Sami Zayn arguably did some of his best work on the microphone in WWE during The Bloodline storyline over the past two years.
RAW Superstar Sami Zayn was a recent guest on Out of Character with Ryan Satin. When asked if acting is something he’d like to do following his work in The Bloodline story, Zayn admitted that is something he’s very interested in.
“Yeah, it’s something I’m very interested in,” Sami Zayn said. “The more I got to flex those chops a little bit with that storyline because of the level of depth and the range of emotions, I got really bit by the bug.
“I was like, oh man, this feels great. I love it, I love wrestling stuff where I can really act more. I’d love to act. It kind of opened my door a little bit for me a little bit. Yeah, it’s definitely something I’m interested in. How interested I am and how far I pursue it? I don’t know, but it’s definitely something I’m interested in.”
A funny story
Zayn went on to tell a funny story about messing up an interview with an agent who didn’t really know who he was.
“I’ve explored that a little bit. I can tell you a funny anecdote real quick though,” Sami Zayn said. “I talked to an agent recently, but the agent was not necessarily — didn’t really know my body of work, you know? It’s not someone that saw me and was like, hey, you’re really good. Are you interested in this?
“It was somebody I knew put me in touch with somebody, and I don’t know, maybe they were talking to me as a favor. I really don’t know, but I had this conversation with an agent. But it was really interesting because, you know, I’ve kind of somehow reached the top of this industry and you kind of take that as a given in a weird way.
Sami Zayn has a way with words
“You kind of forget all the hurdles along the way when you’re here because you’ve kind of made it and you’re accepted. But as I’m having this meeting with this agent, I didn’t treat it like a job interview which maybe I should’ve. I was really just talking to him like I’m talking to you. He’s like, ‘So you have acting experience or anything like that?’
“And instead of saying, ‘Well, I’ve been wrestling for 20 years. Every component of it has something to do with acting and body language and physical mannerisms and storytelling so the manner I’m speaking in, I’ve been acting for 20 years.’ Now that would’ve been a great answer. Instead, I said, ‘Nope!’
“So then he was just like, ‘Oh, okay. I kind of see what I’m dealing with. Let’s reconvene another time’ or whatever, and I was like, ‘Oh yeah, yeah, yeah. Sure’ and I hang up the phone and I go, ‘God, what is this?’ That didn’t go very well.’ What is this feeling I’m feeling? I go, oh my God, rejection. I haven’t felt rejected in so long, because I’m married so I’m not getting rejected by women, you know?
“And I’m successful in my industry, so I’m not getting rejected and told ‘No, you’re not good enough’ in wrestling. But now it’s like when you venture outside of your comfort zone and try to tackle this whole new medium. There’s new gatekeepers that you gotta prove yourself to and all this thing. It’s like, it was just a real interesting experience. I don’t know. It was really funny.”
A genuine interest in pursuing the craft
When asked if that experience discouraged him from acting in the future, Zayn said it hadn’t as he’s genuinely interested in pursuing the craft.
“No, no, it hasn’t,” Sami Zayn said. “What I mean is I just don’t know my level of investment or genuine interest or what my motives actually are if I’m being totally honest. If I’m genuinely just interested in pursuing the craft, then it doesn’t need to be for a Hollywood movie. Then I could do local theater, I could do — that’s almost more intriguing to me in some ways.
“Genuinely learning the craft. But is that really what I’m interested in? Or is it an egotistical component that like, well, I’d like to leverage this popularity with WWE. I’d like to do shows that I’m a fan of or work with people that I’m a fan of. And it’s all in a bigger sphere so I need to kind of sort out what’s really at the bottom of some of this interest.”
READ MORE: Sami Zayn: WWE Superstar Spectacle Had ‘Probably A Top Five Crowd’ I’ve Worked For
What do you make of Sami Zayn’s comments? Would you like to see him explore acting in the future? Let us know your thoughts by sounding off in the comments section below.
If you use any of these quotes, please credit Out of Character with a link to this article for the transcription.
