Post by Snitsky on Jan 14, 2009 19:48:04 GMT -5
Q&A with Mr. Kennedy
Mr. Kennedy is the most recent WWE star to branch out into acting. He has a featured role in Behind Enemy Lines: Colombia, a direct-to-DVD movie that was released last week.
I conducted a phone interview with Kennedy last Friday to discuss the movie and his wrestling career.
misterkennedy.jpg
Did your experience performing in WWE help you prepare for acting in a film?
Yeah, I think what we do in the ring isn’t a whole lot different from acting. We are an entertainment company. What I do in the ring is entertainment; it’s not an actual competition between two guys. We’re kind of improv actors I’d say. It was kind of a natural transition for me to go over into this movie. And it was an action film, so it really translated.
Did you do anything specifically to prepare for this role? And did you get any advice from guys like John Cena, Steve Austin and Kane, who have all starred in films?
Actually, I did talk to those guys just to find out what to expect. Just minor stuff like: Do I need to memorize the whole script? Things like that. As far as studying up, I read a pile of books on Navy SEALs. I went to the local Borders in my hometown and I bought up every Navy SEAL book that I could find. I read Lone Survivor, which is an excellent book by the way. Also, when I got down to Puerto Rico, Joe Manganiello, who plays the lead in the movie, actually had rented from Netflix a DVD about Navy SEALs that I think the Discovery Channel put out. ... Joe did a lot of research, too, so he was able to answer a lot of questions. We had a military technical adviser on the set who was able to help us with any questions. We also had a Navy SEAL come down who was one of Joe’s buddies.
You served in the Army, correct?
Yeah, I was in the Army Reserve for six years. That also helped out in a way because a lot of things in the military — there’s kind of like a universal language there.
I’m sure most people have seen clips from the movie on TV, but if you could tell people in a couple sentences why they should buy the DVD, what would you say?
It’s just a fun action movie — nothing more, nothing less. The first 10 minutes there’s a little character building, establishing the story line. Then after that it’s pretty much [all action].I think it’s pretty exciting. It’s got a nice little story line. There are some parts where you really think we’re not going to make it out. I like movies like Rambo and Commando and things like that, and I think this is kind of along those lines.
A good popcorn flick as they say, right?
Yeah. It’s not going to win Oscars. It’s not going to be Picture of the Year or anything like that, but it’s a fun movie if you’re in that type of mood.
This is technically not your first movie. What can you tell me about the independent movie Fighting the Still Life?
There was actually an independent wrestler named Sick Nick Mondo who wrestled for CZW and put that movie together. He went to film school in Minneapolis and that was his senior project. He knew that I was interested in that stuff. And from watching me perform on the independents, he thought that I had some skills and thought that I would be good in it, so he cast me as the villain in the movie. We filmed that in Minneapolis. We actually finished filming right before I signed my contract with WWE.
Is the movie out anywhere?
He had made another DVD about his life story and he got that one distributed. I know that he was looking to get it distributed through the same company, but I think things fell through.
Are you interested in doing more acting?
Yeah, I definitely am interested in acting and pursuing it a little more. I’m not ready to give up wrestling by any stretch of the imagination. I think that there are a lot of things I have left to do in the business that I haven’t accomplished yet, goals that I set forth from Day One. But acting is something that I’ve always wanted to do since I was a little kid, so this was kind of a dream come true.
You’ve had your share of injuries, the most recent being a dislocated shoulder. How are you doing physically and when will you be back in the ring?
I’m feeling pretty good. I’ve got almost full range of motion in my shoulder and it’s no longer painful to lift my arm over my head. It’s a little hard to get into the gym being on the road so much. The free time that I do get, I’m usually pretty tired, so it’s hard to be motivated. And I haven’t been able to spend too much time in a personal training studio to do the rehab. However, most of the stuff I can do on my own, and that’s what I’ve done. I do it in my hotel room every day — I do my stretches and my strengthening exercises for my rotator cuff, and I do get to the gym as much as I can. We’re looking at Feb. 28 as of right now to go back and see Dr. [James] Andrews, and hopefully he’ll give me the OK.
So it’s possible you could be back in time for WrestleMania [April 5]?
I’m crossing my fingers.
How frustrating has it been for you with all the injuries? It seemed like every time you were getting a nice push, an injury would occur.
It’s been extremely frustrating. I think you just have to keep your head up, though. What we do is not ballet and I’m not the only guy who has ever gotten injured in the wrestling business. It’s inevitable. You’re going to get hurt at some point or another. One of the injuries was just a blatant act of stupidity on my opponent’s part — that was my first injury. There are certain things that you just can’t do anything about. You know, I’ve heard all the “Oh, Kennedy’s injury prone” and all that stuff, but there are certain things that happen, and if you knew the whole story you wouldn’t necessarily think that. I’ve just been in the wrong place at the wrong time. But it is frustrating. I had the Money in the Bank and was on the way to becoming a world champion and then injury struck. And it’s just been one thing after the other, but I just keep my head up. I was told a long time ago that if you have talent you cannot be denied and eventually good things will happen.
You mentioned the first injury being your opponent’s fault. What happened?
I tore my lat. It was actually a 10-man tag. I was standing on the apron and the guy was supposed to come over and just give me a little forearm and I was just going to fall to the floor. Now, I’m standing on the apron, mind you, which is about two and a half feet off the floor, and he dropkicked me. He literally put his legs on my chest and leg-pressed me off the apron. I remember flying backward through the air. I felt like I was in The Matrix; I felt like I was in slow motion. I remember thinking to myself that I was going to hit my head on the guardrail because I knew I was going that far. As I turned to protect my head, my arm was kind of stretched out and I landed on my side. He hit me so hard that I flew past the mat on the side of the ring and hit the concrete and just tore my lat right off the bone.
Who was the guy who dropkicked you, or would you rather not say?
I’d rather not say. I don’t think it was an intentional thing. It was just a stupid decision. But, hey, things happen.
One of the things that helped you get over right off the bat was your ability to cut a good promo. How much of your gift of gab comes naturally, and how much have you had to work on developing your style on the mic?
I think it’s both. I think naturally I’ve always been gifted in that area. I’ve always entertained people. That’s been my deal since I was a little kid. Whether it was doing impersonations of people in my school, which is something that I was known for in high school, or getting the neighborhood kids together and putting on little plays or making little movies and stuff like that, it was just always something that I was interested in. As I got into the wrestling business, practice makes perfect. I was given a lot of opportunities to do promos. One of the first places that I worked for on the indies had a TV show and we would do promos every week, so I got introduced to the art of the promo right off the bat. I was able to watch myself and critique myself and listen to what other people thought.
Do you have a preference as far as working as a babyface or a heel?
It’s always easier to be a heel, I think. I love working babyface if it’s done right. I would say so far in the WWE I’ve definitely had more success and had more fun as a heel. I think it’s easier to get people to hate you. I talked to Vince McMahon when I first got into the company. He asked me if I preferred to be a babyface or a heel, and I said, “Well, it’s hard for a guy, no matter how good you are, to come into a company like the WWE and expect the fans to like you right off the bat.” Generally, there like, “Who’s this new guy? We hate you, no matter what.” [laughs] So I said, “I’d rather come in as a heel and get people to know who I am and win their respect in that way, and then it’s easier to turn babyface.”
If you could pick anyone, past or present, to work with that you haven’t already, who would it be?
I would love to get in the ring with Triple H. We’ve done it on a couple house shows, and we’ve had a couple tag matches together on TV, but not a whole lot of contact. He is the man right now and I’d really like to get in there with him.
weblogs.baltimoresun.com/spor...r_kennedy.html
Mr. Kennedy is the most recent WWE star to branch out into acting. He has a featured role in Behind Enemy Lines: Colombia, a direct-to-DVD movie that was released last week.
I conducted a phone interview with Kennedy last Friday to discuss the movie and his wrestling career.
misterkennedy.jpg
Did your experience performing in WWE help you prepare for acting in a film?
Yeah, I think what we do in the ring isn’t a whole lot different from acting. We are an entertainment company. What I do in the ring is entertainment; it’s not an actual competition between two guys. We’re kind of improv actors I’d say. It was kind of a natural transition for me to go over into this movie. And it was an action film, so it really translated.
Did you do anything specifically to prepare for this role? And did you get any advice from guys like John Cena, Steve Austin and Kane, who have all starred in films?
Actually, I did talk to those guys just to find out what to expect. Just minor stuff like: Do I need to memorize the whole script? Things like that. As far as studying up, I read a pile of books on Navy SEALs. I went to the local Borders in my hometown and I bought up every Navy SEAL book that I could find. I read Lone Survivor, which is an excellent book by the way. Also, when I got down to Puerto Rico, Joe Manganiello, who plays the lead in the movie, actually had rented from Netflix a DVD about Navy SEALs that I think the Discovery Channel put out. ... Joe did a lot of research, too, so he was able to answer a lot of questions. We had a military technical adviser on the set who was able to help us with any questions. We also had a Navy SEAL come down who was one of Joe’s buddies.
You served in the Army, correct?
Yeah, I was in the Army Reserve for six years. That also helped out in a way because a lot of things in the military — there’s kind of like a universal language there.
I’m sure most people have seen clips from the movie on TV, but if you could tell people in a couple sentences why they should buy the DVD, what would you say?
It’s just a fun action movie — nothing more, nothing less. The first 10 minutes there’s a little character building, establishing the story line. Then after that it’s pretty much [all action].I think it’s pretty exciting. It’s got a nice little story line. There are some parts where you really think we’re not going to make it out. I like movies like Rambo and Commando and things like that, and I think this is kind of along those lines.
A good popcorn flick as they say, right?
Yeah. It’s not going to win Oscars. It’s not going to be Picture of the Year or anything like that, but it’s a fun movie if you’re in that type of mood.
This is technically not your first movie. What can you tell me about the independent movie Fighting the Still Life?
There was actually an independent wrestler named Sick Nick Mondo who wrestled for CZW and put that movie together. He went to film school in Minneapolis and that was his senior project. He knew that I was interested in that stuff. And from watching me perform on the independents, he thought that I had some skills and thought that I would be good in it, so he cast me as the villain in the movie. We filmed that in Minneapolis. We actually finished filming right before I signed my contract with WWE.
Is the movie out anywhere?
He had made another DVD about his life story and he got that one distributed. I know that he was looking to get it distributed through the same company, but I think things fell through.
Are you interested in doing more acting?
Yeah, I definitely am interested in acting and pursuing it a little more. I’m not ready to give up wrestling by any stretch of the imagination. I think that there are a lot of things I have left to do in the business that I haven’t accomplished yet, goals that I set forth from Day One. But acting is something that I’ve always wanted to do since I was a little kid, so this was kind of a dream come true.
You’ve had your share of injuries, the most recent being a dislocated shoulder. How are you doing physically and when will you be back in the ring?
I’m feeling pretty good. I’ve got almost full range of motion in my shoulder and it’s no longer painful to lift my arm over my head. It’s a little hard to get into the gym being on the road so much. The free time that I do get, I’m usually pretty tired, so it’s hard to be motivated. And I haven’t been able to spend too much time in a personal training studio to do the rehab. However, most of the stuff I can do on my own, and that’s what I’ve done. I do it in my hotel room every day — I do my stretches and my strengthening exercises for my rotator cuff, and I do get to the gym as much as I can. We’re looking at Feb. 28 as of right now to go back and see Dr. [James] Andrews, and hopefully he’ll give me the OK.
So it’s possible you could be back in time for WrestleMania [April 5]?
I’m crossing my fingers.
How frustrating has it been for you with all the injuries? It seemed like every time you were getting a nice push, an injury would occur.
It’s been extremely frustrating. I think you just have to keep your head up, though. What we do is not ballet and I’m not the only guy who has ever gotten injured in the wrestling business. It’s inevitable. You’re going to get hurt at some point or another. One of the injuries was just a blatant act of stupidity on my opponent’s part — that was my first injury. There are certain things that you just can’t do anything about. You know, I’ve heard all the “Oh, Kennedy’s injury prone” and all that stuff, but there are certain things that happen, and if you knew the whole story you wouldn’t necessarily think that. I’ve just been in the wrong place at the wrong time. But it is frustrating. I had the Money in the Bank and was on the way to becoming a world champion and then injury struck. And it’s just been one thing after the other, but I just keep my head up. I was told a long time ago that if you have talent you cannot be denied and eventually good things will happen.
You mentioned the first injury being your opponent’s fault. What happened?
I tore my lat. It was actually a 10-man tag. I was standing on the apron and the guy was supposed to come over and just give me a little forearm and I was just going to fall to the floor. Now, I’m standing on the apron, mind you, which is about two and a half feet off the floor, and he dropkicked me. He literally put his legs on my chest and leg-pressed me off the apron. I remember flying backward through the air. I felt like I was in The Matrix; I felt like I was in slow motion. I remember thinking to myself that I was going to hit my head on the guardrail because I knew I was going that far. As I turned to protect my head, my arm was kind of stretched out and I landed on my side. He hit me so hard that I flew past the mat on the side of the ring and hit the concrete and just tore my lat right off the bone.
Who was the guy who dropkicked you, or would you rather not say?
I’d rather not say. I don’t think it was an intentional thing. It was just a stupid decision. But, hey, things happen.
One of the things that helped you get over right off the bat was your ability to cut a good promo. How much of your gift of gab comes naturally, and how much have you had to work on developing your style on the mic?
I think it’s both. I think naturally I’ve always been gifted in that area. I’ve always entertained people. That’s been my deal since I was a little kid. Whether it was doing impersonations of people in my school, which is something that I was known for in high school, or getting the neighborhood kids together and putting on little plays or making little movies and stuff like that, it was just always something that I was interested in. As I got into the wrestling business, practice makes perfect. I was given a lot of opportunities to do promos. One of the first places that I worked for on the indies had a TV show and we would do promos every week, so I got introduced to the art of the promo right off the bat. I was able to watch myself and critique myself and listen to what other people thought.
Do you have a preference as far as working as a babyface or a heel?
It’s always easier to be a heel, I think. I love working babyface if it’s done right. I would say so far in the WWE I’ve definitely had more success and had more fun as a heel. I think it’s easier to get people to hate you. I talked to Vince McMahon when I first got into the company. He asked me if I preferred to be a babyface or a heel, and I said, “Well, it’s hard for a guy, no matter how good you are, to come into a company like the WWE and expect the fans to like you right off the bat.” Generally, there like, “Who’s this new guy? We hate you, no matter what.” [laughs] So I said, “I’d rather come in as a heel and get people to know who I am and win their respect in that way, and then it’s easier to turn babyface.”
If you could pick anyone, past or present, to work with that you haven’t already, who would it be?
I would love to get in the ring with Triple H. We’ve done it on a couple house shows, and we’ve had a couple tag matches together on TV, but not a whole lot of contact. He is the man right now and I’d really like to get in there with him.
weblogs.baltimoresun.com/spor...r_kennedy.html
Does anyone know how his DVD sold and its chart positon
