John Cena looks back on film career, recalls debut in ‘The Marine’ debut: 'Overwhelming and then immediately disappointing'

John Cena is already known as a big figure in the fighting arena, however, he is also a famed movie star now. In a recent interview, while discussing his career over the years, he recalled what it was like filming his first movie almost 20 years ago.

John Cena on how it was like to film his first movie 20 years ago

While talking about his life and career with PEOPLE, he celebrated his first film ‘The Marine’, completing 20 years. While discussing his experience, Cena stated that he did not take his film career seriously, and that his debut role was “overwhelming and then immediately disappointing.”

He further talked more about the matter and cited that “Which is so sad to say, but I have to lead with honesty. That really led me to pretty much lose those [acting] opportunities. I pretty much was run out of town for the movie business in 2009, 2010. It was my own fault.”



Cena’s film at the time received mixed reviews. As of right now, according to Rotten Tomatoes, it is rated at only 17% by critics, while the audience rating is only 60%. “Making movies is a patient process, and everyone there has a meaningful position, and I came from a world of live performance where it's very different,” he added. Not only that, but the star shared that at the time he was a WWE champion, which led him to not taking the filmmaking business as seriously as he should have.

Movie-making is a patient process as per John Cena

He explained that as a WWE star, he had people rallying after him and screaming in his face, whether they loved him or hated him. However, movies were more silent in the process, and there was no instant way to know what you were doing. He added, “They're very long days, they're very patient days, and I think you just have to be in the mindset for it. Thank goodness that some people along the way, in 2012, in 2015, saw some potential in me and took another gamble.”

Over the years, Cena has started taking his film career far more seriously and has appeared in many popular films and shows.Get the latest entertainment updates from the Times of India, along with the latest Hindi movies, upcoming Hindi movies in 2026 , and Telugu movies.”