Rumble imagines a world where massive monsters have become the world's most popular entertainers, starring in a global wrestling league. One of the most famous wrestlers in Monster Wrestling is Tentacular, a haughty and bombastic brawler brought to life with gusto by Terry Crews. After earning a win early in the film, Tentacular indulges in his celebrity status and soon becomes the film's antagonist. The role gave Crews the chance to fully embrace a more villainous sensibility for the rest of the cast to play against in Rumble.
During an exclusive interview with CBR, Terry Crews broke down the joys of getting to be at the center of a large-scale animated film like Rumble, shared why it matters to him to be involved in projects aimed at entertaining entire families, and detailed what it was like to harness his inner "Dark Terry" for the role of Tentacular.
CBR: First off, congratulations on the film!
Terry Crews: Oh, thank you. First of all, it's a dream come true to be a major character in a big animated movie. I'm a little kid from Flint, Michigan, and in my head, I've never gone past 14 years old. So this is a dream of mine. I'm going, "Wow, to watch myself be this character," and it's animated so well and so brilliantly -- it's just so much fun. I can't believe it. I'm literally pinching myself all the time.
Not only is this a massive animated film, but you're a pro wrestler on the biggest scale possible. You have experience with the WWE, you almost even became a wrestler. This really does seem like the kind of role where you get to knock out multiple dreams at once.
Oh man, yeah. That's the thing. This is why you should never give up. This is why you should never, ever, ever give up because there's always a way to do something. I remember people who wanted to get into sports and they weren't quite good enough -- they got into coaching, and now they're owners. It's like, you turn around and there's always a way to be involved with something. I've done some things with the WWE in regards to promotion... I love what it stands for. It's weird and wonderful at the same time because you notice every generation has its heroes -- from Hulk Hogan to the Rock. Now in this movie, there's Roman Reigns, who's the biggest wrestler on Earth. I'm a big fan of Roman, and I'm glad I got a chance to work with him, even in this capacity.
There is a certain type of Terry Crews character in film and television. But in this film as Tentacular, you get to use that energy as a heel instead of a hero. What's it like mining that energy and bombast for a more villainous role, especially after so many heroic parts?
Well, you got to know this... The fact that I smile and I'm nice is so that I can stay really far away from the Dark Terry. There is a multiverse where Dark Terry is walking around smacking people. It's not good. You don't want to be near Dark Terry. Dark Terry is bad, man. I hide dark Terry very, very low. When he comes out, get out the way! It's horrifying and it's not good for anybody involved. I lock him up. You got to lock him up and throw away the key.
This is one of those films that's one of those concepts of, "Oh, if I'd been a kid right now when this is coming out, I would've lost my mind." What do you think it is that at the core of Rumble that makes it so fun and appealing for kids and adults?
Well, I think again, it really touches on all the things. The reason why we love sports, why we love wrestling, why we love entertainment, why we love animation. It's a perfect blend and mix of all these things. When you're talking about today's climate in entertainment, you're talking about segmented populations. You have entertainment for 3-year-olds, 7-year-olds, 14-year-olds, 30-year-olds. Everyone's in a different room on an iPad watching something else, whereas [Rumble] is the kind of movie that touches on everybody, where everyone can watch. I've always been and always wanted to be a family entertainment guy because it truly is an underserved market. When you look at family entertainment, things that everybody can watch together, it's rare. This is why I host America's Got Talent. This is why movies like Rumble work because we need more of it. There's just not enough.
You're right. This is very much the kind of movie a 4-year-old and a 65-year-old are going to love on the same level, which is a genuine rarity these days.
Exactly. There's just not enough. I'm so glad... This is why I love streaming. The fact that it can be in more households and more people can see it at once. Paramount+ is going to work for so many people... It's just wild.
Rumble is streaming now on Paramount+.