Paul Rudd has admitted it feels surreal getting back into his role as Brian Fantana for the 'Anchorman' sequel after nearly a decade since the last film.

The 'This is 40' actor - who starred alongside Will Ferrell and Steve Carrell in 2004's 'Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy' - saysit was strange returning to the franchise.

He told Digital Spy it was 'crazy' thinking about the new movie, 'I'm really excited. We start shooting next month and it's unbelievable - it's been almost a decade.'

"When it was announced, we didn't even really know. Will Ferrell was on a talk show as Ron Burgundy and I just remember the day before, I got this message, 'You gotta watch Conan tomorrow night'. And that's how I found out.

"A week later we all got together to film a teaser trailer for it and it was surreal getting back into the costume and seeing each other."

The 43-year-old star - who plays Brian Fantana in the films - added that he hopes fans will still be interested in the film despite the long wait between the original and the sequel, which is due for release later this year.

He said: "It seemed with 'Anchorman', it got more popular after it was in the movie theatre.'

''Hopefully the interest will still be there 10 years later. It seems like there will be interest because of the number of people that ask about it.'