Q: This movie is about inspiration kids get from the adults around them. Who gave you the confidence to become who you are today?
JC: My old man was a pretty good guy. He didn’t realize what he was doing at the time. But he was a self-made man and raised five sons. Five hellacious, horrible sons! I didn’t know what I was going to do, and I’m still exploring options of what I’m going to do with my life. But at a young age, without basically sitting us down and browbeating us with stuff like, “There is no substitute for hard work,” and that you really have to work hard to succeed at the things you want to in life, he gave us that lesson by example. I love him to death. We’ve had our differences. But when push comes to shove, he just taught me that you could do whatever you want. I mean, here’s a guy who wasn’t much out of high school, and he brought up five beautiful kids into the world. And he’s very proud of all his sons. So he kinda instilled that in me. You know, just show up, work hard, and things will happen.
Q: How did you first get a passion for wrestling?
JC: Believe it or not, I was a football player. I did a little bit of track in school too, but for a few credit points, I learned a little amateur wrestling.
Q: There are tons of kids out there doing amateur wrestling who want to go pro, just like you. What advice do you have for them?
JC: Well, I think sports entertainment will always be there. It’s always been around since the 1900s, and it will be around forever. But I stress to high school students, education first. I’m a college grad and like I said, I had a very prolific football career. I was a team captain and an All-American. Sports entertainment wasn’t really my first choice. I really wanted to play football. But I knew about my size and about my ability, that I was destined to play in college and that was it. It wasn’t until after I finished my education that I seriously looked at sports entertainment as a way to make a career for myself. And I gotta take it in stride. It’s very much like acting or playing sports, you know, 1 percent of the people who actually try out for it can say they make a living doing it. So if you’re more prepared to tackle life with wrestling, it’ll actually better your career in wrestling.
Q: Speaking of getting into different forms of entertainment, you have a rap song in Legendary.
JC: Yeah. Now on to the rap stuff!
Q: Are you going to be making an album?
JC: I’m toying around with the idea. But I think the track fit unbelievably well in the movie. It gets me fired up every time I hear it. So who knows, man, it was very easy to make, so I may be toying around with the idea of coming out with some other stuff.
Q: Has anything surprised you about the acting world?
JC: You mean that I’ve gotten this far, and I’m still acting! Every day is a surprise. Literally, not a day goes by that I’m not astonished by what’s going on. And I kinda just take it all in. I’m used to instant gratification. I’m used to going out there, doing my thing, and either being told it was great, or it sucked. By thousands of raving fans. But with movies, it’s so gratifying to do a project, and you’re really not sure what the end result is going to be. And then months later, seeing the finished project and still being so emotionally moved—it’s a different sort of payoff. It’s not right there instantly, but when you see that, that really is a cool process.
Q: Do you see this as a different movie for your WWE fans?
JC: I don’t think they’ll feel anything different from what the average moviegoer will feel. I think they’re going to sit down and watch a great story unfold before them. I think they’re gonna end up feeling good.
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Q: So why didn’t Mike end up becoming a professional wrestler in the movie?
JC: Uh…Probably because it’s too tough a career!
Q: Any last thoughts?
JC: Just keep spreading the word about Johnny Fabulous!
