When we picture a casting process in Hollywood, we often imagine days and weeks of auditions. But surprisingly, that wasn’t the case for WWE legend John Cena when he joined the casting. Fast & Furious Franchise as Jakob Toretto in the 2019 episode. Apparently, it was just a meeting with Vin Diesel for Cena that led to his unexpected casting announcement in the livestream.

According to John Cena’s interview with Josh Horowitz, Peacemaker Star revealed that the meeting with Vin Diesel was a casual get-together. After initially not having a conversation about the film, Cena admitted to being taken aback when Diesel suddenly announced his appearance in Fast & Furious 9 via an Instagram livestream.

A chance encounter with Vin Diesel changed the course for John Cena

For most Hollywood stars, casting stories are often filled with weeks of intense auditions and behind-the-scenes negotiations. But surprisingly, John Cena’s entry into the Fast & Furious Franchise was anything but conventional. According to the Argyll Actor interview with Josh Horowitz, he was invited to a casual meeting with Vin Diesel, which eventually became his ticket to Fast & Furious 9.

Apparently John Cena was completely unaware of how his casual encounter with Vin Diesel in his Toretto Dojo (Diesel’s gym) would catapult him into madness. Therefore, he recounts the strange sequence of events that led to his casting as Jakob Toretto in Fast & Furious 9Cena revealed how his simple hanging out turned into an unexpected milestone in his career.

I don’t know what led to the meeting. I got a notification that Vin wanted to meet and I said “of course, sure”. And it wasn’t about the movie, it was just that Vin Diesel wanted to meet you and that doesn’t happen to me very often, so I said yes and I met him at his Toretto Dojo where he likes to train and he has the black Charger there and Fast & Furious is on the wall.

So this place was like crazy. And I’m there and then Vin walks in and it’s true like Vin Diesel Dom Toretto and it was surreal. And Vin actually posted live after we met. So we meet and talk about life, philosophy, nothing about the movie.

John Cena explained that their casual encounter initially started with him and Vin Diesel chatting about life and his philosophy, having deep conversations that deepened the bond. He later mentioned that the actor suddenly started livestreaming their meeting. That’s when things got a little awkward for the WWE Champion, but not even in his wildest dreams could he have imagined that Diesel’s livestream would publicly announce his appearance on the show. Fast & Furious Franchise.

John Cena’s unconventional journey to his Fast & Furious debut

Instead of going through a lengthy audition and casting process, John Cena was actually informally offered his role as Jacob Toretto in Fast & Furious 9 by Vin Diesel during a livestream on his Instagram page. The WWE Champion went on to explain how Diesel invited him to a casual meeting and how that eventually led to the actor’s livestream announcing Cena’s casting, mentioning how uncomfortable and baffled he felt at the same time.

It’s almost like we’re sizing each other up, but I have no reason to size him up, so I guess I’m just being sized up and hoping not to get punched in the face. Then he just goes live on Instagram and he has like 60 million followers, so it was pretty much like, “ok, kid, you’re in.” And I look like he’s really inviting me to come in the movie, and I haven’t gotten an official job from anyone at Universal yet, but I’m apparently in the movie because I have Vin Diesel’s blessing.

I don’t say anything in the video, and this exists, it’s on his feed, you can go back and watch it. I’m sitting in the corner! He made the video and basically announced to the world that I was going to be in the franchise.

It is clear that in Hollywood, the most memorable moments sometimes happen when you least expect them. For John Cena, a casual conversation turned into a groundbreaking revelation that made him one of the most popular members of the Fast & Furious franchise. The wrestling champion then appeared in the 2019 episode and reprised his role in the 2023 sequel Fast X.

The Fast & Furious Films will be available on Peacock from January 2020.