Paul Rudd Explains What's Behind His Superhuman Ability to Stay So Youthful

Carter Smith/Men’s Health

Paul Rudd has a secret to how he stays looking so young: sleep.

Rudd, who is Men's Health's March 2023 cover star, told the magazine he gets eight hours of sleep each night.

"People ask me, 'Can you send me your meal plan? How many times a week do you work out? Do you drink? Do you eat carbs? Do you have a cheat day?' The most important part of training is sleep," Rudd said.

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Rudd, 53, said those who set their alarms after only four hours of sleep to give themselves more time to train are selling themselves short.

"They're doing themselves a disservice," said Rudd, PEOPLE's Sexiest Man Alive in 2021.

Rudd's morning routine includes a cup of coffee with a side of cardio.

"I do cardio before I eat anything. I never would've done that before [Ant-Man]," Rudd said.

Carter Smith/Men’s Health

Playing a superhero was not something the Ant-Man actor set out to do, but it has changed his life, he told the magazine.

"I never really thought I was the type of actor that they would offer any of those parts to," he said. "But when this idea came around, I was excited about doing something that was so out of left field, and I knew that if it was announced that I was going to be joining a superhero franchise, most people would say, What the f---?"

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Prep for the role included hiring trainers, weight-lifting and cutting out sugar, while also establishing a routine.

"I've learned so much about how my body reacts to foods, how it reacts to exercise, and where I'm happiest and how much it affects me mentally. . . . If I'm in this suit, running around playing a character who's supposed to be a superhero, I just feel better. And I feel less like an impostor," he said.

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But his fitness routine now has less to do with another Marvel movie or magazine cover, he said.

Carter Smith/Men’s Health

"I finally understand if you make fitness a part of your lifestyle, you'll just feel good," he said.

Even when Rudd is at his peak level of fitness, it's easy for him to stay grounded, he told PEOPLE in 2021.

"I remember on the set of [Avengers:] Endgame, I was working out so hard, eating perfect, for so long, training like an athlete," Rudd said. "And I stood next to Chris Hemsworth [a former Sexiest Man Alive], and I thought, 'What's the point?' Why even try, 'cause there's that."

Rudd is now filming the third season of Hulu's Only Murders in the Building.