‘If I look like the Hulk, nobody will mess with me’
JOHN Cena has always stood out in a crowd. And he is certainly impossible to miss as he enters a Sydney hotel.
The 40-year-old is the subject of swivelled eyes and double takes — even from those who likely have no clue of his fame — as he strides forward, arm outstretched for a handshake you just know will be firm and commanding.
Fair-haired, blue-eyed Cena is the epitome of a stereotypical US jock: all chiselled jaw, bulging muscles and wide, toothy grin. His confidence and an incontrovertible aura made him a breakout superstar in the wrestling ring throughout the 2000s — across nearly two decades, he has stirred up fans of the WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment), feuded with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and broken record after record.
The scope of his success has led to a swag of big-dollar endorsement deals, motivational speaking tours, charity ambassadorships and film and TV roles.
So it’s jarring to hear that as a child, the wrestling megastar drew attention for entirely different reasons.
“I was one of those kids who stood out for the way I dressed and acted, and not in a good way,” Cena tells Stellar.
“I got picked on a lot. I don’t ask for sympathy when I say that because it made me want to dress weirder and act even weirder. I thought, ‘I’ll show them, I’m not affected by it.’”
In those tough years, physical fitness proved a saving grace to Cena, the second of five brothers raised in a small town not far from Boston.
“It was a way for me to enjoy myself and build myself up to at least offer a form of protection from those who were bullying me every day,” he says.
“I looked like the Incredible Hulk so nobody would mess with me. It wasn’t without its hardships and tough times but the message, if I could send it to anybody out there, is to be OK being you.”
The same idea is at the core of Cena’s latest film, which marks a sharp turn from previous projects like Trainwreck (in which he and Amy Schumer have an awkward sexual encounter) and Sisters (where he played a tattooed drug dealer named Pazuzu).
This time around, Cena is voicing the title character in Ferdinand, a new animated film based on the classic 1936 children’s book about a gentle giant of a bull who is told he must be a fighter when he would rather spend his days picking flowers.
Cena says the film’s core message — “Come as you are, don’t be afraid to be yourself” — resonated with him, given his own life story, which he shared during a speaking tour of Australia, hosted by Karl Stefanovic, in July.
“A lot of times, it is hard to just be [yourself], but at the end of the day it gives you a lot of self-gratification and certainly self-worth.”
The movie also plays to what is perhaps Cena’s widest and most passionate cause: little ones.
“Children are wonderful,” Cena tells Stellar.
“I get so much inspiration and energy from all sorts of kids around the world.”
In fact, in his role as an ambassador for the Make-a-Wish Foundation, Cena holds the record for the most celebrity wishes granted: more than 500 and counting.
Yet despite the fact he can’t seem to get enough of them, Cena has no children of his own, and says they are not on the agenda.
“Speak to anyone and they’ll tell you two things: it’s the greatest thing that will ever happen to you, and it completely changes your life. Because you are now responsible for the wellbeing of a being trying to figure out life. If I can’t do that correctly, or give the amount of time needed to do that correctly, then I wouldn’t want to put somebody through that.”
For now, Cena and his fiancée Nicole Garcia-Colace — or Nikki Bella, as she is known in the wrestling world — are content to plan their upcoming wedding.
The event may be filmed for Total Bellas, a reality-TV series that centres on Garcia-Colace and her twin Brianna (herself a wrestler married to another WWE wrestler, Daniel Bryan). Cena has become an integral part of the show — his no-nonsense, straight-talking approach to life making him the necessary straight man.
“It’s not the John Cena show,” he says. “And I’m glad Nicole is at the forefront. I find so much inspiration in [her]; there are many times when I don’t have any energy left and she’s there to pick me up.”
Cena proposed to Garcia-Colace in April after the pair won a match at WrestleMania, the Super Bowl of WWE.
The romantic moment aired on the series, and they are weighing up whether to allow their wedding on-air, too. Given their working lives have been dedicated to creating entertaining storylines in and out of the ring, it makes sense.
“Viewers feel like they know you,” he tells Stellar.
“If you don’t give them that, maybe you rob them of experiences. But at the same time, aren’t there moments in our lives that are just for Nicole and me? We’ll see.”
The eventual wedding won’t mark Cena’s first trip down the aisle. He married his high-school sweetheart Elizabeth Huberdeau in 2009 before divorcing three years later amid rumours of bitter acrimony, and Cena swore he would never wed again.
So when he began dating Garcia-Colace in late 2012, “it was the first or second thing I said to Nicole on our second date: ‘I’m not getting married; I’m not having kids.’ It was a pretty strong opener! But one day, after years of being together, I looked around and went, ‘I can’t imagine living without this person. And I think it’s certainly more than time to ask her to marry me.’”
This year, Cena revealed he was now a free agent in the wrestling world, and teased that his WWE “days are numbered... I don’t know how many years I have left”.
After 15 years of body slams and pile drivers, his frame has been riddled with breaks and bruises. Now he is 40, Cena admits he must be more mindful of eating well, stretching and allowing himself to rest.
“A new car, you can get in and go,” he says.
“But a nice old antique? Sometimes you have to fidget with it, you need to warm it up. But once you do, it can drive great. I’m kind of in that space. Although I’m not an antique! Let’s call it a classic.”
Ferdinand is in cinemas from Thursday, December 14
