Paul Rudd reveals his secret to looking young and training well, but the actor admits his daily routine “sounds like hell.” Since taking on the role of Scott (Ant-Man) Lang, Rudd used to only appear shirtless in his previous roles “for comedy’s sake. I had no business doing a shirtless scene [in a superhero movie].”
Rudd, 53, reflected on his prep to become fit for Ant-Man in a new interview with Men’s Health published this week. The actor said sleep was crucial and that getting eight hours of sleep every night was paramount to his everyday well-being. Going through the rest of his fit checklist by importance, he lists: “Then diet. Then weights. Then cardio. People ask me, ‘Can you send me your meal plan? How many times a week do you work out? Do you drink? Do you eat carbs? Do you have a cheat day?’ The most important part of training is sleep. People will set their alarm and then sleep for four hours and they’ll get up so that they can train. They’re doing themselves a disservice. If you can somehow get eight hours of sleep . . .”
As for his diet, People‘s 2021 Sexiest Man Alive said he eats eggs “every day” as well as “a lot of salmon” and protein shakes that are just protein and water, no fruit. Rudd also revealed he has a cup of coffee when he wakes up. He gets straight into his cardio exercise before eating his first meal of the day. That is something he says he “never would’ve done… before [Ant-Man].”
“I lift weights, hopefully at least three times a week,” he continued. “And I’ve learned so much about how my body reacts to foods, how it reacts to exercise, and where I’m happiest and how much it affects me mentally. . . . If I’m in this suit, running around playing a character who’s supposed to be a superhero, I just feel better. And I feel less like an impostor.”
He admitted, “It sounds like hell. It’s really not. I find routine comforting.” The Wanderlust actor said his daily regimen has become essential in the same way it’s become essential for so many of us who now do a lot of our work from home. “There isn’t an office that we have to go to every day where we see the same people and do the same kind of job. Routine is a human need. It’s grounding in a really positive and healthy way.”
Catch Paul Rudd on the big screen next in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, out in theaters Feb. 17. Watch the trailer below: