MJF Says His Movie Career Isn’t Making Him Think About Retirement, Discusses Beating Up Eminem in Happy Gilmore 2

During a recent interview with Insight With Chris Van Vliet, AEW World Champion Maxwell Jacob Friedman (MJF) discussed his burgeoning career in Hollywood with multiple movie roles, including Happy Gilmore 2. MJF spoke about being star-struck while meeting rapper Eminem for the film.

Additionally, MJF spoke about his scene that was ultimately cut from the critically acclaimed feature, The Iron Claw. MJF appears in the final cut of the film, but only for a brief moment. Below are some highlights from Insight:

On If His Hollywood Prospects Are Making Him Think About How Much Longer He Wants To Wrestle

“No, because I’m young, the idea hasn’t even entered my head, like when I was watching that John Cena retirement, or the AJ Styles retirement.”

On John Cena Having 20 Years on Him

“So does Cody, so does CM Punk, so does LA Knight, so does Jey Uso, so does essentially every top guy, Roman, all these dudes are 40s to 50. I’m 29. So yeah, I do think it’s silly to even go there, too. Oh, when am I going to hang them up? I’m a baby, you know what I mean? I’m a top act, and it’s very rare for somebody my age, if ever, to be in the situation that I’m in. But I’m also very cognizant of the fact that I’m just getting started, I don’t know what my prime is going to be. I don’t think I’m going to have a prime. I think I’m just going to be great for at least the next 20 to 30 years, and it’s crazy to say that out loud, because when you hear 20-30 years, you’re like, Oh, that’s a lot of time. 30s, 40s, 50s, it’s all ahead of me. It’s all ahead of the viewers. I personally feel that year over year, I’ve only evolved and gotten better. And I’m very curious to see what I look like as a wrestler when I’m 35, when I’m 45, or when I’m 50.”

On How His Role in Happy Gilmore 2 Came Together

“I had an audition. I actually auditioned to be the evil golfer that would have been beside Becky’s character. Becky rules, by the way, if you don’t like Becky Lynch, go f*ck yourself. Anyway, so I auditioned for that role, and Sandler saw it. I didn’t find this out until later, and he was like, this kid is funny, and he kind of looks like me. Can we try him out to be one of the sons? So he specifically out of God knows how many people that auditioned were like him. Then, when I got to work with him, it was so apparent to me, obviously, you already know how talented he is, but how much of a good, down-to-earth human being he is. Whatever happens to my career now is because no different than Cody and Tony taking a chance on me is in my career in LA is because Adam Sandler took a chance on me, and that’s something I’m never gonna forget. When I make it big, which I will, it’s something I’m never gonna let him forget.”

On Beating Up Eminem in the Movie

“I did beat the s*** out of Eminem, yeah. Marshall Mathers, he rolls deep. He showed up on that movie set with a big crew, probably 10-15 dudes, and they were all easily as big as Luchasaurus. It’s like massive human beings, and I get it because he’s seen some ****. So I’d imagine it’s no different than when a wrestling fan might see me out and about, being next to who is arguably the greatest rapper of all time, was one of the only times in my life where I was star struck was, that moment.”

MJF on What His Scene Was Supposed To Be in The Iron Claw

“I had a five-minute talking scene with Zac Efron, who I became really tight with on set, and I would hang out with him in the trailer. He was the nicest guy. When I brought my belt onto the set, he was like, let’s take a photo, which was hilarious. His work ethic was insane. He got rhabdo on set because he was working out so hard and hitting the rope so hard and wrestling so frequently.”

On Not Being Upset His Scene Wasn’t in the Movie

“As an EP [executive producer], I wasn’t even upset, and I know no one’s gonna believe me, but this is the honest-to-God truth. I just wanted the movie to be true to the Von Erich story, because I’m a huge World Class fan. When I got the call from the director, who’s a mensch, by the way, he was like, ‘Max, I’m so sorry…’ I’m like, Dude, this movie is too long, and this scene, while incredibly entertaining, does not help the length, and also is like a sub story. It’s not part of the A story. So I wasn’t upset at all, and I would like to think the movie came out pretty damn well, and I was really proud to have my name on it.”

MJF defends his AEW World Title against Brody King later this weekend at AEW Grand Slam Australia 2026. The event will be held in Sydney, Australia, on Saturday, February 14. It will air via delay on TNT at 8:00 pm ET. It will also be simulcast on HBO Max.

MJF will also be appearing in the upcoming sequel, Violent Night 2, opposite David Harbour. It’s due out in theaters on December 4.