Adam "Edge" Copeland stars in Money Plane, a new action/heist flick about a team of criminals who must rob a flying casino, the eponymous plane. Despite its outlandish premise, the film has its tongue planted firmly in cheek, with co-stars Kelsey Grammer, Thomas Jane, and Denise Richards clearly having a delightful time in the jolly thriller.
For his part, Copeland never intended to become a Hollywood actor. As far back as he can remember, he wanted to be a wrestler. He achieved his dream, becoming a marquee WWE star, though he had to retire after injuries and numerous surgeries took a severe toll on his body. After hanging up his WWE belt, he moved onto acting, thinking he would never wrestle again. Against all odds, "Edge" would return to the ring nine years later, with the popular wrestler revealing himself at Royal Rumble 2020. Today, he has two careers: Edge, the wrestler, and Adam Copeland, the burgeoning movie star.
While promoting the release of Money Plane, Adam "Edge" Copeland spoke to Screen Rant about his work on the film and his career across both Hollywood and wrestling. He talks about how he chooses what roles to play and shares his earliest inspirations for becoming a wrestler. He also discusses his deep-rooted love and appreciation for Kelsey Grammar and what an honor it was to work alongside the erstwhile Frasier star.
Money Plane is out now on all digital platforms.
This movie has a jolly sense of humor. One of my favorite things about it is that it doesn't take itself too seriously. So many action movies these days are so grim. This has its moments, but it's also, like, "Hey man, let's just have a good time!" Is that something that drew you to the project?
It absolutely was. Outside of working with Kelsey Grammer. I enjoy the action movies that have an element of tongue-in-cheek. That, to me, makes some of the violence much more digestible. That's something that I knew was in the script. It was also something that I knew, if I went there, it would be okay. It was a huge drawing point for me. I grew up loving Die Hard and the Speed movies and Point Break. Movies where you can just turn off your brain, just for a little bit. Especially in these times, when everything is so up in the air and crazy and unprecedented. To be able to just go, "Alright, I need to turn my brain off and not think about anything too heavy for a little bit..." Like, right now, I just discovered What We Do in the Shadows. And I just can't wait until I get the girls to bed and I can go, "I'm gonna laugh for half an hour about these vampires living in Staten Island." You know what I mean? We need that right now. We did this movie pre-pandemic, but to me, even more so now, we just need stuff like this. I'd like to think that this movie could be that, even if only for an hour and a half.
You mentioned the delight, the excitement of getting to work with Kelsey. Did he live up to your expectations?
It really did. That can be dangerous, right? Because you do have these expectations. There's a little bit of backstory on this. The first show that I ever truly sat and watched with my mom that I was old enough to grasp its humor and enjoy it with her was Cheers. Her favorite actor, without a doubt, nobody came close, was Kelsey Grammer. So we watched Cheers and then we watched Frasier together. She passed from cancer, and even while going through chemo, all she wanted to do was go home and watch Frasier. So that's what we would do. She would go through six hours of chemo, and then we would go home and watch Frasier, and it would just make her laugh. Doing exactly what I hope this movie can do for some people, like that, right? So when I read the script for Money Plane, and it was fun and interesting. But then I found out Kelsey Grammer was playing the villain, I was like, "Yup, I'm in." I just found out I got cleared to wrestle, something I was told was an impossibility. Then they bring me a movie with Kelsey Grammer attached to it. Clearly, my mom is somewhere, pulling strings. Then, to sit there and share scenes with that guy, I mean, talk about being a student and getting to go to school. I got to sit across from him as a peer and hear that voice... I was a little kid again, for a minute. It was just so much fun to be able to pick his brain and watch his process, to see what a pro he was. He's just a classy man. It was a really fun experience.
Did you get to, I dunno, take him to dinner or anything, or did you just have to pull as much time as you could in between takes to try and just, like, hang out?
We didn't go to dinner or anything like that. I didn't want to bombard him, but at the same time, I wanted to let him know how much I was appreciating this. That was really fun for me. I've been really lucky. If I look at wrestling, I got teamed with Hulk Hogan. I got to wrestle Ric Flair. Then, in acting, I've been able to share scenes with someone like Kelsey. If you had told 13-year-old Adam that all these things would happen, I would say you are absolutely insane.
When you were a kid, did you want to be a movie star or a wrestler?
I never had aspirations to be an actor. For me, it was wrestling from the point I could remember. From the first time I saw it. I can truly say, it crystallized that it was what I needed to do. And that's all I ever wanted. That was my entire focus. I never had thoughts of acting. It was only this larger-than-life comic book/rock show/athletic performance/theater/soap opera, all thrown into one fondue pot. To me, that was it. When I was forced to retire, I had to pretty quickly come to terms with that. Acting fell in my lap and made it easier to come to terms with it. It was still a creative outlet, it's still got a creative glut. I didn't get backed up. I was able to get those creative juices flowing. And I fell in love with it, I really did. Then I started watching movies and pulling these performances and trying to pull them apart and understand the layers and choices and why they were made. Just like I used to do with wrestling matches. Then I realized I was becoming as passionate for acting as I used to be for wrestling. That was an epiphany. I never thought I would find something I enjoyed as much as I enjoyed wrestling. I just happened to be lucky enough to find two things, when a lot of people don't even find that one thing that they love to that extent, and I did.
That's great. So, as an actor, well, you're doing both now, I'm glad you're back in the ring. But as an actor, you've been "first on the call sheet." That's gotta be huge for you. Do you have a next ambition in this trade, a new set of goal posts?
I can't say that I've mapped out a plan, per se. I know there's shows that I love, and I look at shows and I look at some of the performances, the stories, and the scripts, and I'm like... I watch Better Call Saul, and I'm just like, "Man, that would be fun." So I think I just look at things like that. I look at shows that I'm a fan of, and then go, "Huh, I wonder if there's ever a part..." (Laughs) That's really how I look at it right now. I haven't sat down with a battle plan. I've really just said, "Can we keep our ear to the ground on those?" And that's kind of been the extent of it so far, which is how I ended up on Vikings and things like that. It's not like wrestling where I had this grand plan that you never know can possibly work. Even after nine years, I'm still pretty new at this. I'm navigating it as I go. But it's also really fun, a fun prospect.
When you're doing a movie and you've got a fight scene, and the fight coordinator asks you to do a signature wrestling move, are you like, "Hey, man, c'mon." Or are you like, "Okay, hell yeah, let's do it!" Are you protective of that, do you compartmentalize the two crafts?
(Laughs) It depends on the project, I guess. For Money Plane, it could have worked! Because of the tongue-in-cheek aspect, I think it could have worked. For Vikings? No. I'm not gonna hit a spear, or body slam. Not there. I think it depends from project to project. If it can add an element for the fans watching, to go, "Oh, awesome!" And it would fit? Great! So I'd be open to that. Like I said, I think it could have been Money Plane. But it's kind of impossible within the confines of the cockpit, you know? With an actor, Casey, who's six foot six.
I feel like it must be the intimidating thing in the world for a director to ask The Rock to do the eyebrow thing.-
(Laughs) Yeah, probably!
So, now that you're back in wrestling, the hot thing for the past year or so has been WWE vs AEW. It's kind of like the glory days of the mid-1990s, when I was a little kid, when it was WWF vs ECW. I know some people are happier about it than others, so do you have an opinion on this new, fan-focused renaissance of wrestling?
I think competition in anything is always a good thing. I think it forces people to up their game and not rest on their laurels. I think, if I'm looking at it from the performer's aspect, it's another place to be able to ply your trade, and that's amazing. That's never a bad thing. Just imagine if there was only one studio, if all there was was MGM. I like the fact that there's a bunch of different studios, and I think the same goes for wrestling. I think it ups everyone's game. As a wrestling fan, that's never a bad thing! To have, you know, a lot of different options. Now's a great time to be a wrestling fan. It's a really good time to be a performer, too. I look at it from the aspect of, I'm someone who always wants to be the best. I always want my character to stand out. That's even more so if there's more competition. Personally, I think it's a good thing. The era that I grew up, there was all kinds of different promotions. That was always fun and exciting, to go to the local variety store and pick up these wrestling magazines and see these wrestlers who I'd never seen before, but now I knew they were out there, because of these magazines. That, to me, was really fun. Then, when they'd eventually make it to the WWE, and I'd see them for the first time, I thought, "Oh, I kind of know this person! I know this character!" I miss that. I think it's changed, definitely. But the point being, I think competition is good.
You mentioned being a huge fan even as a boy, was there a single person, one wrestler, for whom you felt, "I want to be that guy!"
The first guy that I remember was Roddy Piper. But as a kid, I didn't like Roddy, because he was doing his job. (Laughs) He wasn't supposed to be liked! But then I saw Hulk Hogan, and I was just, like, what is going on here? This guy is the Incredible Hulk come to life! This guy is Thor come to life! I could go down to Maple Leaf Gardens, and if I get the right seat, there's a possibility that I can shake that dude's hand. It was the energy, it was the eyes, it was all of these things. As a kid, I saw it, and something in my brain was either initiated or broken. I don't know which! (Laughs) It was from that point forward that I said, "I'm gonna do this."
Money Plane is out now on all digital platforms.