John Cena On How His WWE Work Helped Him Prepare For Coyote vs. Acme

John Cena is back on screens this weekend in Coyote vs. Acme, and he recently spoke about how his WWE work helped him with his role in the film. Cena plays Buddy Crane, the lawyer for Acme Corporation in the live action-animated hybrid comedy, which arrives in theaters on Friday.

Cena spoke with Sports Illustrated’s Greg Cally for a new interview promoting the film. During the conversation he spoke about going “all in” on the comedy for the film, and he noted that the level of investment he gave came from his work in the ring. You can see highlights below:

On His Favorite Moment On Set:

“I mean, it’s not a film like we’re jumping off of buildings or anything like that. This was every day, dressing up to defend a cartoon corporation. It was really fun.”

On How WWE Prepared Him For This Kind of Role:

“I appreciate what you say about investing wholeheartedly. I’ll take all roads back to WWE. That is what we do. If you break character or have a lapse in your investment in WWE for even one moment, fans know. And nowadays, they’ll just post it, like you will be called out. And I admire our fan base for that, because you cannot take a second off. When those trumpets play or whenever your music hits, you have to go through that curtain with the confidence and the believability that you are that, and you can never waver. Because our audience is very fickle.

“And that’s very much helped me in in performing in other avenues, especially when my castmates are tennis balls, or a stuffed sock as a Tweety Bird. It is the investment and belief in the universe, not the jokes, not being the snarkiest, quippiest on set. It’s the belief and investment in character that helps drive the story forward.”

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit Sports Illustrated with a h/t to 411mania.com for the transcription.