By Laurence Moz (09 August 2010)
1. How was it working on The Stranger?
It was an interesting film to make just because it had more character research more so than physicality and fight choreography, and that was one of the reasons I wanted to do the project. It was just on of the ways to show a different side of myself and it was interesting as The Stranger doesn’t have background to base the character on, because he was in various amnesiatic states. So it was an interesting challenge, I’m happy with the way the movie turned out and you know again it was just a way of showing a different side of myself. But I’m not going to put myself at Leonardo Di Caprio's level.
2. Would you rather do 'deeper' movies, rather than plain action?
After just seeing The Expendables, at the LA premiere, it just makes me clamour more towards action movies, but you know what I just like to do any kind of movies that I have fun making. My core audience expects action, but I’d like to do something in the humour comedy vein, like a buddy action cop movie or something like that, I don’t see myself in too many chick flicks or rom-coms. However, I wouldn’t be opposed to doing one if it came down the pipe.
3. Did you get to meet much of The Expendables cast?
I met all the guys, and you know it was a lot of fun, and I grew up watching Sylvester Stallone movies so when I got the chance to go meet with Sly it was a meeting that lasted about 30-40 minutes and I was talking to the guy like I’d known him my whole life. It was a small part, he offered and I accepted and in the movie Eric Roberts is my boss and I’m a bodyguard to him.
It was so fun working with Eric, because he’s a world-class actor. The guy kinda took me under his wing and got to ask him a million questions every single day and to this day we’re still trading calls. The guy has helped me out a whole lot and I'd sit there and talk to Mickey Rourke, all the guys. I’m a big UFC fan and Randy Couture’s career and I get a fight scene with him, he’s got a good career.
4. Did you meet Arnie?
I met Arnold in the ring, way back in the day, when they first shot their scenes, I think that was in LA somewhere and they were the only guys on the set when that happened because the movie was already finished and man that might be the best scene in the movie. They trade some great barbs back and forth. To see those three action movie heros in a scene together, it was pretty electric for me because they’re like my top three guys.
5. Is there a big difference between working as a Wrestler and working on action movies?
The difference is remembering all the technical choreography. People think wrestling is all choreographed, I didn’t choreograph my matches you might have five things you know are going to happen in a match but you create the rest in the ring and that’s what the top people do and that’s what I did.
Even if I didn’t even meet the guy I could go out there and have a match if he was experienced hand in the ring, it’s like dancing. Some people think that sounds funny but that’s really what pro-wrestling is about. In the ring you’re listening to 18-20,000 people a night, well back in the day anyway. So you use that energy and you use that crowd noise to influence the decisions you make in the ring.
In acting there might be a hundred people there, what with the crew and then lights, cameras, action and you’re hitting marks, it’s a totally different ball game. It’s a different kind of focus. It’s very challenging, I haven’t mastered it yet, It’ll be a long time before I even come close to mastering it if I even ever get that close to it.
As Stone Cold Steve Austin, I think I had a PHD, I was damn good at that other job and if I can get that same kind of laser focus in to some of the characters that I play, in front of the movie camera or TV camera, them I’m gonna be okay, but I’m still yet to reach that comfort zone as of yet. That 100% zone I had as Stone Cold.
If I hadn’t of got dropped on my head and got injured like I did, I’d still be in the ring. My first love in life was to be a pro wrestler, at first I got into movies to keep me from being bored. I was retired for three or four years and I didn’t want to go back to driving a forklift, which is what I was doing before I got into wrestling. But I’ll never forget my wrestling fans because they’re the ones that put me on the map.
6. What do you think of the current state of Wrestling at the moment?
The talent in the wrestling ring is fine the problem is getting a place for them to learn, theres no more territories for them to learn and really get their chops up before they reach the big time because they start off in the big time. I started off in Dallas Texas and when I moved to Tennessee and then I was working every single night, then to WCW working every single night, I’d worked for several years before I hit the big time in WWE.
By the time I got to WWE, I was an absolute working machine in the ring, I was a mechanic. I wasn’t a star, but I had chops, I had a great routine, I was a great wrestler and there’s no place for that to happen these days. But that being said they’ve got some great people teaching those kids, over there in Florida and Lance Storm has a great school in Canada but there’s not any places to get real real experience before they hit the big time.
So that part of the business has changed and it’s a PG flavoured business. I don’t run a billion dollar company, but I helped build one as Stone Cold and adult wrestling is my flavour, that’s what I like, that’s what I grew up watching. These days it seems they’re trying to entertain a little bit of everybody with a lot of things. Bottom line is you’ve got a wrestling on the marquee so you’ve got to stick with wrestling.
7. Do you think there will there ever be another golden generation? Like the likes of The Rock, HHH, The Undertaker, Kurt Angle, Mick Foley and yourself?
We hope that it will be as good as it was. But don’t get me wrong those guys like John Cena are doing a great job. But when you’re talking about a locker room with the depth that we had and the different diverse gimmicks and characters that were walking around and didn’t look like everyone was coming out of the same gym or tattoo shop. I’m not running these guys down today I’d love to see business today go back to the way it was.
8. What is your opinion of British wrestling?
In my opinion all British Wrestlers all come from the same mold. They have a good wrestling background and they’re usually pretty good tumblers Steve Regal is one of my good buddies, I loved his work. I loved Davey Boy Smith and Dynamite Kid.
England has turned out some hellacious wrestlers and it’s a great breeding ground for talent and there’s a couple of guys on the scene at the moment with the great British accent busting chops. It would be great see if they could get a league going over there and make some money.
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