WWE star Drew McIntyre is bringing his talents from the ring to the screen in the new project "Agent of Shadows," and he hopes audiences walk away entertained.
"I mean, I think once they finish watching Agent of Shadows, hopefully they think, ' Wow, I just had a lot of fun. And the action obviously is great. They're going to be wrestlers. I think they'll be surprised by some of the acting. Some of the characters are very over the top are supposed to be over the top. And it is very fun," McIntyre said.
The move from WWE to acting wasn't something McIntyre ever planned.
"I guess so. I never planned to do it, ever. I went to a wrestler since I was five. I got signed by WWE 21. No aspirations to do it. But I got a call from my buddy. Dave Bautista has obviously done amazing in the acting world. Coming from the wrestling world, saying, I want you to do this movie. Killers game a few years ago. I think you'll be great in the role and you'll be good in this world, and it's going to be good for you," McIntyre said.
That early opportunity opened the door to more roles, including working with the director behind the John Wick films.
"And then eventually, that led to a meeting with Chad, who directed the John Wick movies, directing Highlander with Henry Cavill. And he said, do you want to play Henry's brother, Angus? And I was like, yeah, I'll do that. That's cool. Man, was Henry so handsome. Sexiest man in the world. Actually makes me the second sexiest man in the world, I guess," McIntyre said.
The last several months have brought a string of projects together for McIntyre.
"And I led Russell during the last road, and I got to do a voiceover in Disney's Hex, and then, boom, aging of shadows. Brought my worlds together. So it's been a wild six months," McIntyre said.
Despite his experience in the demanding world of professional wrestling, McIntyre said acting brought new challenges.
"It is a lot harder than you would imagine, and I never thought the acting world would be easy. I certainly not like in WWE. We're 52 weeks a year. We're going to live audience and we're professional waiters. We're in planes wearing cars just to get our 10 to 40 minutes of television time. And it's exactly the same in that world, except it can be like a 12 hour day," McIntyre said.
"So like emotionally, it is a heck of a mental work. But it's great. So much fun and so rewarding," McIntyre said.
McIntyre has spent two decades in WWE, a commitment that traces back to a childhood dream.
"But it's what I love is all I've ever done. This is five years old. I told my parents and my brother, this is what I'm going to do. I never deviated to start at 15. That was my weekend job. Professional wrestler, summer holiday job. I wouldn't go to camp. I go to wrestle on the camps to perform for the couple of thousand people since I was 17 years old," McIntyre said.
"I went to university government to green Criminology was signed by WWE the same year. And I've been nonstop and I love it. My oldest relationship, my most dysfunctional relationship," McIntyre said.
And while McIntyre is focused on his Hollywood career for now, he said wrestling will always call him back.
"I will be back home soon enough. You know, I'm Hollywood drew for now. When I decide the time is right, I'll return back home to WWE," McIntyre said.
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