Probably one of the biggest reasons why we love Paul Rudd’s Ant-Man aka Scott Lang is his goofy, light-hearted personality and his comedic timing. The taco scene with Hulk in Avengers: Endgame still lives in my mind rent-free! Needless to say, the fact that Paul Rudd is just Scott Lang minus the superpowers is like the icing on the cake.
It’s quite interesting to imagine what working with Paul Rudd on the set must be like for his co-stars. On a mission to make filming fun, the actor has managed to make his fellow actors break their characters as they erupt in laughter. And there was no way his on-screen daughter, Kathryn Newton was going to be left out of this. The two talk about the time Paul Rudd managed to waver the actress’ concentration during a scene.
Paul Rudd Makes Kathryn Newton Break Character
Actress Kathryn Newton made her MCU debut in the much-anticipated Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. She plays a grown-up version of Scott Lang’s daughter, Cassie Lang. BBC Radio 1’s Ali Plumb, asked Paul Rudd about which actors broke their characters during filming because of him. Plumb then recalled a conversation with Newton where she talked about how Rudd made her laugh during a very serious scene.
“I felt so ridiculous filming this movie and having Paul Rudd just whisper, ‘Don’t laugh’ before I had to do a really serious, intense scene and I’m looking at someone in a onesie, trying to be scary, making gargling noises and I am supposed to be terrified. It just didn’t – I couldn’t do it!”
Rudd came clean to Plumb calling his behavior “uncool.” He talked about how he gave Newton a big-brotherly pep talk before the scene and just as the cameras were about to roll, he whispered “Don’t laugh!” which had the complete opposite effect on the Supernatural actress.
“It was uncool of me because she was giggling and there was big [setup] with explosions it was a big setup. It was just like, ‘ You’re gonna be fine, you’re not gonna laugh…We’re just gonna go through the scene, it’s gonna be great. You’re not gonna [laugh] it’s gonna be fine.’ And then rolling, and ‘Don’t laugh!’ action. And I don’t know, that was a big-brothery kind of – it’s classic!”
While Rudd does admit that it was uncool of him to make Newton laugh during a scene that was supposed to be intense, there’s no way he wouldn’t do it again if given the chance! Well, that’s one reason that makes him one of the most lovable actors of today.
Paul Rudd’s Advice to Kathryn Newton
Not only does Rudd play Newton’s father in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, but it looks like he shares the same father-like mentorship with the actress in real life as well. Talking to US Magazine, Newton talked about the best and most useful advice she ever got from Rudd. She stated that while she doesn’t shy away from asking advice from all her co-stars, Rudd is always very open with her.
She recalled the time when she was confused about which project to work on as she didn’t know how to choose and would “say yes to anything.” Rudd’s advice helped her get some clarity.
“He said, ‘If there’s no one that you think could do this part better than you, if you’re the only one that can play this role, then you should do it. That way, you’re elevating it. If you can bring something to the role, then you should do it. But if you can’t and, like, someone else could do it better, then just don’t do it.’ And it really helped me. I’d love to only do movies that I feel like only I could do because I’m the only one in the world that could play this part. And that’s how I felt about Cassie Lang.”
It’s always nice seeing co-stars being there for each other! This advice from Rudd goes on to say that while he won’t stop disrupting scenes for his co-actors, he’s also always going to be there for them!
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is currently playing in theatres.
Source: BBC Radio 1
