John Cena's agents tried to stop him from doing Barbie cameo because it was "beneath him"

Among the many very funny moments in Greta Gerwig’s very funny Barbie movie, few are more out-there hilarious than the bit with John Cena. If you’ve seen the film, you don’t need us to describe it, because it’s already burnt into your mind; it’s not like it’s easy to forget the image of Cena in a luxurious blonde wig and mermaid tial, frolicking in the waves of Barbieland with Dua Lipa. Despite how quickly the moment flashes by, it’s a hilarious send-up of Cena’s (ever flexible) tough guy image—but it wouldn’t have happened, if his agents had had their druthers.

This is per a recent interview Cena gave to Howard Stern, talking about how he was advised against the cameo in the Oscar-nominated film, which came about because he ran into his old The Suicide Squad pal Margot Robbie while she was making the movie. His agents, though, advised him against doing it, on the grounds that it might make him less marketable as a tough-as-nails action star—because said agents apparently haven’t noticed what both we, and John Cena, have realized over the last few years, i.e., that he’s quickly become one of Hollywood’s most enjoyable comedy performers.

Here’s Cena, describing the response from his reps: “What they know is, ‘This entity, this commodity gravitates toward these things, we should stay in this lane.’ But,” he pointed out, “I’m not a commodity. I’m a human being, and I operate under the construct of every opportunity is an opportunity.” He also noted that they suggested the quick cameo might somehow be “beneath me,” potentially costing him future parts.

Cena’s genuine gift for comedy is a big part of why, for instance, his Peacemaker TV series works; it’s also one of several reasons we’re so irritated at Warner Bros. for killing Coyote Vs. Acme, where Cena would have played the villain, his cartoonish mug going up against those of Wile E. Coyote and Will Forte. (It’s also the only thing that could possibly get us to see a movie like his upcoming Zac Efron comedy Ricky Stanicky.) In the interview, Cena makes it clear that he doesn’t blame his agents for that slightly reductive view of his career—noting that, To the agency’s credit, immediately they acquiesced, and I was like, ‘No we’re going to do it’… All they can do is offer their guidance.” Which, happily, he clearly knows when to ignore.

[via Variety]