John Cena Reveals How He Kept His F9 Role Under Wraps During Filming
“If there was ever a candid with a coffee in my hand and the cross, that’s a dead giveaway,” John Cena said about the iconic Toretto necklace.
John Cena had to stay on his toes while filming F9!
Although fans found out that the actor was playing the estranged brother of Vin Diesel’s Dominic Toretto in the first trailer, until then, Cena worked hard to keep the identity of his character under wraps.
In order to preserve the mystery during filming, Cena said that he made sure that whenever the cameras weren’t rolling, he took off his character’s silver cross necklace, which fans would instantly recognize as being linked to Dom.
“The costumes are the costumes and they can be whatever you needed it to be, but if there was ever a candid with a coffee in my hand and the cross, that’s a dead giveaway,” he told Digital Spy in a recent interview.
“It’s amazing that that one piece of jewelry has so much energy and gravity around it,” he added. “That was the one thing I put on before they said roll and as soon as they said cut, I would take it off, and that was how we kept everything under wraps.”
As for what the future may hold for his character, Cena said he would be more than happy to return for another film.
“They wouldn’t even have to ask,” he said. “I would love to be associated with this group of human beings that do exceptionally well in making a product that the world wants to see, but also have such a great reputation for making the work itself enjoyable.”
Continuing, he added, “These are jobs you want.”
Last week, Cena got a very personal seal of approval from Diesel, who admitted that he had some “anxiety” about finding the perfect fit to play his brother.
“Obviously I’m multicultural. You could’ve cast anybody to be my brother,” Diesel, 53, said during an appearance on The Kelly Clarkson Show. “Now the idea of the brother worked great on paper, but when the time came to cast it, anxiety. Who could you cast to be Dom’s brother and 20 years into the game? The audience knows our mythology so much.”
As for how Cena ended up joining the franchise, Diesel shared that he thought his late costar Paul Walker had a hand in it.
“[Cena] comes into the shrine one morning, and I had this strange feeling…that Paul Walker had sent him,” Diesel remarked, calling the moment “very magical.”
F9 is now playing in theaters.