John Cena has had a successful Hollywood career following his rise to fame on WWE, but he has admitted he ‘hated’ working on one particular film which was ‘painful’ to star in
John Cena first shot to fame as the “face” of WWE, making his debut in 1999 under the ring name “The Prototype” before stepping up to WWE’s main roster in 2002. Having officially hung up his wrestling boots on 13th December 2025, the star – who celebrates his 49th birthday this Thursday (April 23) – has since carved out a full-time career on the big screen.
His film journey has been marked by an impressive transition from high-octane action blockbusters to widely praised comedy and superhero outings. John Cena landed his breakthrough comedic role in Trainwreck in 2015, and also lent his voice to the titular pacifist bull in the Oscar-nominated animated feature Ferdinand (2017).
Widely regarded as his “golden ticket” into Hollywood‘s A-list, the West Newbury, Massachusetts native portrayed Peacemaker / Christopher Smith in The Suicide Squad (2021).
He has further bolstered his big-screen credentials with appearances in the Fast & Furious franchise as Jakob Toretto, as Merman Ken in Barbie (2023), and as the voice behind classic villain Rocksteady in the hugely popular TMNT: Mutant Mayhem (2023).
Yet it was the 2006 action film The Marine, in which he played lead character John Triton, that marked his first credited role on screen – a film Cena has openly described as one he “hated” working on.
While he acknowledges making plenty of “bad movies” during the early stages of his career, his distaste for The Marine stemmed more from the behind-the-scenes experience than the finished product itself.
Coming from the high-energy, “immediate gratification” world of WWE, Cena said he found the “library silence” and deliberate pace of film sets – where an entire day might be spent capturing just a single explosion – intolerable.
He has also acknowledged that during this time, he was pursuing films purely as a “vehicle” to boost wrestling ticket sales rather than concentrating on the artistry.
Cena has subsequently confessed he “failed big” by being critical of the film crew’s work rate and not recognising the patience moviemaking demands.
The star also reveals he wasn’t the original choice for The Marine; he was actually third in the queue to portray Sergeant John Triton.
The part initially belonged to other notable wrestlers before being passed to Cena mere weeks before production commenced. “Stone Cold” Steve Austin was the initial lead for the film but declined the role as he was unhappy with the screenplay.
Randy Orton was then selected, but he was reportedly dropped from the project due to his real-life bad conduct discharge from the U.S. Marine Corps, which producers believed made him unsuitable for the part.
Notably, Cena wasn’t the only one who wasn’t first choice; the antagonist role of Rome (portrayed by Robert Patrick) was initially conceived for Al Pacino, who rejected it because of the wage on offer.
Cena only agreed to take on the part after Vince McMahon personally contacted him, revealing he’d be departing for Australia to begin filming within mere days.
Further complications arose for Cena during The Marine’s production when he sustained a torn pectoral muscle so serious it threatened to halt filming entirely.
The injury actually happened during a WWE bout while the film was still being made. Cena required immediate surgery before returning to the Australian set to complete his scenes while still recovering. This compounded his overall dissatisfaction with the project, as he was obliged to execute physically taxing stunts – including leaping and vehicle crashes – while carrying a significant injury.
While Cena didn’t enjoy the film, some viewers take a different view. One posted on Reddit: “Is The Marine (2006) starring John Cena considered a “so bad it’s good” cult classic? Because it should be.”
They continued: “For years I avoided and dismissed it as likely some boring lifeless waste of time. But I watched it tonight and I loved every second of it.
“The acting and dialogue are obviously terrible but I had no idea how bats**t insane and over the top this flick was. Am I nuts for appreciating this as an underrated gloriously stupid good time movie?”
One person replied: “This is one of those action films that clearly knows exactly what it is, and Robert Patrick was clearly in on the joke. The fact that practically every building that John Cena exits explodes was brilliant, and for the record, ‘I hate rock candy’.”
Another chimed in: “My cousin and I saw it in the theater when it came out. We were the only two in the theater at the time. We thought it was one of the funniest movies we had seen in a long time. We thoroughly enjoyed it.”
While a third quipped: “Best comedy I’ve seen in awhile for sure.”
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