you stand next to a guy like that, and I just think, ‘Well, what’s the point of any of this?’”
“Why am I killing myself when that can exist, and then I look at myself and this exists. I can never achieve that…That was the good thing that it was Ant-Man, it isn’t Thor.”
“But I tried to work out, and it didn’t work.”
I really feel for what Rudd went through, especially because he was comparing himself to colleagues much younger than he is (for example, there is a 13 year age gap between Rudd and Hemsworth). There’s also the fact that everyone’s body is different and what works for some does not work for all. Even if our bodies need the same types of healthy fuel, we’re still all built differently. I’ve also learned that the older I get, the more I need to make sure I eat enough because weight loss is no longer the catch-all “eat less, exercise more.” Sometimes, the more you exercise, the more your body needs you to eat for fuel or else it will go into starvation mode and stubbornly hold onto weight. But anyway, Paul Rudd seems to be an all-around genuinely decent person and I enjoy him as Ant-Man and, most recently, in Only Murders in the Building. FWIW, I recently rewatched Clueless and he truly looks just about the exact same as he does now, so he must be doing something right.
photos credit: Avalon.red, Cover Images and via Instagram
Every body is different and I’m glad someone famous is acknowledging that. Not every physique is attainable by every person.
And something like steroids, or at the very least testosterone, couldn’t possibly come into play…
Hemsworth’s body is unreasonable. And must be a hugely difficult thing to compare yourself too
He’s so funny I love him. His humor is always so self-deprecating. I mean there was a reason Hemsworth was cast as Thor and not Paul Rudd and it wasn’t their 13 year age difference.
He may not have the physique, but he’s got the bone structure. Sean Connery was the same – it kept him looking beautiful at every age.
I must confess my first thought was “You turned down the steroids and now you’re surprised you don’t look like you’re on steroids?” But yes, there are different body types. Old enough to remember when weight loss advice brought up body types – mésomorphes, endomorphs and ectomorphs. Then that was all garbage and everyone was supposed to have the same weight goals, entirely based on height. I suspect that we are going to learn about variability again soon.
I remember reading an interview with Henry Cavill where he talked about not drinking water for some insane length of time so he’d look super cut in the shirtless scenes in the first season of The Witcher. Then when he was leaving, part of the claims he was difficult to work with was his refusing to do shirtless scenes. If an actress had revealed she went through that sort of unhealthy, eating disordered behavior for a scene, there’d be some support, but we aren’t having that conversation about the men. They are saying what they are doing, but it’s not getting named. Workout culture is strong.
Workout culture is toxic masculinity in a nutshell. It’s also wrapped up in a ton of bigotry and an asinine ideal of pain being noble and causing weakness to exit the body thus elevating the soul. It’s ripe ol bs that intertwines with diet culture. I’m not a fan of Henry because I picked up on the patriarchal supremacy vibes he was giving off but in order to look like him there is a lot of vanity and putting yourself first and foremost involved.
@Concern Fae 100% ! I think it’s to his credit and other actors like Rob Pattinson playing Batman who said I’m enough, thanks. Thanks to YouTube bodybuilders for revealing the world of steroids and growth hormones in Hollywood. It’s great when actors of both genders reveal the machinations behind what it takes to be in a superhero role. These are films that I admire, I wish that the studios were putting as much effort into plot and filmmaking as the actors are putting into making their bodies in creating the characters.
Plus, I have to give it to the handsome and delightful Paul Rudd, whether it was for comedic exaggeration or not. Every interview her has given about getting in shape for his role, he has not made it seem like a picnic. It seems monotonous and repetitive, which anyone who has lost a serious amount of weight realizes that it is that kind of routine.
I never thought of Ant Man needing to be buff. Plus, Paul’s natural charm and acting skills win me over. So, in my head he is the guy that can do all the superhero stuff without needing big muscles.
He’s 54 and will look forever 35 to me.
He has a pretty slight physique that probably was just never going to bulk up, which IMO is fine. Paul is boyish and he looks great. But then I’ve always cared more about the face and personality than the body. Hollywood has set some unrealistic goals for male bodies too, at least in action movies.
This was really refreshing to read, and comforting as someone who likes to work out a lot but not diet restrictively. I always figured that it must be the diet component as to why I don’t have a perfect physique.
But sometimes you can do ALL THE THINGS and you still look the way your body wants you to look. Which fortunately for Paul Rudd, is an affable, perpetually 35-year-old man. LOL.
Off Menu is a comedy podcast, hosted by two comedians, one of whom is basically an absurdist. Y’all need to include that context when you quote it. Paul Rudd and the other guests are absolutely going for laughs. Not that there isn’t obviously truth here, but I think the context is important. He was clearly in entertainer mode throughout – he said his favorite color as a kid was brown, to illustrate what a boring and timid kid he was. Lol. It’s a great podcast but the whole premise is comic absurdity!
+1
There are just different body types even in the world of superheroes. He was a perfect Ant Man. No way he was working harder than everyone else though, Hemsworth is a workout beast.
He was the perfect Ant Man!
And I bet he worked out hard (but not necessarily harder than Helmsworth) for the last movie, because he looked exactly the same as he did in the first.
For me beefy, veiny, and ridiculous < compact, lean, healthy muscle