John Cena used a "prosthetic" nose to get punched in the face during 'Jackpot!'
John Cena taught Awkwafina how to punch him in the face
The WWE legend turned actor is used to getting hurt in the wrestling ring, and while he helped coach his co-star Awkwafina to land a believable strike, he still took precautions on the set of their new action comedy.
He told The Hollywood Reporter: "I’ve had my nose broken in real life and this was a prosthetic so that was fantastic.
"I really think the setup for it was fun and when she actually did it and we did the gag, it looked great and it plays well in the movie."
He advised Awkwafina to simply "swing for the fences", and has revealed she did exactly that.
The new film, which has been directed by Paul Feig, explores a world where a Grand Lottery has been set up in California which allows the losers to kill the winner before sundown and claim the multi-billion dollar jackpot.
Awkwafina plays the lottery winner while Cena stars as her accomplice, and he thinks their respective roles play to their respective "strong assets" as performers.
He explained: "She was playing an anxious character who didn’t know what the hell was going on, and I get to be a peaceful, soothing voice of reason.
"And I think those are both really strong assets of our wheelhouse so we kind of just got to be ourselves and have jokes and funniness around that.”
Meanwhile, filmmaker Feig was delighted by Cena's approach to acting, where he doesn't mind looking "silly" if it works for the role.
He said: "The first time I talked to him, the first thing he said was, ‘Don’t think you have to make me look cool.’
"And I was like well that I kind of love, because that’s all I want out of my comedy stars, and you never know with a big action star, if they’re going to be like, ‘I won’t do this, I won’t do that, I won’t look silly.’ And he just does it all.”