Sitting Down with Paul Rudd

Paul Rudd is “flying” back into theaters as Ant-Man.  I really enjoyed the first one and this second one is even better! You can read about it here. I had the chance to interview Paul Rudd this past weekend when I was in Los Angeles for the Ant-Man and the Wasp press trip.

When he entered the room one of my first thoughts was Oh my gosh it’s Paul Rudd!  He was one of my teenage crushes – he was Josh from Clueless.  Well now he’s Scott Lang in Ant-Man and the Wasp and he doesn’t age. That was the second thing I was thinking. The man is almost 50 and he looks amazing.

He had such a great energy!  He was cheering with us from the moment he stepped into the room.  He was also very genuine. But you probably are here to know what we talked about so I won’t digress any longer.

He shared the unique feeling to seeing a finished film and how exciting it was. He also shared about how much fun he had filming and the experience of the whole production.

Ant-Man has a really unique space in the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe). Paul describes it as their own tone.  “While we want it to work within the universe and want it to be enjoyable for all ages, we’re dealing with parents and children.  This is a theme that runs throughout this story.” 

Kids want to see these movies. They’re about super heroes! I wanted to be a super hero when I was a kid. Because we’re dealing with super heroes we’re also dealing with bad guys and evil so that can bring about And a lot of kids want to see these movies and sometimes there’s some scary things in them. Paul said that’s why they really wanted to make this movie enjoyable for all ages and it is!  That doesn’t mean it’s lame.  It really is for all ages and all ages will enjoy it.

Family is a big theme in the movie and I love the relationship between Scott and his daughter Cassie (Abby Ryder Fortson). Paul described Abby as a really good actress and a good kid.  He also shared that his own daughter is just a little bit younger than Abby.  “My daughter is a little bit younger, but not much.  Those kinds of scenes are accessible to me because I’ve been in them; I know what that’s like.  It’s one of my favorite things because I share that with my own daughter.”

He also shared that he tell’s her own daughter that she’s the “real Cassie” *cue the awwws* He even told us that he does little things in the movie that are just for her (his own daughter)!

Michelle Pfieffer is also in the film. We asked Paul how it was working with her. “She is a very sweet person.  Very smart.  Very funny in ways I think people might not know.  She’s very wry and she’s got a real stealthy cool sense of humor.”

 

While he had a lot of kind things to say about his cast mates they also had only great things to say about him and how nice he is to work with.

One relationship that has grown through the making of the two Ant-Man movies is his relationship with Michael Douglas.  “As much as I admire and appreciate him as an actor, I have now come to admire and appreciate and love him even more as a guy, as a friend.  And when he’s on set, he’s just he’s just so kind of funny and easy going.” 

He shared that they’ve gotten to the point where they talk about more than just the script and movie stuff, but world events, sports and families. “I feel like we’ve become friends which is still baffling to me, that I can say he would be a friend.  But I just really really love the guy.

It was so much fun to sit and talk with him.

Grab your tickets now. Ant-Man and The Wasp hits theaters on July 6, 2018!