WWE wrestler and movie star Kevin Nash gives Peter Feely the lowdown on the sport and his acting roles following his appearance at Dubai’s IGN Convention.
We heard you were accidentally stabbed when you were filming a scene in the movie The Punisher, have you forgiven Thomas Jane yet?
It wasn’t Thomas’ fault it was the guy who spent more time trying to talk to one of the production assistants there than worrying about changing the knives out. I’m just glad that the knife’s top had been shaved – I was stabbed in the collarbone – it could’ve been a bad day.
The jackknife powerbomb [Nash’s wrestling move] – who in the world would you most like to do that to?
Probably Dick Cheney would be at the top. I don’t care about his age. I would stick Dick’s bald head between my legs. He’d be bent over and I’d grab him around his waist. With a jerking motion, I would hoist him up so now he’d be around ten-and-a-half feet above the ground and then with force, I would drop him on the back of his neck and head. I’m sure Halliburton [Cheney’s company] would put him back together again.
How do acting and wrestling compare.
The acting process is a very slow process – it’s a hurry up and wait situation where the wrestling is more – you get there – you grab a guy…. If you mess up a line in a movie they can say ‘cut’ – we don’t have that luxury in wrestling.
Which movie are you most proud of?
I think The Longest Yard was a great experience. Magic Mike was fun because that was so far out of my wheel house – I got a call saying that they wanted me to play a stripper at 53 years old. I was like ‘alright – on these knees I’ll give it all I’ve got. It was great to work with Stephen Soderbergh [director].
It must be surreal seeing yourself on a video game…
It is strange – the old the graphics were so bad. Now, it’s you, your mannerisms. It’s you so if you’re prepared to look in the mirror.
What do you say to people who say wrestling isn’t a real sport?
I think the term they use is ‘fake’ and I’ve been operated on about 30 times while doing this – I’ve broken about every bone in my body – I’ve broken my neck doing this. If it’s fake, I wouldn’t want it to be any more real. It’s pre-determined but does it hurt worse if I tell you I’m going to punch you in the stomach, before I punch you, or is it better to get caught out?
We’d probably prefer it off-guard…
I think we all would.
What’s the worst injury you’ve had?
Breaking my neck. I didn’t realise I’d broken it until I got a concussion about a year later. They put me in the CT scan and the doc says ‘When did you break your neck?’ I said ‘I haven’t’ and he said ‘you have’ I said ‘oh, that’s nice to know’.
