MARVELLOUS DOUBLE DUTY
Paul Rudd is more than a handsome face and an actor who does comedy and drama equally well.
He’s also the writer who joined forces with Adam McKay and others to help salvage the Marvel superhero film Ant-Man with some deft rewrites.
As he also plays Ant-Man, Rudd is relieved to say the double duty paid off.
“I liked the challenge, and I thought it would be an exciting adventure,” says the 46-year-old. “And I enjoyed the fact that when I was cast people went, ‘Huh, really?’ I think Marvel likes to do that and I was thrilled to have the opportunity.”
In the Peyton Reed-directed film, Rudd plays cat burglar Scott Lang, who is hired by Dr. Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) to save the world. Lang attempts to do it by wearing a Pym-invented Ant-Man super suit allowing him to shrink in scale but increase dramatically in strength.
Ant-Man’s mission is to pull off the heist of a Yellowjacket suit before it is used for world domination by the evil Darren Cross (Corey Stoll), even as Pym’s daughter Hope (Evangeline Lilly) works for Cross.
Certainly, the movie’s universe has a lot in common with Guardians of the Galaxy’s quick cuts and witty dialogue, which is exactly what Rudd and McKay — the Anchorman writing buddies — intended with their rewrites, especially when they expanded the comedy-relief element of the heist.
At the centre of it all is Rudd, who handles the emoting with his usual grace and charm, yet enters the buff zone in a superhero kind of way.
“Growing up, I really didn’t know the character,” he says. “Before we started shooting, I read the comics, tried to do a little bit of research and get into the mindset as much as possible.”
The tough physical preparation provided Rudd a sense of accomplishment, while convincing him he could fulfil the requirements of his role on set.
And the cardio and weights regimen allowed him to feel better about the vanity shot in the film showing his ripped upper body.
“I was very self-conscious during that day of shooting,” Rudd says.
Finally, though, he’s happy to have impressed his nine-yearold son, Jack, with his Ant-Man portrayal after a series of more adult- oriented comedies that came before it.
“It’s the first thing I’ve ever done that he is legitimately jazzed about,” Rudd says. “He can see it, and his friends know about it.”
At a recent Disneyland sneak preview, the actor received his best review.
“I was sitting next to him, and to see as a parent, the look on my kid’s face when he’s watching this is something I will never forget,” says Rudd. “As soon as it ended he looked at me, and he’s like, ‘That’s awesome.’ ”
He received the same sort of notice for his film debut playing handsome hunk Josh in the teen comedy Clueless, which celebrates its 20th anniversary this year.
“Who didn’t have a crush on Paul Rudd in Clueless?,” says AntMan co-star Lilly.
“I know, it’s crazy,” jokes Rudd. “Even I fell in love with me. It’s unbelievable, isn’t it?”
What he didn’t embrace was the poster-boy image back then.
After Clueless, he instead returned to his New York base for a 1997 Broadway production of The Last Night of Ballyhoo and a Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night the next year.
He returned to his high-profile ways portraying Phoebe’s boyfriend, then husband, Mike, in 18 episodes of the hit series Friends, from 2002 to 2004.
On the big screen, Rudd costarred and helped write 2004’s Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (and 2013’s Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues), followed by his supporting role in 2005’s The 40-Year- Old Virgin.
He returned to the stage in 2006, starring opposite Julia Roberts and Bradley Cooper in Three Days of Rain, among other theatre projects. He was a part of 2007’s mega-hit Knocked Up and got busy in 2008 with Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Role Models and I Love You, Man.
He continues to mix it up with TV, movies and theatre, always grateful for breaks like Ant-Man when they come along.
For instance, Rudd’s Ant-Man will show up in 2016’s Captain America: Civil War.
“I have gratitude and am so appreciative that I’ve been able to continue to work doing something that I love, and not only doing something that I love but working on movies that I’ve loved,” Rudd says.
“You know, I always try and keep that kind of saying: I want to work on things that I would want to see. And for a large part of my career, the vast majority, that’s been true.”
Ant-Man hit theatres Friday.
I was sitting next to him, and to see as a parent, the look on my kid’s face when he’s watching this is something I will never forget.