Paul Rudd says working on Avengers: Endgame is similar to his experience on Friends. Debuting as one of the most obscure heroes in the MCU via Peyton Reed’s Ant-Man, the actor has been playing the role for almost four years now, reprising the role two more times in Captain America: Civil War and Ant-Man & The Wasp. This year, he official joins the bigger world as he teams up with the remaining heroes to go after Thanos following the events of Avengers: Infinity War.

Plot details for the Joe and Anthony Russo-directed and Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely-written blockbuster have been heavily guarded. Trailers barely reveal any concrete clues as to what might go down in the film. But as far as the public knows, Ant-Man will play a crucial role in the narrative having the key to the mysterious Quantum Realm introduced and largely explored in his movies. It’s uncertain how the alternate dimension will factor in the movie, but many are convinced that it will pave the way for the heroes to travel through time. Being one of the newer actors boarding the MCU, Rudd has been vocal about his experience joining an established franchise, and recently, he compared this to his years in the classic sitcom, Friends.

Sitting down with ET during Endgame’s press day, Rudd, who was partnered up with original Avenger, Jeremy Renner, was reminded that this year marks the 25th anniversary of Friends. In light of that, the actor talked briefly about what he remembers during his years in the show. And along the conversation, he shared that it’s very similar to him joining the MCU in a sense that he boarded the sitcom when it was already very popular and acting opposite these already iconic actors and characters and he “just didn’t want to get in the way.” Watch the full clip below:

Rudd, who had already done the coming-of-age classic film Clueless at that time, was introduced in Friends’ second to the last season as Mike Hannigan - accidental-boyfriend-turned-husband of Lisa Kudrow’s Phoebe. The two had a bumpy relationship that even resulted in a brief break-up, but they eventually got back together and got hitched in a romantic, albeit unorthodox winter wedding officiated by Joey (Matt LeBlanc). Despite only appearing in a handful of episodes, he had some very memorable moments in the sitcom, particularly the one where he and and David Schwimmer’s Ross were forced to hang out as Rachel (Jennifer Aniston) and Phoebe go out for a girls’ night out.

Ant-Man has been largely operating on its own for the last few years with only a short appearance in Civil War. While it’s unknown whether or not this will still be the trend once this ongoing Thanos debacle is resolved, there’s a good chance that he’ll be more active in the ongoings in the bigger MCU. Since the Quantum Realm, which is significantly tied to him and his franchise will be a pivotal part of the franchise moving forward, not to mention the fact that he’s connected to other heroes in the lore, he and The Wasp can be two of the next poster characters for the universe come Phase 4. So while his stint in Avengers: Endgame reminded him of joining Friends, unlike the latter, his time in the Marvel universe is still far from over.

More: Paul Rudd Hilariously Reveals His “Secret” to Not Visibly Aging

Source: ET

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