John Cena recently admitted that fans of the Fast & Furious franchise may not like the Jakob Toretto character when he debuts in F9.
“There have been instances where I go out for WWE and I think I crushed it and it’s the worst performance I’ve ever had, the audience doesn’t get it,” Cena shared in an interview with Entertainment Weekly. “So why don’t I just enjoy the now, and if the moment is good enough where fans are like, ‘We’d like him back.’ What a cool thing that is. And if they’re like, ‘Eh, good try, but he’s not Fast material,’ cool, I got to touch the sun for a hot second.”
Cena will portray Jakob, the estranged brother of Vin Diesel’s Dominic Toretto, in the latest Fast film. At the time of his casting, Cena spoke about being “the new kid on set,” explaining, “I knew what it’s like, in my experiences in the WWE, to be the new kid in the locker room.”
He continued, “I also knew what it’s like in the WWE to be the 15-year vet when I look at the new kid in the locker room like, ‘Who the hell is this?’ You always want to make sure someone’s intentions are genuine and their passion is true.”
Cena’s F9 co-star Diesel also revealed at the time that he credited Cena being cast as Jakob to his late co-star Paul Walker. “I remember once we started getting closer to production, [director Justin Lin] and I would talk about how harrowing it would be to actually cast a new Toretto. The brother of Toretto. There’s so many different directions you could go,” the actor recalled. “…And I remember John coming in and … call this crazy, but I remember feeling as though Pablo, Paul Walker, had sent him in. I remember talking to Justin that night and saying, ‘My gut and my heart feels like this was meant to be.'”
In addition to his turn as Jakob, Cena can also be seen this summer as Peacemaker in James Gunn’s superhero sequel The Suicide Squad and Hulu’s raunchy comedy Vacation Friends.
Vin Diesel’s Dom Toretto is leading a quiet life off the grid with Letty and his son, little Brian, but they know that danger always lurks just over their peaceful horizon. This time, that threat will force Dom to confront the sins of his past if he’s going to save those he loves most. His crew joins together to stop a world-shattering plot led by the most skilled assassin and high-performance driver they’ve ever encountered: a man who also happens to be Dom’s forsaken brother, Jakob.
Directed by Justin Lin, F9 stars Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, John Cena, Nathalie Emmanuel, Jordana Brewster, Sung Kang, Helen Mirren, Kurt Russell and Charlize Theron. The film arrives in theaters June 25.
Source: Entertainment Weekly
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