Don't let his modesty fool you: WWE star Cody Rhodes was QB1 on the set of the Street Fighter movie, in which he plays the iconic character Guile.
“He still found a way to be QB1,” co-star Andrew Schulz said while proudly cutting off the “American Nightmare” as he explained going from QB1 to QB2 or QB3 on a movie set. Rhodes hasn't had a lot of experience in Hollywood—his first notable film role was in last year's Naked Gun reboot, playing a bartender and sharing the screen with Liam Neeson—and he knows his place. He's willing to take his reps until he eventually gets the chance to lead a movie.
“There's power in support,” Rhodes bashfully said, praising his co-stars. “In [the] sense [that] you've got Noah Centineo, Andrew Koji, Callina [Liang], that big three leading this movie. And to come in and be a supporting character was exactly how I should enter into this fray. This was the opportunity of a lifetime, role of a lifetime.”
Even if he wasn't the lead of Street Fighter, he stole the spotlight as Guile, to Schulz's point. He tried to be humble, but he knew it, too, conceding, “I found my moment.”
Schulz likened what Rhodes did to a third- or fourth-string quarterback coming into camp before taking the starter's job, saying, “He moseyed on in at QB3 or QB4, then eventually, he's out there stealing scenes. He's QB1 in his blood.”
How Street Fighter was a “real” competition to Cody Rhodes
In Street Fighter, the second World Warrior Tournament is held to try and coax Ryu (Andrew Koji) out of hiding. This brings a wide range of competitors to the arena, ranging from Balrog (50 Cent) to Guile.
It's a fierce competition, but Rhodes likened the set of Street Fighter—which features a stacked ensemble headlined by Noah Centineo and also features heavy-hitters like David Dastmalchian, Eric André, Jason Momoa, and his former WWE rival, Roman Reigns—to the World Warrior Tournament. Having so many talented actors meant you had to fight to stand out.
“The World Warrior Tournament is real in a way where you've got stand-up comedians, hip-hop artists, musicians, a sixth-generation monk; you've got all these different walks of life. Everyone was competing the same way you compete in the game, just in a collaborative effort,” he explained. “So, for me to have Kitao [Sakurai] and Cale [Boyter] shepherding this movie and moving it forward, it was perfect for me to be in the spot I was in.”
Going toe-to-toe with the “American Nightmare”
Schulz's character, Dan Hibiki, has a roller-coaster past with Guile in Street Fighter. Their first interaction descends into name-calling and shoving.
All things considered, it's a relatively short scene. However, according to Schulz, there are about “four hours on the cutting room floor” from their first interaction. The shoot wasn't supposed to be long, but Sakurai and Boyter let them film several takes.
“It's this weird thing, 'cause I'm kind of trying to tease Cody, and then Cody's teasing Ken (Centineo), and then Ken is just caught in the middle of his mayhem,” Schulz illustrated. “And credit to Kitao, the director, and Cale, the producer; they just let us shoot. That day was not supposed to be as long as it was, but we found something cool with the chemistry there.”
The best cut jokes you may never hear
Schulz hopes that some of the outtakes see the light of day down the road. He couldn't contain his laughter while trying to recall some of the “dumb” one-liners. Rhodes remembered one that came after a long day of work, and the insults had become pretty juvenile.
“I saw one; I think my bandwidth had been fully stretched. There's these really creative, clever ones [where] you're nailing it; you think you're killing it—but then at one point, I think I called Ken ‘Pee-Pee Hair,'” Rhodes revealed. “That's where you had to know, ‘Hey, he's out of them.'”
Schulz recalled, “He just looks at him and goes, ‘Hey there, Pee-Pee Hair.' And then he tries to hold it and just breaks, and we all break [character].”
All the actors were delirious at this point. Given that the “Pee-Pee Hair” line came four hours into the shoot, Schulz acknowledged that “anything creative is gone” by then. Another unused line was Rhodes calling Centineo or Schulz “a bag of milk.”
Ultimately, Rhodes was happy that they had Capcom—the company behind the Street Fighter games—on set. They could determine what did or didn't cross the line.
“We were lucky [that] we had Capcom on set. We could gauge them to see if we were outside the lines.”
Article Continues BelowLuckily, Capcom was “loving it.”
The “biggest” way WWE prepared Cody Rhodes for Street Fighter
Doing WWE—especially for as long as Rhodes has—has its benefits. It prepares actors for working on movies and TV shows. Look at the range the likes of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, John Cena, and most notably, Dave Bautista have shown.
Rhodes said that the “biggest help” WWE provided was doing in-ring promos. He has had to go back-and-forth with some of the best ever on the mic. He has had promos with the aforementioned “Final Boss” and Cena, as well as CM Punk and Seth Rollins. Rhodes also had Schulz, who was locked and loaded with lines for him, which was a great help.
“The biggest help ever was having been in there with [The] Rock or John [Cena] or, I mean, any of the masters, Seth Rollins [and] CM Punk,” he said of his former WWE rivals. “When I was coming on set, I could hear this guy [pointing to Schulz] saying, ‘I'm gonna hit him with this. I'm gonna hit him with that.' He had 'em lined up in the pocket. This guy sold out Madison Square Garden. He's a great guy. He can riff, so that made for a long but fun day.”
Street Fighter will be released on Oct. 16.