While comedy projects often need champions, there aren’t many at the moment who are bigger – either in influence or stature – than John Cena.
The WWE legend and accomplished actor stars opposite Eric Andre in the Netflix series Little brother. Currently, director Matt Spicer’s film stars Michelle Monaghan and Christopher Meloni in the story of Rod (Cena), a real estate agent whose meticulously planned life is disrupted when his quirky “little brother” Marcus (Andre) shows up. As is often the case, Cena’s comedic bravado is on full display.
“Eric was trying to get the movie made,” Cena says. Hollywood Reporter From the origins of the film. “Netflix said, ‘We’ll be successful if you can get John.’” Eric recognized me and said, “Do you want to be a part of it?” I read the script in 90 minutes. I told him I would do it in 24 hours, and Netflix said, “We have a comedy on our hands.”
The performer remains busier than ever, starring opposite Jennifer Garner in Netflix’s 2027 cryptocurrency comedy One attempt left From director Kay Cannon, who directed Cena in 2018 Blockers. “This is my second time working with him, and I love it every time because he elevates everything he brings and is willing to try anything,” Cannon says. THR. “I’m excited for audiences to see him add ‘romantic driving’ to the growing list of things he excels at.”
And no less a comedic authority than Oscar-winning director Peter Farrelly, who directed Cena in 2024. Ricky StanickiHe said THR“Without a doubt, I would say John was the most prepared actor I have ever worked with. On day one, he knew the entire script front to back, every line.”
During the conversation below with THRCena discusses how his wrestling career taught him the right way to play for laughs, what it was like to see a World Cup player imitate his famous “You Can’t See Me” gesture and how he maintains hope amid the divisive cultural moment.
You had an unforgettable scene in Blockers That involves beer pong. It came to my mind in an instant Little brother Involve your ass. Does this remind you of photography? Blockers?
I remember when we did the laughing scene BlockersEveryone’s asking, “Are you okay with this?” I know what I signed up for. Excitedly, let’s do some squeaking. I’m trying to protect my daughter Blockers. in Little brotherMichelle [Monaghan’s] The character reaches a dead end such as: “I will do everything in my power to make things better.” She gets advice from Eric’s character, and then we have what she could refer to as a callback Blockers Where she does something outside her comfort zone. It looks like it will work until the character is turned on again.
How has your career led to this point where you excel at comedy?
For any origin of my bravery, credit must go to WWE. The audience is vocal, honest and tough. You realize that you are not calm for a long period of time. The biggest mistake you can make with this audience is not being honest, not moving forward, or trying to make safe choices. I have taken this lesson into every aspect of my performance. It is simply a sincere investment in the material and not making masks for the sake of masks. You also have to trust the process and be willing to fail. It’s not a conservative choice. At the end of my WWE career, I was giving the camera a big wink. And even then, it’s a phase of committing and saying, “We’re all in this together, audience. You guys have continued my faith for 20 years. So for the last three years, this faith is no longer mine. It’s our faith.”
You star in a range of projects, but with comedy, is that something you have to fight to do, or do comedy scripts often come your way?
What happened in my story is that some confident comedians were willing to bet on me to do bits that were clearly etched: Train wreck, Sisters, Daddy’s house. After doing some of these things, I asked more comedians to place a slightly stronger bet, then a stronger bet, then a stronger bet. All roads lead to wrestling, I didn’t start out as a champion. Now, I can be a conduit to help other comics shine [when] I’m not the funny guy. I can be a beacon of hope to help get comedies to start running shots. Filming comedies is a lot of fun, and every day is hysterical – even the long days. [On the other hand,] Filming action scenes and doing choreographed fights 12 hours a day, six days a week – it sounds great. But it’s physically difficult, and there aren’t a lot of jokes. (He laughs.)
Is it harder to make comedies than it was 10 or 20 years ago?
Comedies aren’t what they were 20 years ago. We have evolved as a world, as a culture. We want to be more empathetic as people, and empathy is sensitivity. The last thing I want to do is bad Bad Taste — Bad comedy in bad taste. You want to be empathetic to everyone’s feelings, so people reduce risk. You’re seeing a rebound [with] Little brother Being a movie that brings back the phrase, “Okay, we’re going to throw some of these rules out the window and just try to make you laugh, and we’ll see what happens next.” Maybe, just maybe, I can continue to be a conduit to allow more comedies to be made. Maybe the world will see Eric Andre and say, “This kid is a star.” So now it’s another channel for check writers to say, “Okay, this is a bankable asset.” We need a group of people who are conduits to help implement projects, and I would be grateful if I could at least help this project. Hopefully the road continues to open doors for some funny people doing funny things.
Any talk Peacemaker Back for season 3?
There are two presidents sitting in the capital: Peter Safran and James Gunn. This is a question for them, leader. Trust me: If the call happened, I told them they would have to rip the suit off me. I love Peacemaker.
Part of the appeal of comedy is like Little brother It is a feeling of escape. We are in a difficult and divided moment politically and culturally. Several years ago, you wrote a story about visiting a Ukrainian fan. Can you find ways to unite people?
Where I find hope and happiness is looking into the past. Please, I urge you to look at history. There have been times when atrocities have occurred – my God, some of these things are incomprehensible – and yet humanity has found a way. So when I feel like we’re getting to the point of, “Man, I can’t take it anymore,” I look inside myself, and I say, “What can I do in my private space to change my mindset, to put a more positive spin on it?” I love looking in the rearview mirror because we found a way through a lot of tough times, and it gives me hope for the road ahead. So, if you can have a source of hope and be a source of hope when things seem so bleak, hope gives you a chance. I think I always want to have a chance.
When you see a Curacao player make a gesture for you at a World Cup, it is bound to be a reminder of that joy you bring around the world.
Man, seeing this player from Curacao – in a moment so important to him, earned over so many years of effort – give a little nod to the invisible man, it warms my heart and puts a smile on my face.
