Roman Reigns had to learn a new way of moving to play Akuma in Street Fighter, but his long in-ring career with WWE eased part of the process.
In a recent interview with Men’s Health, Reigns explained that he did not need to completely transform his physique for the role, because Akuma has a very muscular build.
The bigger challenge, Reigns said, came in martial arts training, particularly with body control and footwork.
“I got lucky because Akuma…his physique is kind of bodybuilderesque. He’s a big brother, so he’s very muscular. That helped me out, to kind of stay in my regimen. But when you add in the martial arts, the fighting disciplines…you have to be able to have your legs in a sumo squat, but then you can pop up on your toes and also hit a unique pose with your arms. There’s so much isometric work in that. There’s so much to that body control, almost like a ballerina type of work. And the footwork was pretty extensive.”
Reigns also said his pro wrestling background made the transition to martial arts easier, though he was clear that each discipline has its own demands.
“There were a lot of parallels for me to be able to transition. I mean, they’re obviously different things you’re asked to perform, within wrestling and within martial arts. But the physical disciplines are a bit adjacent to each other, where it wasn’t as big of a gap for me to figure out. The fact I’m in professional wrestling helped, but [martial arts] is still its own rite.”
Reigns added that the discipline made him go back and look at the great martial artists, pointing to Jason Statham and Chuck Norris as performers who handled all those stunts and movies so well.
Street Fighter will hit theaters on October 16. Directed by Kitao Sakurai and filmed for IMAX, the movie takes place in 1993, and its story involves the World Warrior Tournament.
Along with Reigns as Akuma, the cast includes Cody Rhodes as Guile, Jason Momoa as Blanka and 50 Cent as Balrog.