Why was John Cena strongly advised to reject ‘Barbie?’ His refusal to heed the warning, explained

Schitt’s Creek star Dan Levy regretting his decision of not playing one of the Kens in Barbie? Totally understandable given the monumental success of the film. But to hear that John Cena, who had a cameo in the Warner Bros. production, would have not been a part of the film had he listened to the advice of instantly shooting down the offer? I have never been a bigger fan of the WWE wrestler’s devil-may-care attitude.

In the film, Cena appears as Kenmaid, a merman Ken, alongside Dua Lipa for less than a minute. But every point about Barbie, no matter what screentime it got, has attracted major praise, was the biggest 2023 box office winner, and is already the Best Picture Oscar winner even though the Academy Awards is still weeks away. But despite early speculations promising a successful future for the Greta Gerwig project, its success was never written in stone. So, when Cena was offered to play a cameo in the film by Margot Robbie (when he was filming Fast X next to the Barbie set), an agency advised him against accepting the same.

“[The agency is] just going on what they know. And what they know is, ‘This entity, this commodity gravitates toward these things, we should stay in this lane.’ But I’m not a commodity. I’m a human being, and I operate under the construct of every opportunity is an opportunity,” Cena shared during his appearance on The Howard Stern Show, adding that he instantly said yes to the role after Robbie explained he would be involved in the making of Barbie for just half a day.

“But I think the perspective from an agency standpoint was, ‘This is beneath you,’ which I get that. But also to the agency’s credit, immediately they acquiesced, and I was like, ‘No we’re going to do it,’ but all they can do is offer their guidance.”

Cena appreciates the said guidance and understands that it was driven by the motivation to protect his career, which, for the agency, meant ensuring that his accepting minor roles don’t “take [him] out of these lead lap slots.” But he functions on a different belief system — “that good work gets you another chance.” Seeing that the former rapper’s acting star is constantly on the rise in Hollywood, the philosophy obviously works for him.