John Cena On Reason He Took Movie Roles Early In WWE Career, Other WWE Superstars Pursuing Hollywood Career

In a recent interview on Dermot & Dave, John Cena discussed joining the Fast and Furious series, the reason he accepted movie roles early in his WWE career, and much more. You can read his comments below.

John Cena on joining the Fast and Furious series: “It really reminds me of the day I walked in the door at WWE and it’s the same sort of thing. The Fast legacy just celebrated its 20th anniversary. Some of these people have been making these movies for two decades. That’s a long time. When I was a rookie walking in WWE, you had guys like The Undertaker, Shawn Michaels, Triple H, Kurt Angle – guys that had dedicated their life and their well-being to this legacy. So, they obviously look at you wanting to know the content of your character and wanting to know your intentions. That’s OK because it should be OK. I’m being invited to join a multi-billion dollar success. I don’t have to craft anything from the ground up. I don’t have to make sure the ship sails. Basically, I just have to do my best and not sink that ship. But I can also reap the benefits of that success. So, I totally understand the sizing up and wanting to make sure where my head and intentions are, and I actually appreciate that. It made me appreciate my existence in the WWE more and it gave me a greater respect for my peers and a closer bond. I think the same sort of thing happened on Fast.”

John Cena on other WWE superstars potentially pursuing a Hollywood career and the reason he accepted movie roles early in his career: “I don’t think we find opportunity, I think opportunity finds us. When it finds us, you have to be brave enough to jump. I certainly had a wonderful existence in WWE with no sense of slowing down. I took bit parts here and there where I had to expose a lot of myself on screen and redefine myself basically to be the butt of the joke for five years running now to get another chance. It started off as me doing a parody of myself on kids movies with a YouTube character called Fred. Then I got another opportunity and another. The conundrum is, WWE is constant. To be able to step away – you can’t step away to film Fast. I haven’t been there for the better half of two and a half years, and it’s strictly because I’ve been filming and they don’t allow you to do both. I took those small parts and could film in a weekend, then come back and make my dates. You have to find that balance. When I did those movies in the early 2000s — if anybody saw them, I’ll mail them the check because I owe them some money. The reasons behind it were wrong. I was doing it to try and get WWE more popular rather than wanting to do it. Every second I was on one of those movie sets, I wanted to be back in WWE. Now, I truly enjoy everything that comes with the movie. You can’t have fear of missing out or wanting to be in all places at once. As performers in WWE, we fancy ourselves as very versatile and want to be everywhere. It’s a weird conundrum.”

If using any of the above quotes, please credit Dermot & Dave with an h/t to 411mania.com for the transcription.