Happy Sad Confused - John Cena

Episode Date: January 13, 2022

Underestimate John Cena at your peril! He's risen to the highest ranks of pro wrestling and after some bumpy early forgettable action films has found his groove as a comedic secret weapon and now a star who can blend it all together in a project like "The Peacemaker". John makes his "Happy Sad Confused" debut here to chat about his collaborations with James Gunn, the superhero roles he missed out on, and plots out further ice cream adventures with Josh. Don't forget to check out the Happy Sad Confused patreon here! We've got exclusive episodes of GAME NIGHT, video versions of the podcast, and more! For all of your media headlines remember to subscribe to The Wakeup newsletter here! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Please play responsibly. Prepare your ears, humans. Happy, sad, confused begins now. Today on Happy, Say, Confused, John Sina returns as the peacemaker in The Peacemaker. Hey guys, I'm Josh Harrowitz. Welcome to another edition of Happy, Sad, Confused. Yes, Mr. John Sina.

This guy is a big deal to many people for many reasons, and he is a first-time guest on happy, sad, confused today, a delightful chat with a really interesting guy who has fashioned a multifaceted career, a career that has evolved over the last 10, 15 years in ways that many people probably doubted in the beginning. Maybe I was one of them. I probably, if you probably talked to me 12, 13 years ago when John Cena was just starting in film, I probably wouldn't expect him to have the career he has today. But kudos to him. him. This is a smart guy, a guy with a good head on his shoulders, and very talented. I mean,

he is obviously has the chops as a physical performer. I mean, his physicality is something that's, you know, very rarely comes along. But I would argue that as a comedic personality, this guy has the chops, and we've seen it again and again. This is a great chat. His new project is The Peacemaker, which is a new series on HBO Man. It has just debuted by the time you listen to this, I believe the first three episodes debuted on HBO Max this week. I've seen the first seven of eight. This is something, by the way, here's some inside baseball, something they do, and this is

high class problems, but on many occasions, this has happened on a number of recent occasions, I get the screeners for these great new TV series that are coming out, and I'm so stoked. I'm like so lucky. I get to watch like all these peacemaker episodes. I get to watch what was another example? of this. Oh, the after party. That's another good show coming up. Get to watch all the after party episodes. And then you realize when you go to the screeners that they give you everyone but the

last one. So yes, you're probably like, you know, screw you, Josh. You got to watch seven episodes of Peacemaker before anybody. But there is a tangible, there's a tangible sadness to getting to the end of episode seven and knowing not only do you not have the last episode, but you're going to have to wait like three months before you have to remember wait what was I watching this happened okay this is like an aside on an aside this is the most notable way this happened to me was for mayor of east town where I was so into that show they sent me the screeners and they only if you spoil warning for mayor of east town quickly I'm not going to spill too much but I'll vaguely say what happens um they sent a bunch of screeners it takes you through the end of an episode in which

somebody is killed. It is arguably the most dramatic moment of the show outside maybe of the last moments of the show. And same thing happened. I had to wait like three months for the rest of the world to catch up. Again, you're probably like, shut up, Josh, whatever. But hey, these are the problems I deal with. Anyway, let's go back to where I started. Peacemaker is the show. Very entertaining. This is all written by the genius that is James Gunn. Of course, Peacemaker appeared in the suicide squad, and John was fantastic in that. as this like very deadpan screwed up a hero and absurd costume um and this show is more of um more of the same but also a lot of different colors of john cina and peacemaker you get to see in

this one more of an ensemble uh a show uh it's certainly got the action and the comedy goes to some dramatic places it's got some horrific elements to it you can always count on james gun to really mix up genres in a fascinating way so if you're a fan of his work if you're a fan of john cina's work I think you'll enjoy a peacemaker on HBO Max. And as I said, John, a great chat, a smart guy. He's somebody that I've, you know, I recalled with him talking to him way back when about his early films. One of his early films was a movie called 12 rounds, a forgettable, not so great action movie. And this speaks to how many interviews John Sina has done.

I mean, I took no offense to this. John Sina has no recollection of the fact that I spent probably an. hour with him once at a Coldstone Creamery in New York City, eating 12 rounds of ice cream to promote his film, 12 rounds. I think that just speaks to either I'm a forgettable personality, let's not go with that assumption, or the fact that John Cena has probably been interviewed 10,000 times in the course of promoting his wrestling and film career. But maybe not so many like this conversation, because this is a deep dive. We, of course, get into his comfort movie, which is an unexpected choice. It's an Adam McKay film, but maybe not the Adam

K-film you would think of as a comfort movie. So stay tuned for that. And I know you guys are going to dig this chat. Other things to mention, not much except that I've been continuing. I've been in this like TV kick guys. I think I mentioned on the last week's show. I've just been like catching up on a lot of TV that I hadn't for a while. I think primarily because by the end of the year I was just like in the movie zone.

You want to see all the big 2021 movies for awards consideration. And I have kind of done that outside of one or two things. And then I took the last couple weeks to kind of like get up to speed on TV. And the latest one I saw, and I'm really late to this party, but I want to give it just a big, big recommendation is dopesick, which is on Hulu. And not going to lie, it is pretty dark. When I say pretty dark, it's maybe the most dark TV I've ever seen and upsetting TV. That being said, very engrossing, great performances. This is basically the true life story of the Oxycontin epidemic that swept through the country in the last couple decades.

And it is a real indictment of Purdue, the folks that created OxyContin and the methods they used to sell this product and to lie to the American people. And it is a sobering look at addiction and big pharma. and also just in terms of a dramatic level and an acting level has a really impressive group of actors in it led by the two performances. I'll just shout out. Caitlin Deaver, previous guest on Happy Side Confused, and Michael Keaton also a guest on Happy Sack Infused way back when, dig into the archives.

They're unbelievable, like unbelievable in this show. And it's also just like, it's one of those shows where every episode you're like, wait, this person's in it, this person's in it. As you can tell, I'm very much into dopesick right now. And yeah, it's a serious show and it is a dark kind of concept for a show. But if you're in the right headspace, you'll get sucked into, I think. Okay, that's my plug of the week. On to lighter fair, certainly Peacemaker is that it is, by the way, Peacemaker features maybe the best show open of any show currently on TV. That song will just get stuck in your head. All right, let's go to

the main event. This is me and Mr. John Sina. Enjoy the chat. Mr. Sina, good morning to you, sir. How you doing, man? Good morning. I'm still trying to figure out from a technology standpoint how I take myself off the screen so I can just see you. I think if you maybe click on the three dots next to me and you pin me. Oh, look at that. Perfect. We did it. We did it. We It's good. Thank you much. Now you are saddled with just staring at my face for the next 35 minutes, John. Which I'm okay with. It beats the shit out of staring at mine. So good luck to go to perspective. Thanks so much for doing the podcast today, man. I've always been a fan of your work. And this one, I think, is your best yet. Congratulations on Peacemaker, man. Oh, I'll take that feedback anytime I can get it. I'm glad you enjoyed it. So I see, as always, impeccably dressed, I was partially hoping. I'm going to be a

honest, that was hoping a little bit for the peacemaker outfit this morning. I know you have a lot of affection for it. No, I do. And I've been very bold and adamant and saying I'll wear it everywhere, but I don't own it. It's I don't, they won't give me a costume. It's a, it's certainly property of D.C. And they guard it like the nuclear codes. Like every time, every time you see me in it premieres or all the stuff for the suicide squad, it literally was like pulling teeth. And every time I would show up, there would be a costume handler and a props handler to make sure nobody ran off the helmet or the costume. That is heavily guarded IP, as they would say. From the start, once you got into that costume, do people treat you differently when you're

walking around in that outfit? They got it. You know, what a state of the, of, that the world is in today? Not really. On the list of crazy things going on in our role right now, John Cena in this helmet is not So yeah, but at the same time, like, you know, with all the ability to create content and because it's usually in like media hubs where we are doing a bunch of stuff like New York City, Los Angeles, I'm just, I have more anonymity in the costume than I do walking down the street. And we did a bit for Jimmy Kimmel where it was like I was a few buildings down doing a bunch of interviews in the uniform. and I walked on the street to Jimmy Kimmel and he's he's right there in the thick of it and I was passing like Spider-Man and Batman nobody gave a shit about me especially because this is like pre-suicide squad so who the hell is peacemaker right I could just walk down the street

it was great everybody's thought I was you know a guy trying to work the corner for some Polaroids or a picture or something amazing amazing okay so before we dive into peacemaker and some other things some some context because I've been talking to you for a while I don't expect you to remember our shared experiences because you've done so much of the stuff over the years, but it does amuse me to think the first time I chatted with you, John, was at a Coldstone creamery here in New York City for 12 rounds. And we were... I do not remember that. I've had some wonderful, you know, experiences at a Coldstone creamery, but I don't remember that one. Oh, wow, you've blocked it out. So this, the idea... I only got so many parking spaces in the

parking lot, man. No, I got it. I don't take this past. Don't you worry. Don't you worry. But the silly conceit was we were going to eat 12 rounds of ice cream to promote your film. Oh, way. Man, I would love to do that now. Forward thinker, man. You're just ahead of your time.

I mentioned that because it dovetails a bit with peacemaker in this respect for me. My sense about you is John Sina is down. John Sina is ready to go to interesting places if it serves the story, if it serves the narrative, if it serves the whole enterprise. Is that fair to say that you kind of like have that kind of spirit, that kind of attitude about. I think this may be fair to say. I don't take myself too seriously. So I don't, you know, we all, this is a, this is a crazy business. I have no idea what's going on. I play dress up and they pay me. And it's, it's ridiculous. It's not to say that there isn't hard work involved and there is an effort involved.

dedication and all that stuff but i think anyone who has uh even a mild sense of sustainability in this thinks it's going to be over in a heartbeat because it's not it's not a hey clock in and work for your pension type uh profession it it's we like you one day and we don't like you the next so i think as as you're trying to gain that sustainability you're trying to protect the attitude you throw out there and especially I've been so lucky to be doing this for a long time now and realize that I can just enjoy what I do and be comfortable with self and it is going to end. And when it does, I should be grateful for the experiences that I've had.

So to say that I'm down for anything would mean that I have no boundaries. That's false. I do have steadfast boundaries and concrete boundaries and ones that are like, I just canceled an interview with another provider because they were just asking too many questions that crossed my boundaries that's totally fine but i am totally okay making fun of myself being the butt of the joke of being a vehicle for other people to laugh at my expense that stuff is fine i don't i don't have to there is no a night and shining armor or uh you know real superhero persona that i'm trying to protect i'm just a dude who is the one of the luckiest guys and

the face of the earth. So I'm in that respect, I think you're right. Well, it also, I'm sure, of course, depends on the company you're keeping and the kind of collaborators that you're finding, whether it is, you know, working with Judapitow as you start to like, you know, get into comedy, or now finding this kindred spirit in James Gunn. James Gunn, you know, having watched, you only have to watch the first five minutes of the first episode, a peacemaker to see like, oh, we're going to some interesting places with this character and you would expect nothing less from James Gunn. Do you find that you found an immediate kind of kind of kind of kind of kindred spirit in James in that his sensibilities, his what might some people

might deem as extreme in some ways actually suits you and fits your definition of entertainment and fun? So now we're shifting on to like professional exploration. And for me, I don't, I don't knock on anybody for their perspective and their choices. But for me, professionally, like what I'll do on camera as a character, I love to be challenged. And it's, man, being so involved in the WWE for so long, perception is reality. And people out there who make decisions and make entertainment only perceive you is what they see. And for so long, I was perceived as the John seen a character. And that's it. detail like that is it right and then there were people like judd and james and there's a there's a list of

folks who were like hey you know i think we can we can pry something else out of that's a pair of jean shorts you got on there and uh i'm grateful to those people because not only did they give me an opportunity to show more depth and and put some more tools in the tool belt but they made me better as a performer james it makes me better uh every day even when i'm not working on a project with james i was saying to him yesterday i hear his voice in the back of my head these little like he very much reminds me of Vince McMahon Vince McMahon has these little moments where it's like a small nugget of wisdom that never leaves you and you always remember it and james has bestowed you know 10 or more of those on me to make me a better professional so when it comes to challenging myself professional that's a lot

less of giving of myself personally letting someone into my life i love being able to be to challenge myself to be vulnerable to walk that talk essentially like uh you know my character wouldn't do that would is your character wouldn't do that or are you uncomfortable doing that and if you're uncomfortable doing that well then why and when you get to the core of the why maybe you can find the courage to throw yourself out there i mean in peacemaker by far uh i will say is my biggest swing to date and i think that's because james and i had a you know real heartfelt conversations on the suicide squad and we got to talk about a lot of life issues and when you take those personal conversations and you put them into a fictional character and that's man that's really

what i love about performing entertaining you get to to dive in with almost uh with with with no boundaries you can be as brave as you want to and i really love how james uh really went all in on that with peacemaker i think people are going to be surprised especially as you progress in the show i've seen the first seven of eight episodes, you might think it's one thing at the start. And by the, you show so many different colors more than I've ever seen you as an actor in this. You kind of get to do it all. It's pretty remarkable. You get to have your cake and eat it too. There's certainly big action and comedy and, but there's more dramatic stuff than you've ever done. Were you surprised at how, I don't know, just how many layers you were able to peel of the

onion in this in this enterprise no in scene uh man you know uh james is extremely talented in just writing crafting and developing narrative and uh i think he's at his best where he can get a group of toys that haven't yet been shown and then define exactly what they are you know i uh i was very very excited to be part of that especially when he called me up in the middle of the pandemic. It was like, hey, thinking and doing a peacemaker series, like, well, I thought peacemaker was dead. So what? And he's like, well, we'll fix it. Okay, I'm, I'm in. But I think that's that's also, I mean, I've never done episodic as a, you know, aside from WWE. And that's, if you look at the, the course of John Cena over the WWE, you know, the, the, the sentiment from,

Lifelong watches is like, oh, there wasn't much character development. But if you look into the subtle nuances, there really was. But it's all really subtle in a in a performing stage where everything is so huge. Peacemaker, you can lean into those nuances and everyone has gravity. And I really enjoyed how James gave that to all the characters, not just peacemaker. What was your relationship growing up with comics? Were you a comic book guy? Were you Marvel?

Were you DC? All the above or none of the above? I wasn't a comic book guy. My escape was obviously pro wrestling. You know, I was a damn near historian by the time I was 10 and fell back in love with it when the WWE was fighting Turner in the ratings wars. But I was like a fringe fan when the Batman movies came out, when the Keaton Batman movies came out, I was right at the right age to be influenced by all that. But I really never got into comics, but like watching Hannah-Barbera animation half hour before I went to school, I would see Fantastic Four. So there are certain comic book characters that stand out in my mind and I remember, but nothing, I wouldn't say I was, I was definitely not as much of a fan of comics as I was like sports or pro wrestling.

was there was part of the you know the the the way you molded your body you made the the way you devoted yourself to creating like this this image of this physical uh personification of yourself was part of that motivated by a one one person was it about just being obsessed with wrestling was I mean like I talk for instance I'm kind of buddies with Joe Mangonello and Joe Manganollo basically decided like I'm going to become a superhero that I read about like I want to turn my body into that. For you, it obviously wasn't comic books, but was it watching professional wrestlers or Arnold or was it something, like, what was that about? No, it was actually probably the closest correlation would be an ad you'd see in the back of the comic book for the dude kicking sand

and the wimpy guy's face. I just wanted to develop an extra sense of security, a sense of armor, if you will. I got my ass kicked every day. And I remember asking my dad for a weight bench at age 10 and him denying me. And then at age 11 and him denying me. And then in age 12, my grandfather, rest of soul, he probably was like, John, just get the kid an effing weight bench. And he did. And what my dad didn't realize is I was getting beat up and picked on for the way I looked, the way I acted, the way I dressed. I wasn't brave enough to tell my dad, like, hey, this is why I'd like to have this piece of equipment. But as soon as he got it for me, I started working out. And it wasn't to look or emulate anybody's behavior.

look like anyone else. It literally was who just get people to stop picking on me. Right. In terms of, I mean, you already talked about sort of in the wrestling career, how there was acting involved and maybe more than people imagined and more variations than people imagined. Do you remember when you started to think seriously about pursuing an acting career outside of the ring? And did it feel within your grasp or intimidating or what? I think every, every shift in our shell of comfortable is intimidating. When we're used to something and we decide to do something else or change something in our lives, it could be if you're used to a morning cup of coffee and you ditch it.

That's intimidating. I began to look at when I hit about the 10, 11, 12 year mark in the WWE, every show every night all the time i was still so excited about going out there every night and i think that's regardless of how people feel about me as a performer or character i don't think they can say that i lack enthusiasm so uh being a former football player and going into you know sports entertainment that was a way for me to to stay fit for me as an athlete to have a purpose a season something to train for I didn't lose what I gained through the first, you know, 10 years of physical training. But then it morphed into something else.

And 10 years after being on television, it was the ability to tell stories. I didn't love the strength. I didn't love the falling down. I didn't love the, hey, I want to challenge myself to do a new stunt. If anything, my athletic ability was getting less and less. So I had to challenge myself to tell different stories. And it was then, because, you know, back doing the Marine and 12 rounds, it was a business decision. Hey, we want you to go build WW films.

So more people will come to WWE events. Right. Serving that, the mother's a great idea. Yeah, yeah. But when you, when it's a money grab, I wanted to be back in the ring. I wanted, you know, 15,000 people cheering you on because there's no energy like that, especially as a young 20-something man, I was riding a lightning bolt. I wanted to get back to the lightning bolt.

but then as you get older and wiser and maybe a little bit more seasoned physically I still had a passion for going out in front of a live audience and it wasn't because I wanted to prove to them I could do a flip it was because I loved trying to get a story across and then I was like

man maybe maybe I was looking at this thing all wrong and originally when I got to be on film I hated all the wait time uh w w is live and it's fast and it's done and you're on to the next one i i didn't like the fact that there was an instant feedback so i could tell if i did something good or not um i wasn't very proficient so it was ditching that morning cup of coffee where i felt nervous and vulnerable and i wasn't i was just getting that ball rolling so i was like i don't want to do something wrong so this will all be over because i mean i i shouldn't have this job in the first place but you know

after after a decade in with the wwe and having some sense of of security and stability and like yeah you know it's going to end and it should should probably end around now so let's take a couple big swings here i also realized that i had a passion for a storytelling and and that's kind of what brought the um the ability like it started with the brian robins taking the chance on me in the Fred movies, literally being a parody of John Cena. And then Judd and so on and so forth. And it just became, yeah, I'd like to do this. And of course, I was playing the same character in WWE. And I'd already been told like, hey, there's going to be no deviation. You're going to be this guy. And that's fine. But then you have these other entities being like, hey, you want to be a weird,

confused guy who maybe is naked and curses a lot. And then you want to do this. And then you want to be a drug dealer for Tina Fey in this movie. So it was it was really fun. And I also began to have more respect for people on set and what they do and why it takes so long. And I began to have more understanding of the process. And now I'm at a comfortable space where I enjoy all of it. I find it also interesting when I was looking back at sort of the evolution of the film career. Outside of those early films like the Marine and 12 rounds. Between then and now, you didn't do a lot of action vehicles, actually.

You weren't like being, like, that wasn't the lane you were traversing. I mean, Peacemaker arguably is kind of like an F9. It's kind of like you're getting back into that kind of action genre. You really devoted most of your film career to comedy. And I'm curious, like, you kind of alluded to this a little bit, but I don't know, if I look at some of your contemporaries, lot of them tried repeatedly to kind of like do the action thing from the get go maybe because well i also i fall into that group i i tried but it was only because the the people kind of

giving me those opportunities that's the best that's the best i could get and it finally got to a point i remember uh my one of my best friends and agent dan bame is on this call silently uh i remember getting to a point it might have been in 2009 where we had just done another bad movie or another you know without and then when i say bad i mean my heart wasn't in it right and and i you know i didn't give all i could to the performance so it's it wasn't something people were interested in and i remember us having a just a dinner and me saying to him and this is his job like hey we're never doing movies again are we and he's like no i don't think we are wow so So, you know, I love him for many reasons, but honesty and communication are right up there

at the top of the pyramid. And he was, and this is a guy who's like, no person I'm supposed to get movie work for, we're probably never doing that again. So I also came to grips with the fact that it would be over. And I think the reason I was okay with that is in my mind, I always thought, if I'm going to do an action movie, do it in front of 20,000 people. There's nothing better, you know, and I can do 250 action movies a year. Right. You know, and so, you know, you want to be, you want to be an action hero. Dude, you're already a fucking action hero.

Right. So I was fulfilled, I guess, in that sentence. And now, I guess that's why I was drawn to comedy. I always wanted to do joky stuff. I mean, I really did my best to try to integrate that in WWE, but with the PG constraints and, you know, just all the limitations. A lot of people were like the stupid, quirky Sina comedy again, I wish you would just be kick-ass John Sina.

But I wanted to try because I felt I had to. And then you get an opportunity to be a different character and to try to make people laugh. And I really enjoyed that challenge. And it's funny now, I mean, coming full story. circle piecemaker kind of blends it all together. Right. You kind of get, again, get your cake and eat it too. You get the comedy, but you get kind of the action chops in there too. And it's just kind of the, it seems like the character that you were born to play. I don't know what that says about you. No, and honestly, I've, this is my second straight day of interviews, and I've heard that multiple times, and that is the most flattering thing that someone can say, because I always go back, I relate everything to WWB, and they can't, the audience can't view me as anything, but. t-shirt jean shorts ball cap when i grew my hair out everybody's like you ruin my fucking childhood man

what are you doing you can't do this you can't because i they are used to me that was the role i was born to play and that's a gift because it allows me to have a wonderful extended career as that role but it's also a super challenge because it's tough to get people to take a chance on you so when people say man peacemaker was a role i feel you were born to play or like i don't see anybody else playing in Peacemaker, but you. That's so flattering because I got my heart and soul in it. And it didn't take 20 years to build up that cyclone of like, I don't see anybody else playing peacemaker except John. So that's that's truly flattering when I hear that man. Thank you. As you well know, prior to peacemaker, I mean, again, partially because of the physicality and

the WWE stuff, you had been fancasted like repeatedly for different superhero roles. And I'm curious, like, were there any that you came close to? I mean, I feel like I've asked you about and many people asked you about for instance shazam over the years yeah was that was that one you went up for was that one you really wanted i can't tell you how many uh superhero roles i've been rejected for shizam is certainly one uh but uh there there was um a brief try at the deadpool universe rejection uh a lot of i assume what that yeah yeah yeah uh shazam was uh de cambe mutumbo um there was a few in the in the in the marble universe rejected so uh but i you know i i i kept trying was there one that you really in your heart of hearts was like that kind of like you really wanted that that felt

right for you at the time that kind of suck i i think because of the fact that i here i am saying this in a waistcoat and a half windsor i think like a child so uh shazam was was super interesting to me and when i read the script a lot of times like this is this is the thing i don't just uh chase i want to do this i always have to read it james gunn is the only person that gets a free pass if he says i'm doing this thing do you want it and the only reason he gets a free pass is his reputation as a storyteller he just does not let up he's claws in every piece and i know he i know it's going to be good because he starts from a blank page and that's it um but i always read it i always read the story to make sure one i like it and two i it's it falls within

my skill set. I do want to challenge myself, but I don't want the first time I do something to be on screen for a paying customer. I want to get practice and be able to perform at a level that's consumer quality. So I read all those scripts and I read all those parts. And I was like, man, I really think I could add to this and just rejection after rejection after rejection after rejection after rejection uh but i guess that's that's what makes you know the the lows make the highs high you know and and the crazy thing was i wasn't first on the list for peacemaker james had a long list and it happened by accident too he's like hey i'm in atlanta i just love to come and talk to you for a second sat down in his pre-production office which was literally like a war

headquarters where you could see the whole movie and poster board taped around his office and he started talking about peacemaker and I was like, well, I think you should do it. So I'm not rejected? This is the point. You usually say like, hey, love you, man, but we're just going to another direction. So do we shake hands in part ways

or are we going to do business together? And the ones that I tried for got rejected for and the one that I wasn't even looking for kind of fell in my lap. I always like to talk to folks about what movies they consider their comfort movies.

you for yours. And you chose an interesting one. These are always fascinating to see what people choose. You chose an Adam McKay film, but maybe not the Adam McKay film that most of people would consider a comforting film. John, tell me why you chose what you chose. So I chose the big short and it's a wonderful film by Adam McKay with a star-studded cast. He certainly is really good at wrangling a bunch of talented folks altogether. And he's also good at hitting you in the face with some real shit and at the same time you can you can laugh about it and you can have fun and he's also good at explaining really complicated things and he does have a unique style of filmmaking in this in the big short in particular uh shattering the fourth wall and the cutaways of like margot roby in a bathtub

or the lady anthony bourdain telling you how to make uh more of your restaurant product and explaining the mortgage-backed security market and explaining what a tranche is. Like, I learned something. I learned something with every Adam McKay film. And he makes me laugh, and I learned something in the process. And I think he's got a really just a wonderful talent for that. But it's a film that I'll never turn off. It's a film that I watch at least once a year.

And it just, there's a lot of core takeaways for me. being greedy certainly is is a is a lesson he hammers home and it's just how blind people are by greed to the point that they don't even know what they're doing so um so in my life as these opportunities come up uh you know i want to be able to chase opportunities that i'm passionate about not simply be passionate about greed because that will eventually lead to meltdown And they also say that history repeats itself. So I now keep a closer eye on what I'm doing personally, the interest rate market, the global housing market. You know, there's the Evergrande experience right now halfway across the world is teetering on the potential of another big shore.

And I think there's that's a movie. that he takes you on an entertaining ride through mortgaged-backed security. Another one of those, yeah, exactly. I just think anybody that can do that, anybody can take such a topic like that, like a boring topic. And the reason it's boring is so people can get greedy off of it. They don't want you to know about it. And I really think it's informative,

and everyone who sees it for the first time is blown away. No, you're speaking my language. I worship at the altar of Adam McKay. I mean, I loved his, the, I mean, I think he could have retired on his comedic work. He's one of the finest comedy writers ever. And what he's done with Vice, Big Short and don't look up. Don't look up. Yeah.

I love that he's using. He's putting his chips in where he can actually, you know, you don't expect a movie to change the world, but you got to give it a shot in these times, man. You got to, like, talk about the issues we're confronting or like, what are you doing? Well, I mean, not necessarily you can just make something for people to laugh at. No, no, and I love Escapeous Entertainment, but I mean, I also like the ambition to go for it, to try.

What I really enjoy about him is he makes, he makes you think. Yeah. And even in parody situations of like, I know that's a parody, but is this the way it really is? You know, and there is some stuff that's that'll hit you over the head more like, like Vice. And there is some stuff that'll make you think, like, don't look up.

Yeah. When it's, it's completely done in parody, but at the same time, it makes you think, about a lot of other things and i uh who is it jimmy v that said think laugh and cry in one day and that's a great day right uh looking ahead for you always a busy slate i'm excited that you worked with um matthew vaughan on argyle which has an insane cast and matthew is a very unique talent and uh i'm glad you're now part of the ensemble of the matthew vaughan universe i am uh am like a kingsman super fan are you i just love that for you

love that franchise and how he did it and how he developed it. And I'm certainly a fan of his work. And it was, man, it was a pleasure to be involved in such a big project. It was, I can't wait for that one. So F9, you obviously joined the ginormous franchise as Jacob, who we see in a much different spot by the end of that film than he is at the outset. Do you know the plans ahead? Have you seen scripts? Have you heard anything?

Nope. But I know that I love the fast universe. And I have ever since the first movie came out, I've always been an auto enthusiast. And I know fast has evolved into something different. It is now just global, knock you out of your seat. What are they going to do next? And now, honestly, even to a point where, and I love this, as, you know, as the golden embers of the sunsets on the mythology, they can wink at themselves as well.

And I love the fact that they're starting to do that and take the audience on a, this is kind of the end of the book and we're wrapping it up and we're going to space. You know, like, cool. You guys wanted us to go into space? We're going to give you that. We're going to give you. We hear you. You know, I really think it's cool that they are, they are having fun with the mythology as it comes to an end. I, um, I'm eager to find out if I can, you know, get in the car and drive again. But somebody who's, who's as into cars as I am. And the franchise still is littered with wonderful automobilia, the Helen Muran dripping through downtown London and a noble. Like, that's this, nothing more kick-ass than that, you know.

I just, I like the fact that there's still something for the enthusiast in the franchise and that it still is very rooted in car culture. And that's a, that was a dream get for me. That's something, again, I thought would never be possible. It kind of fell into my lap. And what a, what an amazing opportunity. pop culture wise lately um any stuff that jumps out at you that you're obsessed with i mean i know i believe you i've heard that you're an anime fan i don't know if you saw arcane i just watched that one um any

what's the genre what's the franchise what that's obsessing uh noncina lately man uh books i'm reading more uh between uh between breaks i got the talent code by uh daniel coyle that's that's the latest one I'm trying to rip through. I just finished the first volume of the Gulag Archipelago. That's a that's a long book. My goal was to read one book that I don't think or nor do I want to read in a year. And I just managed to squeeze that in before we turned to 2022. So that was an informative route canal, but it was a lot of reading. And as far as shows go, Ted Lassow's been the only one that I've been like, I just rifled through that. And it's tough to get me to sit down for more than a half an hour.

And that one, I think I got through in like two days. Yeah. It was just really good. And where are you at right now in terms of the material you're getting? Do you feel like, are there still kinds of films, TV, parts that obviously the aperture has widened for you? significantly in the last 10 years but is there still um are there still kinds of things that you wish you were thought of more for nowadays so so i think that's a great question and if if um if i want to be considered for something there are things within my control that i can do

i just basically i'm i'm confident in the abilities that i have i'm trying to challenge myself to widen that scope and be a better performer every day. And I'm just ready for when, I'm ready for when Vin is like, do you want to be in fast? I'm ready for the moment where James Gunn says, I'd like you to be peacemaker. I'm ready for the moment where Matthew Fawn says, hey, could you slide into London to sneak into Argyle? Like, I don't know, I believe opportunity finds us. Right. And all I can do is be ready. I had a wonderful experience in New York filming a film called The Independent, where I got to play a role that I never would have been able to play.

Got Brian Cox in there, some really heavy hitters, right? Oh, my God. It's, and not only was I not the smartest person in the room, which is a great thing, but I was also doing something that was way, like, not comedy, not physical, true drama, true character work. And that's fun and that was cool. And if that opportunity spawns to more opportunities, then great. And I'm currently looking at some stuff that is on a different path.

And you just have to, like, if it's important to you make it important, it shouldn't be about the money unless the money is important, then do that and be okay with that. And that's your driving force. A lot of the choices for me have nothing to do with financial reward, because I know that that comes with good, good work it may not show up eventually it may not show up immediately but it'll show up eventually yeah so i just like i said it my litmus test is read it and like it and if i read a story and like

it when i read a script i don't want to know who i'm reading for i want to read it and that way if i'm involved i'm like hey you can put me in any part i don't care i just i'll i'll do it you know um so that's kind of where i'm at i read all the time it's It's a good thing that I'm, you know, trying to dive into books because I'm also reading scripts. I read, you know, hell, I must have read 300 scripts last year. Wow. So I, and I love reading. And if I can't make it through page 14, it could, it could be the big short, but I just won't, I won't lend myself to it because I don't want to do that project wrong.

You know, if I go on there, got to keep the lights on and I go on there in a grumpy mood and like, oh, I just want to get out. of here and on to the next one. That is infectious, man. But if you read a piece of material cover to cover in one shot and you're excited, and then you start gathering the group of people that are going to do it and you're excited, and then you step on set the first day and you're excited, you have to know there's going to be shitty days at work. Always. WWE taught me that, like, there's going to be shitty days. But if you love what you do, the shitty days are less shitty. And you can always find that nugget to be like, yeah, but I'm going to be invisible today. I get to do, that's, you know, what's my biggest problem right now?

Because I'm going to get to go out in front of a sold-out house and be invisible. And I think that that helps those shitty days. It's not to say they don't exist. They exist on all of our lives. But even, you know, there's a lot of performers that this process is arduous. This press, I got like 60 interviews today. But this is part of the process. And when I sign up for peacemaker, the reasons I sign up for peacemaker,

I can't pretend that this doesn't exist. So I'm excited about this because I'm excited about Peacemaker and that goes all the way back. That's like trickle down to be reading it and being like, yep, let's go. It helps all the way around. I appreciate the time today, man, especially. I think I'm one of 60 for you today. So I appreciate the passion. One at a time, right?

Congratulations, man. It's great to see the progression of the career, the attitude you have and the talent that you bring to every project. As I said, I'm a big fan of this one. I'm a big fan of yours. And I hope to see you at a Coldstone creamery in the near future. And I tell you what, we have to make that happen. Not to say that I'm going to do 13 rounds. I don't know if I, I don't know if I could make it through page 14 of that script. I can't take it either. But that coldstone challenge might be, there might be some merit to that.

Fair enough. I'll see you there, buddy. Thanks again. And so ends another edition of Happy, Sad, Confused. Remember to review, rate and subscribe to this show on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm a big podcast person. I'm Daisy Ridley, and I definitely wasn't pressured to do this by Josh. American history is full of infamous tales that continue to captivate audiences, decades or even hundreds of years after they happened. On the infamous America podcast, you'll hear the true stories of the Salem,

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