CM Punk wants to move into doing more TV and movies going forward.
The former WWE Champion recently signed with the Paradigm Talent Agency. He previously appeared as “Ricky Rabies” in the Heels TV show alongside Stephen Amell. He could be moving into more film and TV projects going forward.
CM Punk spoke with Denise Salcedo at San Diego Comic-Con. He was asked about his goals after signing with Paradigm, responding by saying he wants to do more cool things.
CM Punk on branching out into TV, movies
“Movies and TV, I want to do fun stuff with cool people.” CM Punk said. “That’s basically the pitch I gave them, and that’s the pitch I’ve been telling everybody all over Hollywood when I have meetings. I’m not Dave Bautista, I’m not Cena, I’m not The Rock, but obviously there’s value. And it’s not just me; I think there’s a lot of professional wrestlers who exhibit the same qualities. What we do every week is live television, and there’s no better training for reading a script or reading lines or acting.
“Acting is almost infinitely easier because if I screw something up, we can just do it again. I think there’s a lot of interesting individuals that can cross the bridge and transition over to do other stuff. It’s just how ambitious the individual is, and I’m ambitious to a fault. I want to experience everything. TV and movies are something I enjoy doing if it’s with cool people, if the project’s cool. We’re already steamrolling ahead. August is going to be very, very busy for me.”
CM Punk also pointed out that the whole reason he’s able to do television and film projects is because of the current WWE schedule. He said that allows him the “freedom and flexibility to do other things to satisfy that creative itch.”
Ronda Rousey on Dave Bautista
Ronda Rousey spoke with WrestleZone to promote her new graphic novel, Expecting The Unexpected, which is live on Kickstarter. She also promoted the project at San Diego Comic-Con, where Dave Bautista moderated her panel.
Rousey was thrilled Bautista agreed to host the panel and touted his longevity as an actor. She admires Bautista for breaking barriers and excelling in a new industry, something she hopes she can achieve herself.
“That’s the stuff that people don’t see — the work that you do that is behind the scenes. All of the different things that you’re trying out for and get rejected for that, that nobody knows about. Then he shows up as Drax and is getting all these opportunities. It seems like it’s out of nowhere, but I know that he’d been working at that all already for years. His perseverance and his progress from coming into the industry as an adult and being such a respectable actor now,” Rousey explained. “Take away anything else that he’s ever done, just as an actor, I am so impressed with his range and everything that he’s done.
“I was just watching The Boy and the Heron. I’m like, ‘Oh my God, he’s in The Boy and the Heron too? He’s the Parakeet King!’ It’s just so incredible, and I never would have guessed. It’s not like you hear it and you’re like, ‘Oh, that’s so and so.’ He really disappears into his parts,” she added. “I really feel like that’s the kind of mastery that that I can only aspire to reach someday.”
Learn more about Expecting The Unexpected on the project’s official Kickstarter page. Listen to our full interview with Ronda Rousey below:
