Paul Rudd’s ‘Horrible’ Ant-Man Diet Included a Very Depressing ‘Reward’

Hey, look at Paul Rudd, hating his Ant-Man diet.

Previously primarily known as a comedy superstar, thanks to memorable turns in films like Anchorman and Knocked Up, Rudd transformed his career — and body — by joining the MCU. His debut as criminal-turned-superhero Scott Lang, a.k.a Ant-Man, came in 2015's Ant-Man, and the 54-year-old actor recently bemoaned his physical preparation for the role.

“When I was having to train for the Ant-Man movie, and I was on a very restrictive diet, my reward was sparkling water,” Rudd shared on the Off Menu podcast. “That’s how horrible that diet was. I was like, ‘All right, I can have some sparkling water now, I’ve earned it.’”

As if that wasn't sad enough, Rudd added of his sparkling water cheat: “It wasn’t flavored, I wasn’t gonna go crazy."

Rudd has now headlined three Ant-Man movies, including this year's poorly received Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, but, thankfully, he says that the training is "not too hard" once you're entrenched in it. And still, almost a decade in, he feels like he can't compete with the Chrises and company.

“I worked out harder than anyone, I would eat better than everyone, and I looked worse than all of them,” Rudd joked. “I had to work out all the time, eat perfectly, just to look kind of bad. Not even great.”