Most superheroes, completely out of context, are laughable. Have you ever tried to describe Batman to anyone? “He’s a rich guy who dresses up like a bat and pretends to be a detective.” It sounds absolutely baffling. So, it isn’t surprising that Paul Rudd ran into that same problem when he was describing Ant-Man to people when he first landed his Marvel Cinematic Universe role.
Bringing Scott Lang to life isn’t easy because not only is Ant-Man probably Marvel’s strangest human hero to hit the screen so far, but he’s also the funniest. Luckily, we have Paul Rudd playing him, so he brings his comedic prowess to the role. But still, Ant-Man isn’t really that easy to explain, and when Paul Rudd sat down with Chris Evans for their Actors on Actors interview for Variety, he talked about how people would laugh whenever he talked about his upcoming role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe:
People would ask me. I’d go, “I got this part; I’m playing Ant-Man.” Then they’d say, “Well, what does Ant-Man do?” Then I’d say, “Well, he can shrink to the size of an ant. Then he retains you know, strength. He can also control ants.” And people would laugh as I explained what the character does.
Rudd went on to talk about how it didn’t help that it was him who was playing a superhero, either:
And it was me playing it, which—I’m not the first guy people would think of when it comes to playing a big superhero. I wanted to make a superhero that was kind of a regular person. That the whole world of it, of superherodom, seemed overwhelming, and what would you do with this?
Look, I’ll be honest: When news broke that Paul Rudd was going to be a superhero, I had my reservations—not because I didn’t trust Paul Rudd (I do with my entire being and soul), but because I just didn’t really see him fitting into the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Rudd, for all his glory, was that comedic actor who all of us would probably marry at the drop of a hat. We just didn’t really see him in “action” roles or playing a hero onscreen. So, the news that Paul Rudd, of all people, was going to be Ant-Man was a little shocking, mainly because everyone either had to Google who Ant-Man was or sat there and said, “Scott Lang? Seriously?”
Lucky for all of us, we gave Ant-Man and Paul Rudd a chance, and now he has easily some of the best movies in the MCU. They’re funny and light, and if it weren’t for Scott Lang, the Avengers would have never reversed the Snap in the first place. Or … maybe we should be thanking the rat that let Scott Lang out of the Quantum Realm. Whatever, Scott Lang rules, but it is kind of funny that people would just laugh in Paul Rudd’s face, honestly.
(image: Marvel Entertainment)
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