After shocking the wrestling world with his leukemia diagnosis in October 2018, Roman Reigns made his triumphant return to WWE in February with the announcement that his cancer was officially in remission.
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“The Big Dog” has since been a staple of WWE television as a fan favorite, feuding with the likes of Drew McIntyre and Shane McMahon. On top of his wrestling career, he’s set to make his Hollywood acting debut with a role in Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw, which releases in theaters on Friday.
During an interview with ComicBook.com leading up to the film, Reigns discussed what has changed about his daily life in the wrestling world since his return.
“You know, to be honest, even when I was full time before, you know, I made my announcement stuff in real life, everyone’s been so positive, you know? And I know I’ve been a polarizing character, you know? But in real life everyone’s had just an extreme amount of respect and just been very kind,” Reigns said. “So I’ve never ever had that problem.
“But I just think right now I just really cherish the little moments that I have, you know, whether it’s, you know, on set with new friends and new family, or just back in the locker room with old friends and old family and just continuing those relationships, just cherishing those moments,” he added. “Because I wish I could be confident enough to say that I could wrestle forever, but I’m not. I’m not, you know? I’m not going to be able to do that. I’m not going to be able to be in that locker room, you know, for the remainder of my life. So I have to really enjoy the times that I have with those guys.”
Elsewhere in the same interview he discussed getting to break out a few wrestling moves during the movie’s fight scenes.
“I got to filter in a little bit of offense, yeah,” Reigns said. “That was a lot to do with David [Leitch, director of the film] and his team. That’s what so cool about him and his crew is they’re fighters. They have that skill, that discipline, but then also the respect to enjoy other genres of fighting, other styles. That’s crucial, to not make it feel like [it is] in the ring but to highlight it and then make it work with what we’re doing in the film, and the Hobbs & Shaw world that we’re building there.
“It was incredible,” he added. “And it was nice to just do offense only. Nobody bumped me, nobody threw me down!”
