I was a poor kid. I came from nothing. We didn't have any money; a lot of times we didn't have any food, and now, all of a sudden, I'm a superhero in a Marvel movie? Talk about the American dream, man - I'm living it.
My first acting lessons were Shakespeare. The first time I ever started working with a coach was doing scenes from 'Measure for Measure,' which were tough dramatic scenes. And then 'Taming of the Shrew,' which required comedic timing. And that's the kind of stuff I love.
I'm not a big guy. I'm not a menacing guy. I'm not an intimidating guy. I may look that way, but just spend two seconds talking to me, and you know that's not who I am - not as a person, as a character. It's not who I intend to be.
Honestly, I don't aspire to be a huge movie star. I really just fell in love with acting... Everything I do on-screen is very subtle.
For some reason, I'm the guy people love to hate, which I think is weird. People who know me find that very strange, but for some reason, I am. I don't mind being that guy - I have fun with it.
It was always one of my favorite things, the action figures, the video games, when I was with WWE, even though I'm not a gamer. I would literally go out and buy the games just so I could play myself.
I had been struggling to get roles in Hollywood for three and a half years after leaving the WWE. Then I finally got an agent - the agent I have now. He's a great guy, but he turned me down three times before he even decided to take me on a as a client.
Just getting auditions was rough. But also just learning how to act - when I did my first role, in a film I did which was a favour to a friend, I realised I was really bad at it.
Especially, I don't want to ever be compared to The Rock because I'd be the poor man's version of The Rock. I'm just not him; it's not who I am as a person or as a performer. The Rock's very big and bold, and I'm not.
You do take a beating in professional wrestling. But I love it.
Know your lines; otherwise, have an open mind because you want to get lost in the moment. When you have talented actors and directors to work with, then it's pretty easy to do.
I'm a professional wrestler at heart, and I miss it.