Cody Rhodes is opening up about how a simple meeting turned into a major Hollywood opportunity.
With the upcoming Street Fighter movie set to hit theaters on October 16, the film is already drawing attention thanks to a stacked cast that includes Roman Reigns as Akuma and Rhodes stepping into the role of Guile.
But according to “The American Nightmare,” the opportunity came as a complete surprise.
Speaking in a new interview with The Breakfast Club (see video below), Rhodes recalled initially believing he was only being brought in for a potential consulting role due to his familiarity with the game.
“So, Roman Reigns has been announced as Akuma, and I thought, ‘oh, man. Dang, man. That’s awesome. Good for him,'” Rhodes said. “But also like, ‘dang, man.’ I was really happy for him, right? I didn’t think they’d be interested in anybody else from the wrestling space, but I got a call saying, ‘would you come to Legendary and meet the producer?’ (of Street Fighter) I thought it was just a general meeting. Sincerely thought it was a general meeting, and I thought best case scenario, they’re like, ‘could you consult?’ Because I played this game and I loved this game. I had a buddy who played competitively in Japan. I’m like, ‘man, I know enough. Maybe they’ll have me as a consultant. If not, great meeting. Happy to go.’”
That assumption quickly changed once Rhodes arrived at the meeting and realized this was far more than just a casual conversation.
Rhodes described the moment things escalated, from a virtual appearance by the director to an unexpected visit from a top studio executive that completely shifted the tone of the meeting.
Rhodes continued, “I get there and the director’s on Zoom, he’s in Australia. Producer’s across from me, I’m just thinking, ‘ok, cool. We’re gonna talk Street Fighter, talk 1994.’ Then they said, ‘give us a second, the head of the studio wants to come down here,’ ok, that’s cool. I like meeting people. This is a no pressure meeting for me.’ She comes in, and just like (had) all the aura and swagger you could imagine. The whole room is there, and she just hits it. She’s like, ‘hey, I know your schedule is what it is, but we really like you for the role of Guile, and we think you’d be incredible. The dates are going to be what the dates are. These guys are gonna give you the information, but I’m just happy to meet you. This is gonna be awesome.’ She leaves. So I’m like: ‘What? What are we doing here? Is this real?’ I’m also lying through my teeth a little bit because the guy’s asking me, he’s like, ‘You think WWE will be okay with that?’ ‘Yeah, yeah. They’re gonna be great. Champ’s going to leave for them, they’re gonna be great.’ Thank gosh WWE’s president Nick Khan, he knew the power of that movie. He understands, and Triple H understood. It was an easy sell. But after I left, it was all set up. There’s another wrestler in Hollywood, I’ll just leave him nameless, who called me as I’m leaving, and he goes, ‘hey, how’d that meeting go?’ Like he knew. He knew it was about to go down. So I told him for the future, I go, ‘you can tell me. Like, I’m not gonna blow it, you can tell me.’ But it was so much fun.”
A casual meeting turned into a career crossover moment.
And one Rhodes clearly won’t forget anytime soon.
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