Zac Efron and John Cena on their 'very natural' friendship, new comedy 'Ricky Stanicky'
Zac Efron and John Cena aren’t the type of buds to make up an imaginary friend to use as a scapegoat for high jinks, as the trio at the center of their new movie, “Ricky Stanicky,” did.
“I've never gone that far,” Cena, 46, says in a joint interview with Efron, 36. “I started telling everyone many years ago that I was invisible, and now they actually believe me,” Cena adds, referencing the internet’s joke that he is invisible after the wrestler told his WWE opponents in the ring, “You can’t see me.”
"When you post your interview," Cena says, "they'll say, 'Hey, why is she only talking to Zac and an empty chair?'"
You can, however, see Cena in his latest film (now streaming on Amazon Prime Video). The story is centered on lifelong buds Dean (Efron), JT (Andrew Santino) and Wes (Jermaine Fowler), who invent Ricky so they have someone to blame for their shenanigans when they’re younger – like accidentally setting a house on fire. When the trio is older, they use Ricky as an excuse to get together for concerts and trips, escaping the responsibilities of adulthood. They hire aspiring actor Rod (Cena) to play Ricky when their loved ones start getting suspicious about whether he's real.
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Efron, Cena and their castmates swiftly formed a friendship during filming.
“We had a really great time,” Efron says. “This is a particularly efficient group. We were shot out of a rocket in Australia. We all bonded very quickly, and it felt very, very natural.”
They exchange “heartfelt” texts today, Efron says. Cena, who made his WWE wrestling debut in 2002, supported his costar at the Los Angeles premiere of “The Iron Claw” in December. Cena compliments Efron’s portrayal of wrestler Kevin Von Erich as “done absolutely, perfectly correct. I used to watch World Class Championship Wrestling,” Cena says. “In seeing Zac's performance, it took me back to a nostalgic moments in my youth.”
“It was incredibly special for me,” Efron adds, “to be able to bond with John over that experience and have him come to the premiere, and his seal of approval just meant everything to me.”
Similarly, Efron felt in awe of Cena while filming "Ricky Stanicky," as Efron watched Cena parody popular songs rewritten with more sexual lyrics.
“When I was reading the script, I was already picturing John in it, and I knew he was going to crush it,” Efron says. “But the level he took it to from the first day surpassed anything I ever dreamt of.”
Director/co-writer Peter Farrelly (“Dumb and Dumber,” “There’s Something About Mary”) also envisioned Cena for the role after catching him in Max’s DC Comics series “Peacemaker.” Farrelly says he broke off a partnership with a studio because they couldn’t see Cena in the part.
“They have a lot of ideas,” Farrelly says. “But I said, No, no, no. This has got to be the guy.’ ”
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For his singing act, Rod transforms into Boy George, Billy Idol, and Cena’s favorite, Dee Snider, frontman from Twisted Sister.
"I used to listen to their cassette tape growing up as a kid," Cena says. "To be able to don the costume, it was really pretty cool. To see myself in full makeup and the wig, like, 'Wow, this is pretty close to the image I have burned in my skull,' that was pretty good."
Cena is also happy he got to pay homage to the iconic school uniform that Britney Spears immortalized in “Baby One More Time,” which will likely be a hit with millennials. Yes, his look is complete with hair pompoms and braided pigtails. The only thing missing is Cena’s performance of Spears’ debut single, released in 1998.
“We couldn’t afford Britney,” Farrelly says with a laugh. “But we also reached out to Britney and just said, ‘Hey, we're doing this thing. I hope you're cool with it.’ Because we didn't want her to be upset. She was like, ‘Great! Go for it.’”
