Jackpot! is now streaming on Prime Video.
John Cena’s latest acting endeavor has arrived. Big Match John stars as Noel in Jackpot!, an action-comedy that combines the bloodlust of The Purge with the free-for-all antics of Grand Theft Auto. In Jackpot!, Cena plays Noel, a freelance protection agent that offers to keep Katie (Awkwafina) alive long enough to claim her massive cash prize, as it would fall into the hands of someone else should she be killed before sundown per the rules of this dystopian lottery. Cena’s leadership role on-screen translated to when the cameras weren’t rolling as well, as he brought the same level of kindness and grace to the set that Noel displayed within the plot of Jackpot!.
Jackpot! Writer Praises John Cena’s “Einstein-Style” Intellect
Big Match John’s skillset goes far beyond wrestling and acting.
Speaking to ComicBook, Jackpot! writer and executive producer Rob Yescombe praised John Cena, particularly praising his film’s leading man’s level of intellect.
“I think we throw around the term genius quite cavalierly,” Yescombe said. “I think he actually is a proper Einstein-style genius. He’s so easy-going in spite of all of the pressure and all of the work. All the athleticism fascinates me as well. People know him as a very kind guy because of all the Make-A-Wish stuff. They know him as a very physical guy because of the wrestling. He’s an intensely intelligent man any minute he’s not in front of the camera.”
Cena has long been a proponent of “micro-learning,” the practice of slowly building new skills during fleeting moments of free time. He showcased this on the set of Jackpot!, as Yescombe noticed Cena studying languages and music in between takes of the Paul Feig-directed film.
“He was teaching himself Mandarin. He was teaching himself Hindi. He taught himself jazz piano,” Yescombe continued. “I think that’s the thing that I admire about all this level of talent, is the level of dedication they have to excellence outside of what they do professionally.”
Mandarin has been in Cena’s repertoire since 2016, as he began learning the language in an effort to expand WWE’s reach to China. He spoke Mandarin at a WWE press conference in China that year. Cena revealed that he was able to take on that skill thanks to WWE’s resources and recently encouraged new WWE talent Logan Paul to do the same.
Jackpot! is now streaming on Prime Video. Cena’s WWE farewell tour kicks off in January.
