Lifestyle Asia sat down with John Cena and Jessica Biel to talk about Matchbox: The Movie, Apple TV’s brand new action comedy.
John Cena and Jessica Biel are no strangers to action. John is a WWE alum who recently closed the chapter on a legendary career in the ring. Jessica has several action films in her filmography, and she famously shot an arrow through a small hole, destroying a camera when filming Blade: Trinity. But even Matchbox: The Movie had fresh challenges for the two actors. Lifestyle Asia joined an online press conference to talk to Jessica Biel about what it was like to film the movie. John Cena was nowhere to be seen.
[Hero and image credit: Matchbox]
John Cena and Jessica Biel on Matchbox: The Movie
What was your relationship with the Matchbox toys? What drew you to the project?
John Cena: Jess has heard me tell this story a bunch. I played with Matchbox cars a bunch as a kid. My favourite was a 1970 Oldsmobile. Gosh, I wish I still had it. It was my affinity for Matchbox cars that made me a car enthusiast. What I love about Matchbox: The Movie is that if you have childhood memories of Matchbox, like I do, I think you’re going to appreciate all the easter eggs in there. And if you don’t know anything about Matchbox, you’re going to sit down and really enjoy this movie.
Jessica Biel: I wasn’t much of a Matchbox enthusiast as John was. I did play with them as a kid with my brother, along with tons of other toys. But I do think it’s pretty epic how John’s love of Matchbox has translated into his love of cars now.
Were there a lot of physically demanding scenes that pushed you out of your comfort zone?
JC: Most of the action in this movie pushed me outside of my comfort zone. I try to maintain a certain strength and shape regardless of what a role would call for. The training for this film was more about learning to move differently and fight a little smoother, a little bit more defensive. And of course, gain the courage to jump off a building.
JB: I was very much out of my comfort zone when I was learning to do all this cool performance driving. John’s a car person and can really do those things. I’ve never learned how to do a 180 and stop it on a mark!
What was it like working with director Sam Hargrave?
JB: Sure. I loved working with Sam. I think he was such a big draw to this movie because of his experience and his expertise in the stunt world and how he likes to do things practically. It was a demanding experience, for sure, but it was most demanding for John. But Sam cared as much about character development as he did about all of the stunt work. As an artist, I really want to be challenged in that way, so I appreciated that.
JC: Sam often says, “Push the envelope”. Many times, we quantify that by how tall the stunt is, how large the crash is, how many times the car flips, how big the explosion is. What’s surprising about Sam is that he pushes the envelope in every metric, stuff that’s difficult to quantify. He wants to bring the most out of all of our characters.
What’s the difference between shooting an action movie and an action comedy?
JB: I’ve dabbled in comedy here and there, and I really would like to get more comedies under my belt. So for me, it’s kind of my most vulnerable genre to play around with. I had to be prepared to keep the stakes high and serious, do all the action, and also find the comedic moments. It’s a wonderful challenge. I mean, John, you’ve done a ton of comedies, so maybe you feel that it’s more in your wheelhouse.
JC: It was a little out of my comfort zone too. Pure comedy depends a lot on dialogue, and sometimes dialogue doesn’t travel. Comedies are fun, but a lot of times, they don’t reach a global audience because there are different jokes that wouldn’t translate to other places. We all have our inside sense of humour. What’s great about physical storytelling, when you look at the likes of Buster Keaton, or Chaplin, or—one of the greatest physical storytellers of our generation—Jackie Chan: whenever you watch Jackie, he does some amazing stuff, and he always puts physical comedy in there because everyone wants to laugh. The physical nature of the storytelling allows us all, no matter where we are in the world, to laugh because we all get physical behaviour. I think Matchbox is a great movie for audiences around the world. I don’t want to take away the value of my lines, but you could watch it on mute, and you could understand what’s going on.
What was the most insane thing that you guys did on this movie that you haven’t ever done on a movie set?
JC: Gosh. Running up the chain bridge in Budapest. Hanging from a helicopter and being dipped in the Danube. Hanging off a 350-foot bridge in Slovakia with no one around to hear me scream. Just to name a few.
JB: Yeah, fun times. We watched John do a lot of crazy stuff. I mean, really, it was wild to see. We were in the VW bus, and then up comes the helicopter. We were looking, and there’s somebody hanging. “Oh, that’s John. Yeah, that’s John hanging.” Like, the stuff we witnessed him do was out of control, cool, and terrifying. For me, I would say driving, that was the coolest stuff I got to do. Going 60-plus miles an hour on a freeway with a bunch of camera cars everywhere and guys on motorcycles and gals in giant semis and things—there was a really major sense of being safe for everyone else’s sake. I’m just driving this car hoping I’m not going to do anything stupid.
JC: She also got to drive an ambulance through a completely populated bazaar in Casablanca, which was not a movie set.
JB: That was chaos.
At the heart of Matchbox, there’s something very human: a group of childhood friends who come back together after years apart. What do you think happens to friendships when we grow up and become completely different versions of ourselves?
JC: Gosh, we have so many chapters in our life that we’re lucky enough to have a full book, right? I’ve had best friends from grade school. I don’t keep in touch with them anymore, and that’s okay because we’ve grown as human beings. I wish them the best. I hope their life is fulfilled with joy. Our relationship was beneficial and fantastic and wonderful while it happened. And then the chapter closes, and you move on. There are some friendships that do stand the test of time. I think those are the ones we really can appreciate because we grow so much as a human being. I’m about to turn 50 in April; that’s a half century. And I do have one or two friends from like, age five. And gosh, we have grown together. I think those friendships that last a long time have to grow with you as a human being. And I think if they don’t grow, that’s when the chapter closes, and you move forward.
JB: I have a similar situation where I have friends that I don’t really stay in contact with anymore. I have a couple of friends from elementary and middle school that I’m still in contact with and are dear to my heart. We’ve watched each other grow from being kids. I’m thinking about my really lovely girlfriend, Jessie. I just remember crying to her and saying, “I don’t want to get any older than right now”. Like, it is terrifying to think about what’s past 14. I didn’t want to grow up. It just seemed overwhelming. And now we’re both moms with two boys and careers and big lives. You’re looking at your friends going, “God, look at this life you built”. And it’s not perfect and things happen and whatever, but I just feel grateful for these lasting friendships. I feel a little teary about it. Like, wow, look at us. A long lasting friendship is a beautiful thing.
Matchbox: The Movie is now streaming on Apple TV
Note : The information in this article is accurate as of the date of publication.
