TORONTO - In recent weeks, Adam Copeland has been experiencing a phenomenon he says hasn鈥檛 happened since the 鈥90s: teenagers are recognizing him in public.
鈥淚t's been kind of surreal,鈥 the pro wrestler better known as Edge for the last quarter-century says during a virtual call.
鈥淭hey come up to me and are like, 鈥楢re you鈥?鈥 And I鈥檓 used to people saying, 鈥楢re you Edge?鈥 or 鈥楢re you Adam Copeland?鈥 But now it鈥檚, 鈥楢re you Ares?鈥欌
The Orangeville, Ont., native plays the god of war on Disney Plus series 鈥淧ercy Jackson and the Olympians,鈥 based on Rick Riordan's acclaimed series of young adult novels.
The 50-year-old says he didn鈥檛 know much about the fantasy adventure franchise before taking on the role of Ares, except that his daughters were fans. But he quickly learned how popular it was after seeing its rabid fanbase鈥檚 reaction to the British Columbia-shot show.
The first episode of 鈥淧ercy Jackson鈥 brought in 13.3 million viewers globally in its first six days on Disney Plus and Hulu in December, which Disney says placed it among its top five premieres of 2023.
While a new generation of fans is just getting to know Copeland, his turn as Ares is a welcome surprise for legions of wrestling devotees who have been following him for decades.
And the 31-time champ is full of surprises. Last year, Copeland hinted he might retire after the final match of his 25-year career with World Wrestling Entertainment, which took place Aug. 18 at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto. But he rocked the wrestling world when he debuted on rival promotion All Elite Wrestling in October.
Copeland says he seriously considered retirement once his WWE contract expired, but his friends on the AEW roster, including best pal Jay Reso (Christian Cage), helped sway him.
鈥淚 knew how much fun they were having,鈥 he says.
That, essentially, is Copeland鈥檚 guiding principle these days.
鈥淭he recurring theme of my life right now is: if it ain鈥檛 fun, I ain鈥檛 doing it.鈥
What drew him to 鈥淧ercy Jackson鈥 were two fun things: it was shot in Vancouver 鈥 鈥渙ne of my favourite cities in the world,鈥 he says 鈥 and he had the ability to add 鈥渉umorous beats鈥 while auditioning for the role of Ares.
The series follows Poseidon's demigod son Percy, played by Walker Scobell, and his friends as they trek across America in search of Zeus鈥 stolen Master Bolt when they encounter Ares on a freeway near St. Louis.
鈥淵ou hear 鈥榞od of war,鈥 and people would just assume it鈥檚 this big angry, growling guy,鈥 Copeland says. 鈥淏ut in reading the sides, I was like, 鈥楾here's way more here. There鈥檚 insecurities, there's petty jealousies, there鈥檚 very human flaws.鈥欌
Copeland says Ares鈥 vulnerability allowed him to inject the character with just the right amount of 鈥渁cidic, caustic humour,鈥 which has always been a trademark of his in-ring persona. He also had an opportunity to flex the improv skills he's honed through wrestling.
He recalls a diner scene where Ares is sitting across Percy's friend Grover, played by Aryan Simhadri, in which Copeland decided to slam the table on a whim.
鈥淐offee spilled, burgers were jumping. We finished the take, and you could hear a pin drop. Aryan, who plays Grover, was like, 鈥極h my God. You scared the hell out of me!鈥 I was like, 鈥極K, that's what I was going for.鈥 It was really fun to explore with this character because there are pretty much no handcuffs.鈥
Copeland says his acting career 鈥渇ell in my lap鈥 after he temporarily retired from wrestling in 2011 due to a neck injury. That year he was offered a role as a troubled ex-soldier in the 好色tv Showcase series 鈥淗aven," and it went well. He became a recurring character. He later portrayed a Norse warrior on History鈥檚 2017 drama 鈥淰ikings.鈥
For his next acting gig, he鈥檇 love to join yet another Disney-owned franchise.
鈥淚t鈥檚 just a matter of, again, what鈥檚 going to be fun? Would it be fun to play Sabretooth in X-Men? Heck yeah, it would. That sounds like a blast. But I take it as it comes. I don't put any pressure on myself to go knocking down doors for the next gig.鈥
Still, he isn鈥檛 quite ready to pull a Dwayne Johnson and become a full-time actor. Copeland鈥檚 got plenty of bouts left in the ring. He says he鈥檚 thrilled to work with the AEW roster, which is stacked with names he鈥檚 never wrestled, including Jonathan David Good, known in the ring as Jon Moxley, and Nuufolau Joel Seanoa, or Samoa Joe.
鈥淚t allows me to try different things that I wouldn't have tried in my matches before. When I was with WWE and how I was being used, it was basically, just come back and do the greatest hits. And that's great. But it also gets boring, and I like challenges.鈥
The roster also boasts The Hardy Boyz, who were longtime foes of Copeland and Reso in WWE. Fans have been clamouring for the four to recreate their classic 鈥淭ables, Ladders, and Chairs鈥 matches from the early aughts 鈥 essentially the WWE鈥檚 version of a demolition derby, where all the titular objects are used as weapons during the match.
But Copeland isn鈥檛 as enthused about that prospect.
鈥淧eople say (they want to see it), but no, actually stop and think about it for a second. We were in our early 20s when we did those matches. We鈥檙e in our 50s now. Leave it in a very good place in memory, and let us do what we do now, which is tell better stories.鈥
Copeland thinks about how he'd like his own story to end 鈥 for real 鈥 in the squared circle. He doesn't know who he'd face, but he knows where it would happen.
鈥淚t would be really cool if we could do it at Maple Leaf Gardens. That would be the place. That's where I saw my first wrestling show. I can still picture it. I still know where my seat was. The opening match was Tony 鈥楥annonball鈥 Parisi versus Rene Goulet.鈥
However, he says that鈥檚 still far off. Right now, he鈥檚 enjoying himself too much, both in the ring and on screen, to slow down.
鈥淧eople come up to me and say, 鈥業t looks like you're having fun.鈥 I am.鈥
This report by 好色tvwas first published Jan. 31, 2024.
