The best times I've had backstage are when you have people around you who genuinely love you, respect your privacy, and have your back - that's what it's all about.
I think about Laura Bush every once in awhile. She is a great supporter of the arts. I did a show at the Eisenhower Theater, and she would make a point of coming backstage. The relationship between Laura and George Bush was always that way where you felt like he was at his best behavior when he was in her company.
AEW is all about the bell to bell action. You're going to get more wrestling and less soapy backstage drama.
I do remember meeting 'The Donald.' He seemed to really enjoy the WrestleMania 4 battle royal. He watched me take a very hard front turnbuckle bump, and it seemed to stun him that I wasn't seriously hurt. Backstage, Trump gave me a big smile and a handshake.
Out in the WWE ring, we have to play so much bad guy, good guy, don't talk to your competitors, but backstage, you'll see that we're all really close, and it affects us.
Theater was definitely part of my roots. My father would take me to plays, and then my mother was always on the lookout for other talent and taking me to see plays. I saw Frank Langella in 'Dracula'... Great, great performances. I was a theater rat, hanging out backstage.
My dad was a theater actor, so I would follow him backstage. And my mom was a casting director. The moment I heard the applause and realized it would get me out of school, I was hooked.
My family was amazing; they exposed me to the world of show business, and, boy, it was the '70s and I got to spend a lot of time backstage at theaters and see the inner workings of how this entertainment industry is really put together.
There are lots of ways to be a feminist. Beyonce, for example, is a beautiful example of feminine sensuality and is still really powerful. My character and my inner essence is more like an awkward 15-year-old boy, like a teenager backstage, like, 'Yeah, what's up?' That's what I'm trying to channel.
I sat backstage and had a beer with Richard Chamberlain, Paul Newman, and Princess Grace.
