A little over an hour into this year’s Academy Awards telecast, John Cena brought the house down as he came onto the stage to present the Oscar for costume design. Host Jimmy Kimmel started talking about the infamous streaker from the 1974 Oscars, before looking off-stage to bring someone on. That person happened to be Cena, who was completely naked, save for the giant winner’s envelope he covered himself with.
After the clips of the nominated films played, Cena appeared on-stage wearing a drape that seemed like it came from the set itself. In videos from the actual show, like the one below, you can see Cena making the quick change into the costume while the cameras aren’t on him. Those photos and videos also show that Cena was, in fact, mostly naked for the bit. Take a look!
Videos by ComicBook.com
Cena ultimately presented the Oscar for costume design to Poor Things, but it was the wrestling icon himself who stole much of the attention of folks watching along at home.
John Cena in Barbie
While he doesn’t star in any of the films nominated at the Oscars this year, John Cena does have a small cameo in Barbie, 2023’s biggest movie and Best Picture nominee. He appears alongside Dua Lipa as mermaid versions of Barbie and Ken, popping up in a couple of scenes in the film.
As it turns out, Cena’s agency tried to talk him out of taking the role. On a recent appearance of The Howard Stern Show, Cena opened up about the role.
“[The agency is] just going on what they know, and what they know is, ‘This entity, this commodity gravitates towards these things, we should stay in this lane,’” Cena explained. “But I’m not a commodity. I’m a human being, and I operate under the construct of every opportunity is an opportunity.”
“I read the script of the movie and I tried my hardest to be in it,” Cena added. “Margot [Robbie] was like, ‘We’ll make you a mermaid. You’ll be in it for half a day.”Yeah, sure. But I think the perspective from an agency standpoint was, ‘This is beneath you,’ which I get that. But also to the agency’s credit, immediately they acquiesced.”
“I was like, ‘No we’re going to do it,’ but all they can do is offer their guidance. They’re not ultimately making the choice,” Cena explained. “And their guidance is, ‘Hey, truly, trickle-down economics from this might take you out of these lead leap slots.’ And I get all that. I’ve always operated under the philosophy of good work gets you another chance.”
