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The Miz goes from WWE superstar to action movie star in “The Marine 3: Homefront”

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Jake (The Miz) is a Marine returning home in "The Marine 3: Homefront".

For someone who got his start in the entertainment industry on The Real World, Mike “The Miz” Mizanin has come along way since debuting in WWE. He’s gone from Tough Enough competitor to WrestleMania main eventer, having held almost every title in WWE including the coveted WWE Championship. This week, The Miz adds another accolade to his resume as he stars in WWE Studios‘ The Marine 3: Homefront, arguably the best installment in The Marine franchise thus far. Just days after the film’s Blu-ray/DVD release, The Miz talks to Wrestling with Pop Culture about his transition to acting, his hopes for WrestleMania and his recent endorsement by “The Nature Boy” Ric Flair.

You transitioned from The Real World to WWE and now you’re starring in your first film. What has that experience been like for you?

It’s incredible. I sit here and look back on my life and I’m like, “Oh, my God. Look at all this stuff you’ve done.” It all started with The Real World. If I had never made it onto The Real World, I don’t think any of this would have been possible. So I always thank Bunim/Murray, as well as MTV, because it opened my eyes to say, “You know what? I can do anything I want with my life.” That started with WWE saying I could do this. No matter what anyone said about me not being big enough or I’m not athletic enough, I was like, “Yes, I can.” Now I get the opportunity to star in an action flick where I play with guns, I have fight scenes and there are cool explosions. It’s amazing and surreal that this is my life.

How would you say being a WWE superstar prepared you for being an action movie star?

Jake (The Miz) enjoys time with friends and family, not knowing he will soon be coming to their rescue.

In WWE that’s what we are, we are action stars. We perform in front of 16,000 people each and every night, whether it’s on Raw, SmackDown or WWE live events. We have WrestleMania 29 coming up at MetLife Stadium April 7 where there’s going to be 80,000 to 100,000 people we’re performing in front of. It’s nonstop everyday that we’re in front of a camera, that I’m being The Miz, where I’m this cocky, arrogant, egotistical jerk, I guess you could say. But now, it’s funny, people are actually cheering me. Normally they’d be booing me, but now I’m their cocky, arrogant, egotistical jerk and it’s been fun. You only get one take in WWE; you don’t get five or six or ten takes like you do in movies. Even though there are five, six, ten takes, I only needed one to be quite honest.

You clearly have become more of a fan favorite as of late. What would you attribute that to the most?

I think it’s the time I’ve spent in WWE. Fans are really starting to respect the fact that I’ve built myself up. I didn’t just walk in and all of a sudden be successful. I had to work for it. I think they like people that are hard workers and that’s what they are drawn to.

Ric Flair has recently given you his endorsement, going so far as to pass his figure-four leglock on to you. How does it feel to have someone like that in your corner?

The Miz utilizes his WWE training as an action hero in "The Marine 3: Homefront".

Um, awesome. Whooo! Are you kidding me? In my wildest dreams as a kid you could have never told me that I’d be strutting, having a whoo-off, putting on a figure-four with Ric Flair right there passing it on to me. It’s incredible and surreal. As a kid, whooing and strutting where what I would do. I loved Ric Flair and now him being my friend and mentor, and coming to my corner to help me out, passing on the figure-four to me, it’s incredible and amazing. I mean, he’s a two-time Hall of Famer.

Last year he was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame for the second time as a member of the Four Horsemen. If he were to assemble a new Horsemen-like faction, who do you think the other members might be?

Ric Flair, myself, clone another version of myself and clone me again. Then there’d be four of me and I’d be the Four Horsemen of just me.

With The Marine 3 out, the fans behind you and Ric Flair supporting you, you definitely have a lot of momentum going into WrestleMania. Yet you don’t currently have a match scheduled for this big event. Do you have any idea who you might be facing this year?

He may be an arrogant jerk in WWE, but The Miz saves the day in "The Marine 3: Homefront".

People are scared of me, bro. What can I say? But I couldn’t agree with you more. I’m on a roll right now and this WrestleMania is one of the biggest ones we’ll ever have. You’ve got The Rock and [John] Cena in the main event. CM Punk vs. ‘Taker – CM Punk‘s been on a hot streak as of late as one of the longest reigning WWE Champions ever and now he’s going up against the Undertaker in his prime. So that’s going to be an incredible match. [Jack] Swagger vs. Alberto Del Rio for the World Heavyweight Championship…

Now I’m looking for a spot on that card that will give me the opportunity to steal the show, to be the person everyone’s talking about. That’s what I’m looking forward to. Come one, come all. I don’t care who I’m up against, I’m going to win, I’m going to become undefeated once again, I’ll be 4-0 after this year.

Given the positive response The Marine 3 has been getting, do you think you will be doing any more films in the near future?

I’m actually getting ready to start filming another movie that will be on ABC Family during the 25 Days of Christmas called Christmas Bounty.

You were also in a scene in The Campaign with Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis that was cut from the theatrical release. Do you know why it was cut?

I actually had lines in that, but they cut them all so it looks like I’m a featured extra. I was like, “Oh, come on!” But Jay Roach, the director, actually emailed me, which I thought was a tremendous thing because he didn’t have to do that, to say, “Due to time constraints and to move the movie along, we had to cut your scenes.” And that wasn’t a problem. It was cool. It was very, very nice of him to do that. But it was an honor to watch Will Ferrell in action. He’s an incredible actor and I’ve always loved his comedy.

www.wwe.com/superstars/themiz

Ashley Bell squares off with The Miz in “The Marine 3: Homefront”

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In The Marine 3: Homefront, the latest installment in WWE Studios‘ Marine franchise, Ashley Bell plays the younger sister of Jake, played by WWE superstar Mike “The Miz” Mizanin. Though this is her first film acting alongside a WWE wrestler, it’s not Bell’s first time working with WWE as she was also the star of last year’s The Day (read my reviews here and here). With her horror sequel The Last Exorcism Part II being released in theaters last Friday and The Marine 3 hitting stores last Tuesday, Bell is a busy actress who clearly has a thing for the horror and action genres. Wrestling with Pop Culture had a chance to talk to her just before she heads to South by Southwest for the premieres of her next two movies.

You must be a busy lady right now with The Last Exorcism Part II coming out last Friday and The Marine 3: Homefront being released four days later.

Yes! It’s been really fun and crazy.

When The Last Exorcism was released in 2010 it did really well. How has the sequel been received so far?

I haven’t heard that much about it. I’ve been in this publicity whirlwind; I was promoting The Last Exorcism and flying around doing local press for it, I was in a Mardi Gras parade, I was at Portland Comic Con, now I’m in New York doing press for The Marine and from New York I fly to Austin for the opening of The Bounceback, which is a romantic comedy I did. It premieres at South by Southwest this Saturday.

The Marine 3 is your second movie for WWE Studios. Did that come about because of your performance in The Day?

I did The Day, which was a post-apocalyptic action film, and that premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and WWE acquired it. It was really fun to get to work with them throughout post-production and to do promotion for that. I was at SummerSlam, which was my first ever wrestling event, and it was so much fun. I had a chance to go in the ring with Mike and Wade Barrett, who both couldn’t have been nicer. They were going into production for The Marine and I got a chance to meet with the director, Scott Wiper, and I just loved his take on the story. I read the script and thought it was really compelling and the arguments that Neal McDonough, the villain, has are so crazy because they’re partly true, but then he just goes over the top and takes it too far. When you’re reading the script it’s like, “He does make a point,” then it just goes too far. And I like that character of Lilly. She’s a hostage, but she isn’t a damsel in distress. She fights, she looks for the air holes and I like the spirit she has.

This is also your first time starring in a movie with a WWE superstar, right?

Yes, it is. Mike was amazing, and if I didn’t say that he would body slam me.

But you would say that anyway, right?

Lilly (Ashley Bell) looks for some alone time with her boyfriend (Jeffrey Ballard) before chaos ensues in "The Marine 3: Homefront".

I actually begged him to body slam me but he didn’t because he said it would be very painful. And I do think he’s right about that. But working with Mike was incredible. Here he is playing an American hero, a Marine, and when he was filming he spent so much time working with the troops. I also have spent some time with wounded warriors and when I spent time with former Marines and they found out I was doing The Marine, they said, “Who’s playing the Marine? Is he going to train with real Marines? Is he going to get it right?” Mike actually had real former Marines on set showing him how to hold a gun, showing him how to go through a building, how to de-arm situations. It was really cool to watch that accuracy portrayed.

The Marine 3 is not only your second WWE film, but also your second WWE film with Michael Eklund. You and Eklund had the strongest performances in The Day, and in The Marine you find yourselves once again on opposing sides of the fight. What was it like working with him again?

Michael is an incredible actor. For both scripts, you read that character, then Michael comes to set and brings a completely difference perspective and just electrifies the scene. It’s been great to work with him twice. He’s been a villain in both films we did together.

The Marine 3 is obviously a sequel in a franchise that has also included films starring John Cena and Ted DiBiase and The Last Exorcism Part II is a sequel. Do you foresee there being a sequel to The Day so we can find out what happens to your character?

Lilly (Ashley Bell) welcomes her brother Jake (The Miz) home in "The Marine 3: Homefront".

I do hope for a sequel to The Day. I loved playing that character of Mary. I’d done my own physicality for The Last Exorcism and they said, “You’re going to have to do all your own stunts [for The Day]. You’re going to have to lose weight. You’re going to have to work with a shotgun. You’re going to have to run out of burning buildings in a wet dress in 18-degree weather.” They almost tried to talk me out of it, but I replied back, “You haven’t given me a reason to not do this. This sounds like a dream come true.” I love the character of Mary and I bother the producers and director every couple months to see if there’s a shot of going back to explore that.

Sounds like you don’t mind roughing it up a little bit. Any chance you might consider training to compete in a WWE ring someday?

Oh, I’d get smushed! It was fun to go in the ring for SummerSlam and I like WWE’s films. I like their aesthetic and working with Michael Luisi for The Day, I love that ending, I love the story that the film told, I love the plight of the characters, I love that there were real characters and there was action mixed in with that. With The Marine, this is a fast-paced action movie; it’s cut beautifully, Mike did an incredible job, Neal is remarkable, it’s a fun, entertaining action movie. I grew up watching heroines in action movies, so to be part of this, I really got caught up watching it.

Even though you have no plans to wrestle, given that you’ve enjoyed working with WWE so much on these two films, do you see yourself doing more WWE films? If so, are there any particular superstars you’d like to work with?

What always excites me about a project is the script, especially this time around working with Scott Wiper. If there’s another way to collaborate again, that would be incredible. Being on an action set is a lot of fun. My childhood was spent running around with Nerf guns in the back yard, so to play with grenade launchers and rifles and run around on an abandoned cruise ship was like recess for me. If the right project comes up, that would be great. But I feel like I can’t be anybody but Team Miz. My loyalty is to Mike; he’s my older brother in this film and when he says he’s awesome, he means it.

After this weekend’s premiere of The Bounceback, what else do you have coming out in the near future?

The Bounceback is going to be premiering at South by Southwest as is a film I did called Chasing Shakespeare, which is like a romantic epic. I’m really excited about that film and I’m also stepping behind the camera and directing a documentary called Love and Bananas about the plight of Asian elephants in Cambodia. In Cambodia we were in convoys, had security detail and were up in helicopters going through the jungle, so it was a real-life action movie.