Sam Asghari was surprised by wrestler-turned-actor John Cena on their action film Jackpot!, quickly bonding with the whipsmart entertainer off-camera.
“We really just talked about acting [as well as] cars, watches and food,” Asghari, 30, exclusively told Us Weekly on Wednesday, July 31. “It’s a really cool experience to get to know someone like that, and he’s a super humble person.”
According to Asghari, he was “very surprised” by how “intellectual” and “smart” Cena, 47, appeared in person.
“He speaks multiple different languages,” Asghari said, noting that he and Cena also connected on a “personal level.”
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“I’m Persian, and my background is Iranian, and he’s married to an Iranian woman,” Asghari said, referring to Cena’s wife, Shay Shariatzadeh. “So we talked a lot about Persian food, and how good it is and how hard it is to keep in shape when you live in a household that cooks Persian foods.”
Asghari, who is also “super impressed” by Cena’s transition from the WWE to acting, was blown away that the pair got to film a fight scene together for Jackpot! “It was really interesting to be in a fight scene with such a professional — not only an onscreen professional — but also [since] he comes from the WWE,” Asghari said. “[It] doesn’t get any better than that; it was a cool experience for me.”
While Asghari and Cena both come from athletic backgrounds, the Iran native did not want to compete in the gym.
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“I figured he might not want to be in the same gym as me since I am much stronger than him,” Asghari joked. “And, you know, I didn’t want to embarrass him. The second thing is, if you are talking [about] a person that goes to the gym a lot, they go to the gym for that’s part of their lifestyle. It’s not something that’s [a] hobby.”
Asghari previously appeared on Max’s Hacks before landing his role in Jackpot!, telling Us he learned a lot from working with his comedian costars Awkwafina and Simu Liu. The pair even offered Asghari an on-the-job lesson in “comedic timing” while shooting the Paul Feig film.
“I learned so much from all the comedians that are on there. You know, we have a cast of Cena, Awkwafina and Simu, [who] are great people to learn from,” Asghari, who portrays Senior Agent Ash in Jackpot!, told Us. “I never take the moment for granted; I always learn so much. You use the moment for more than it is.”
He continued, “Watching Simu, [who] was playing [my character’s boss as] this bad guy, and he’s such a nice person in real life, made me realize that these are the type of roles that I should be focusing more on.
Jackpot! debuts on Prime Video on Thursday, August 15.
With reporting by Amanda Williams
