John Cena reflected on the beginning of his Hollywood career, almost twenty years after his film debut in The Marine.
The WWE star admitted that entering the movie business in 2006 felt “overwhelming” and also “immediately disappointing.”
Speaking to People Magazine, he said: “Which is so sad to say, but I have to lead honestly.”
Adding: “That really led to me pretty much losing that [acting] possibilities. In 2009 and 2010, I was pretty much kicked out of town because of the film industry. It was my own fault.’
When the actor made his debut with the film The Marine, he admitted that it received mixed reviews and that he didn’t take filmmaking as seriously at the time as he did during the WWE.
Cena said he “didn’t have a lot of passion in the projects I did.”
“Filmmaking is a patient process, and everyone there has a meaningful position, and I came from a world of live performance where it’s very different,” he added.
Noting, “And you have to keep in mind that in 2004 I was in my mid-20s and the WWE Champion.”
Cena said of WWE: “Every city I went to, there were thousands of people screaming that I’m amazing or screaming that I suck the air out of their lungs; it was like there’s nothing like it. There’s no feeling like it.”
On the film set, however, he called it “library quiet.” He said, “They’re very long days, they’re very patient days, and I think you just have to have the mentality for it.”
“Thank God some people along the way, in 2012, in 2015, saw some potential in me and took another chance,” Cena added.
Additionally, 2015 projects like Trainwreck, Sisters, and Daddy’s Home helped John Cena change his perspective. “That’s why I now approach every opportunity with gratitude and just try to be coachable.”
“That really helped me get a second chance that I know may not be fully deserved, but the opportunity comes, and I opened the door, and I’m really trying to make the most of it,” the actor said.
