Erick Redbeard is transitioning away from in-ring competition.
The former WWE star recently appeared on the Heated Shenanigans Podcast and shared that he has been trying to take acting more seriously as a career, even touting his appearance on the Netflix show 'I Think You Should Leave with Tom Robinson.'
"A little of everything. I've been transitioning, trying to take acting a little bit more seriously. I went a little bit away from wrestling, so working on acting classes, auditioning, just spreading my wings there. It's different. It's vulnerable, emotionally, putting myself out there, which is something you don't normally see in wrestling. You don't see guys my size, let alone on film, being emotional. It's been fun. It's an interesting journey, that's for sure. It's funny, we just did a skit that came out last year for 'I Think You Should Leave,' and they had a wrestling skit involved which is pretty funny because it's a wrestling skit but we're all -- It's on Netflix and you can check that out. But that was a fun experience, just the comedic improv side," Redbeard said.
This wasn't a decision that came out of nowhere, either. Redbeard explains that he has always loved performing, even sharing that he often had scheduling conflicts in high school due to his involvement in both football and theatre/choir.
"You know, I thought about it long and hard, and when I was a kid I loved being in theatre. Then I switched to sports and it was always a fight between my football coach in high school and my singing coach as far as I was in a small ensemble group for singing. Trying to juggle both of them was nearly impossible because we'd have a football game the night before important meet and practices, and I'd have to miss certain things. Fast forward and I concentrate on wrestling. Did it for years and I've always wanted to act and got my chance to have a good part in a movie, it was Ghosts of The Ozarks, right after my release. Basically got released and got a phone call the next day asking to be part of this film. Pretty much changed my outlook on what I want to do with my life moving forward," he said.
Still early in his acting career, Redbeard has also featured in a pair of episodes of the Paramount+ series, Mayor of Kingstown.
As for wrestling, Redbeard says that he still loves it as it combines all of his passions.
"But I still wrestle because it's fun and I still love wrestling. I love that wrestling incorporates both acting and sports and action and movement and stunts. It's a weird melding of the worlds and it's a lot easier for me to separate them now that I'm not signed to a particular company," he said.
Redbeard last wrestled on May 6 at JCW St-Ambroise 16.
Last year he spoke about a potential return to WWE. You can find his comments here.
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