John Cena says Optimus Prime was his favourite Transformer as a child.
The ‘Bumblebee’ actor admitted while he "should" pick the title character from the new blockbuster prequel – in which he plays evil Sector 7 agent Jack Burns – he was always drawn to the "good guys" whether it was watching WWE or TV and movies.
He told the Toronto Sun newspaper: "I was the right age for it, but I was possibly a little bit at the wrong time. I grew up with four other brothers and we had to fight for everything we had in our house.
"I had a wonderful childhood, but it’s not like it was overflowing with gifts and presents, so we had to use our imaginations in certain circumstances.
"But my favourite, and I know I should say Bumblebee, really was Optimus Prime. He was the leader of essentially the good guys. I hark back to my obsession with WWE as a kid. I loved the good guys. I wasn’t one of those fans that like the bad guys."
Earlier this month, Cena was in fantastic spirits and praised director Travis Knight’s "vision" after watching the movie at the world premiere in Los Angeles.
He tweeted after the event: "He’s real! Amazing time watching #BumblebeeMovie at the world premiere @ChineseTheatres in LA.
"Seeing Travis’ vision, @HaileeSteinfeld and Jorge’s performances and most importantly the audience’s reaction was extraordinarily special.
"Excited for you to see [‘Bumblebee’] this holiday season!"
Cena – who has appeared in comedies like ‘Blockers’ and ‘Daddy’s Home 2’ – was thrilled to get the chance to join such a massive blockbuster franchise.
He recently told BANG Showbiz: "Being part of a franchise is great, and being in a group that gets to change the face of it, I think that’s pretty fun."