Paul Rudd's next Marvel film, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is all set to release on February 17. Ahead of the film's release, the actor has opened up about his struggles to get back into shape for being a superhero. 

In a recent Men's Health cover story, Paul Rudd said that his workout regimen for his role as Scott Lang or Ant-Man was much more exhausting than he remembered the process being for his 2018 film Ant-Man and the Wasp. 

He said, “I worked really hard to get back into shape for Quantumania, and I realized, ‘Oh, my God, this is so much harder than it was [for Ant-Man and the Wasp].' I had fallen off more than I had in the past. All of a sudden, my clothes fit tight. And I thought, ‘God, this sucks. I can’t even wear these pants.'”

He continued, “So I’d say to myself, ‘Well, I might as well just eat some of these cookies.’ I was irritable and self-conscious. I just wasn’t in a good mood. I really beat myself up.”

Previously, the actor starred opposite Will Ferell in the series The Shrink Next Door. He played a part that saw him age into his 70s and he, therefore, had to develop a softer physique than for the Ant-Man role. 

The 53-year-old  star explained that he typically is able to self-motivate while preparing to film an action-centric role. “I can be a hyper-focused person if I have a goal. If I’m doing one of these movies, and I know that in four months, I have to do a shirtless scene, I’m pretty dialled in. I also try and find a happy medium. I could work out hard and eat perfectly, and I’ll still look worse than most of the other Avengers.”

Directed by Peyton Reed, the film also stars Evangeline Lilly, Jonathan Majors, Michelle Pfeiffer, Michael Douglas and Kathryn Newton. Disney releases the film in theatres on February 17.