Paul Rudd is talking about the “horrible” and “restrictive” diet he followed to get ready for the Ant-Man movie series. The actor was recently asked what kind of water he favored by hosts Ed Gamble and James Acaster during a segment on the Off Menu podcast, wherein guests discuss their “dream menu.” He laughed and said, “When I was having to train for the Ant-Man movie, and I was on a very restrictive diet, my reward was sparkling water. That’s how horrible that diet was. I was like, ‘Alright, I’m gonna have some sparkling water now, I’ve earned it.’”
Rudd clarified that he will receive “a lot of sparkling water” as an incentive for his intense training and exercise regimen. Acaster then questioned him about if it truly felt like a treat. Rudd responded by saying, “Yeah, it was great. It wasn’t flavored, I wasn’t gonna go crazy.” The actor from Only Murders in the Building mentioned that he mostly followed a rigorous diet and exercise regimen for all of his Marvel films. “Once you’re in it, it’s actually not too hard,” he stated, going on to say that he didn’t mind eating “really boring food, every time, over and over again,” because it gave him “tons of energy” when he woke up.
However, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Allen White, Robert Pattinson, and Channing Tatum are just a few of the actors who have publicly opened up about going through rigorous training and dieting for a part. Rudd is not the only actor to address these issues. Rudd was subsequently questioned about whether other Marvel actors would “compare notes” about their training when collaborating on group projects like Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame. “I mean, I think people kind of are,” he said. “But I also think I worked out harder than anyone, I would eat better than everyone, and I looked worse than all of them. I had to work out all the time, eat perfectly, just to look kind of bad. Not even like great.”
Rudd continued stating, “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’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.”