Roman Reigns Discusses How Difficult Cutting Promos Can Be, If He Has Been Bitten By The Acting Bug

Roman Reigns spoke with Complex at the ComplexCon in Chicago about starring in "Hobbs & Shaw" with his cousin and star Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, which premieres this Friday in movie theaters.

Since he had more time to go over the script for the movie, Reigns stated that what he had to memorize does not compare to cutting a promo in the WWE. In fact, cutting a promo is hard for him, especially in front of a live audience.

"It was a different vibe being on set and obviously getting used to performing in front of this person, and that person, and your co-workers," Reigns said. "But when you're in a live environment where people can react and do anything that they want, they can throw you off your game, say things like 'you suck,' and then you think 'oh God I do suck! What do I say now? I forgot.'

"I think the live performance and just dealing with that simultaneous reaction can be different."

Reigns continued discussing how promos can be challenging, especially after wrestling a long match and having to find a way to make your character sound presentable and worthwhile to listen to after a grueling match.

"Being able to limbo through a live reaction, a live promo, and then on top of that the physicality behind it or flowing through it, it's a hell of a job," Reigns said. "A promo, a match, and then another promo and you're over here (he proceeds to start making panting noises and tries to cut a promo).

"For me, I think the realer the better. You already know, if you get into a fight, you're going to blow up. Check out the Internet right now. Two men right now are dying, they're breathing hard. We wrestle for 15, 20, 30 minutes and then you still have to talk and be presentable at that point. It comes with a lot of practice and conditioning to be able to get to that point and a bit of grooming as well."

Since "Hobbs & Shaw" is his first big blockbuster movie that he's starred in, Complex wanted to know if he's been bitten by the acting bug yet, and if so, would he be open to doing more movie roles in the future.

"I'll say I've been bitten by the acting bug," Reigns responded. "But I think with what just happened to me this past year with my health and being pulled away from the ring, I'm always going to have that love. That process that I just explained about being live and as raw as possible. If something happens, you can shake and bake and make it what you need it to be. There's something about having that ad-lib and free range that when it comes down to it, it's live. Ain't nobody stopping you now.

"I'm still in love with that aspect of the business and with that aspect of performing. But I would say, there's a future for sure. You don't fall down, you can do two takes, and that is definitely something to work with."

You can listen to the rest of Reigns' interview with Complex by clicking the video up above. If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit Complex with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.