Paul Rudd is showering praises on his co-star Nick Jonas. The duo is looking forward to the release of their musical comedy drama, Power Ballad. At the premiere of the film on Tuesday, Rudd spoke highly of Jonas.

Nick Jonas receives high praise from Paul Rudd

In his interview with PEOPLE, Paul Rudd praised Nick Jonas’s performance in Power Ballad. “I can’t say that I was surprised because I’ve seen him act,” Rudd said. However, the actor shared that Jonas “did things that were kind of so subtle and really deft, the stuff that was going on behind his eyes.”

The Ant-Man star continued, “He’d be going through these dilemmas, and he’s not saying anything, but you can read his mind.” He further added, “It’s such good acting, and I was just amazed at some of the stuff he was doing.” The 57-year-old explained how the singer handled a few scenes really well. “When I saw the movie, it was like, ‘Oh my God.’ There were scenes that I wasn’t there to film, and yeah, he knocked me out,” Rudd stated.

He concluded, “Oh, I need to remember this.’ And he’s just cool. Like he just plays everything cool because he is cool.” Director John Carney also acknowledged Jonas’s skills in the film. “Nick Jonas has an inner working that’s going on all the time. He’s inscrutable,” he told The Hollywood Reporter. Carney continued, “He brings a certain kind of mysterious, enigmatic reality and truth to the character that we really needed.”

Earlier, Carney was warned about casting Jonas, but he realized he made the right choice when everyone reached the set. “Nick played this character really small. He didn’t come in going, ‘Hey, I’m the boy band guy!’,” the director said. He continued, “He wants to go and play golf and have a nice whiskey and talk about the part and go to bed early and call his daughter and his wife. That’s what being a massive boy band star is like, really.”