This weekend I traveled to LA and got to see an advanced screening of Ant-Man and the Wasp! The next day, I got to sit down and interview my fellow KC native, Paul Rudd, and ask him all my must know post-viewing questions. Of course, I'm leaving out the spoilers! 😉

Finally Seeing the Finished Product

After all the hard work and countless hours, seeing the final film is something every actor or actress looks forward to. Rudd expressed that finally seeing it is a unique feeling. "It’s exciting when you like the finished product because you can talk about it and you don’t have to manufacture enthusiasm," Rudd said. "The filming of it, the experience of it has been nothing but fun, it’s hard work, but really enjoyable."

The Comedy Factor

People tend to not be used to seeing a superhero movie filled with comedy. Rudd explained that having that comic relief throughout the movie wasn't something hard for them to establish.

"People know the characters and accept us in the roles and because of that we were able to lean into comedy or what we were doing a little bit more, we didn't have to explain it we just thought people would go along with it. Certainly, with the Scott Lang role, I’ve already been in Civil War and the Russo brothers really wanted to lean into the comedy of it so during the first Ant-Man there were many discussions of how do we modulate this, how serious should Scott be? How funny? Because it is a superhero, and Ant-Man seemed like a strange one to begin with."

Family-Friendly

Rudd revealed that making the movie family-friendly was one of their main goals for this film. They wanted the movie to work within the Marvel cinematic universe, but be enjoyable for all ages since they're dealing with the parent and child relationship throughout the movie.

"This is a theme that runs throughout this story and a lot of kids want to see these movies and sometimes there are some scary things in them or there are some violent things in them that might be a little too intense and so we wanted to make a movie that was enjoyable for lots of people. We wanted it to be funny, but we also wanted it to be engaging and moving in some way."

Filming with Abby

Abby Rider Fortson plays Rudd's daughter, Cassie, in the movie. Rudd expresses that he loves working with kids in general and especially Abby. "It was our second time working together, she trusts me, we get along really well and I loved working with her and doing those scenes with her," Rudd said. "I love working with kids because you don’t really know what they’re gonna do and you just kind go off of what they’re doing and if you can establish a relationship outside of the filming and just hanging around set, it can be really fun to film scenes with kids."

As far as his character goes, Rudd explained that it's not far off from his real-life fatherhood as his daughter is only a few years younger and it was an accessible role for him. "At first when she was very young, I use to think is it gonna be weird when my daughter is old enough and she sees this movie that there’s me playing dad to a little girl and instead it’s the opposite, I think she really loves it because I tell her “You’re the real Cassie” and I do little things in the movie that are little things just for her," Rudd said.

Working with Famous Co-Stars

It's no secret this film is stacked with A-List actors and actresses and Rudd loved working with all of them. He said, Michelle Pfeiffer, Janet van Dyne, is so nice and really a lovely person. "I’ve worked with her before and it was great because I hadn’t seen her in awhile and she’s a very sweet person," Rudd said. "She's very smart and very funny in ways I think people might not know." Actress Hannah John-Kamen, Ghost, Rudd met on set and he expressed how talented she is. "I’d seen her in other things and thought wow she’s really good and very very cool," he said.

As far as Michael Douglas, Dr. Hank Pym, Rudd said it's such a thrill to work with a legend like him.

"You can do anything with Michael Douglas and it just has gravitas,"-Rudd

"He’s been in so many films that I loved for so long, all of us really, and I’ve said as much as I admire and appreciate him as an actor, I now come to admire and appreciate and love him even more as a guy." Rudd revealed that the two got close on set and could talk about anything. "We’ve gotten to the point where we can talk about life things not just scripts and movie stuff," he said. "I feel like we’ve become friends which is baffling to me that I can even say."

Ending Scene

The ending to Ant-Man and the Wasp is something you'll have to see for yourself. Rudd expressed that he was so giddy in a way imagining people's reactions to the ending. "I was thinking, I so want this to remain as secretive as much as possible for as long as possible," Rudd said. "It’s this kind of punch to the gut." Rudd revealed that he knew what the ending was when watching it for the first time and he still was in awe. "It was really exciting, it was like knowing a secret that was really gonna land when people see it," Rudd said.