Shawn Michaels Discusses Playing Abusive Stepfather In Film Role
In the 11th installment of the Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling’s FEATURE SERIE, they welcome WWE Hall of Famer, “The Showstopper”, “Mr. WrestleMania” and Former WWE World Champion, “The Heartbreak Kid” Shawn Michaels. HBK is making his TMPToW debut to promote his role in the film “90 Feet From Home” where Michaels tackles a very serious part playing an abusive and alcoholic father of a former Major League Baseball player. The film also stars screen veterans Dean Cain and Eric Roberts. In addition to discussing the movie, HBK also discusses his current job in NXT as a trainer and how important it is to have one of the top stars of the late 1990s and 2000s prepare the next generation of superstars for in ring success. The full episode can be downloaded at this link:
90 Feet From Home Film:
“It was very different and way out of my wheelhouse and kind of my comfort zone and especially now. I’ve mentioned in a few of these interviews and of course those who are familiar with my wrestling career and even the bad guy version of me there was still a little bit of fun and some charm and almost a “Dennis The Menace” quality to the bad guy version of me and this was totally different than anything that I’ve ever done. It was clearly evil and a great deal of hatred and dysfunction and honestly, that was the most intimidating part of all of this and especially now at this point in my life. I am a relatively happy-go-lucky 53 year old man so the later version of Jimmy Devine I felt was something that I would be more comfortable with but the early version with the violence and abuse and honestly the hatred and vitriol that this character has was something that I don’t know if I’ve ever even at my worst had maybe quite that bad. So that was the most challenging part and through this experience trying to create that was a bit of an uncomfortable process I’d have to admit.”
Channeling a non-traditional role as an abusive step-father:
“The one thing that I guess helps me is that there is a yin and a yang to everything. For humility and all of those things there is evil, there is hate, there is pride and I really don’t think you can appreciate the one truly unless you have a real understanding of the other so from that standpoint I was certainly at peace within myself of doing the role but honestly the challenge was knowing and wondering if I could commit to going there in a very uninhibited no hold barred way. I was very concerned because I know you bring out qualities that even if they are in all of us, a majority of us work all of our lives to get away from those and keep them under wraps and secure them in a little lock box in our heart or our mind or something and you work very hard to not allow them to get out until a time when you are supposed to. It is a bit kind of strange but I’ve told everybody that I certainly don’t have the experience to be able to turn something like that on and off and it is a switch where I haven’t been acting long enough to manufacture that on command. For me it was a process of trying to get there and allow yourself to engage in this side of you that you have really have never been in touch with and certainly those areas that you have at one time in your life you’ve tried to distance yourself so far from that it is kind of strange to want to allow yourself to willingly go there.”
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