Magic Mike XXL: Kevin Nash opens up about stripper role

After the commercial and critical acclaim that greeted Magic Mike in 2012, a sequel always seemed like a prospective that would be very agreeable with cinema-goers.
Well the wait is nearly over, as Friday brings Magic Mike XXL hits cinemas tomorrow (Friday July 3).
The film that made Channing Tatum a Hollywood megastar arrives for a second installment with the man himself on board, along with some interesting new additions.
Chief among them is veteran, iconic wrestler Kevin Nash.
Before Magic Mike XXL hits screens, we managed to grab this chat with the wrestler...
What was it like for you to return to this role in terms of getting back into shape and back into the mindset of Tarzan for Magic Mike XXL?
KEVIN NASH: Well, of course, the first thing always is the diet. It was difficult at 52, when we made the first film and I was still very active. I was wrestling probably two hundred times a year, so I was still in really good ring shape. By the second film I was 55, and I don’t really wrestle that much anymore and didn’t have that advantage.
One thing that I learned throughout my life is that a lot of guys can go to a personal trainer. They can find somebody that has their kind of build and knows the nutrition they’ll need, whereas I can’t go to a 5’8, 150-pound man and say, ‘Get me in shape,’ because I’ll look like a skeleton. He’ll have no idea how many calories I take. I have to do it on my own, but last time I actually logged what I did. It was kind of hodgepodge,
So when they gave me the nod that I was going to be coming back, I knew that everybody was going to ration it up, so about 16 sixteen weeks out I started the process. First I took out processed foods—all white flour, white sugar. Then, at about 12 weeks, I took out something I knew was going to be the killer—red wine. So, the red wine came out of the diet, and I was like the American Werewolf in London. I just sat there and looked at my hands, then I just said, ‘Well, okay. I’m good. I’ll just do a bit of cardio, just an hour on the treadmill.’ I was still doing some personal appearances, so I was just preparing in the meantime.
It’s just a mindset—you either have self-discipline or you don’t. I figured at 55 years-old for them to give me a call back, they must have known that I had the capability. They at least had the confidence that I could pull it off. I didn’t want to disappoint them, so I just did it.
We learn a little more about each of the Tampa Kings in this film, and I’m wondering if you can talk a bit about your collaboration with Channing Tatum and screenwriter Reid Carolin to show more of Tarzan in this film?
We built such good friendships on the first one that you never feel guarded in any situation. To have Channing there is like having a team captain. He’s this A-list guy, and when I met him, I was just so impressed by how sweet and down to earth he is. And the other guys—Joe [Manganiello], Matt [Bomer], Adam [Rodriguez]—they’re all sweethearts.
When we went back to do this, we’d get in the van and do shot after shot, all day, and then we’d get back and it would be time to train. Two of the guys would be like, ‘Oh, I don’t know about tonight.’ And then one guy in the back of the van would say, ‘Well, I’m going.’ ‘Okay, I’ll go with you.’ Then the next thing you’d hear, ‘Fifteen minutes, downstairs.’ We just kind of pushed ourselves and each other out of friendship, but also the teamwork and camaraderie that we’d built. It would always be one of us on task for the day, and because we spent a lot of time together, we knew each other, so the characters are not that far from who we are. You’re pretty much always on.
The one thing that both [producer] Steven Soderbergh and [director] Greg Jacobs like to do on both this film and the last one, we shoot it as it’s written, but anytime somebody wants to throw something out or just ad lib, they encourage it. Everyone knows each other’s timing, and I think you really get the friendship and the characters when that plays out. That’s what I think makes this really special. It’s a buddy film. It’s a retro film, and when you watch it, you can see that those guys are friends—they’re not playing friends. You can see that it’s a real friendship.
That’s hard to do at this level, especially when you’re dealing with the narcissistic existence of a male dancer. It’s hard not to take that psyche and put it somewhere in you, but, at the same time, you don’t. I look at it this way: the first time I watched Channing dance, my wife said, ‘Really? Your knees are shot.’ I said, ‘You know what? When the first guy goes out and high jumps 11 ½ feet for a world record, it doesn’t matter if I do 3’5”. All they’re going to be talking about is that guy. So it doesn’t matter. I can’t go anywhere near that.’ [Laughs]
Just watching the trailer, so many people said to me, ‘How does he do that? Is that CGI?’ I’m like, ‘You don’t understand. That’s just Chan.’ And tWitch [Stephen ‘tWitch’ Boss] is an amazing dancer too, but that kid from Alabama can move. That boy is bad right there.
You have a big scene where all of you perform in front of a big crowd, with 900 screaming women in the audience. What was that like for you?
The way that was set up was kind of nice because Chan and Twitch were on the main stage, and there were satellite stages up. So, you could talk to the people who were in your section during the downtime, and get to know them. And some of them knew me from wrestling and from movies and stuff.
There wasn’t a lot of down time because these guys know every shot they want the minute they walk in, but there was enough of it to kind of let your guard down. So they see that you’re human and there’s a feeling that we’re all in this together. Because it’s not easy. I mean, the first time we stripped off our fatigues, I was in my robe for like sixteen seconds. The second time it was around ten seconds and by then I was just like, ‘Yeah, whatever.’ And even though these women are there to be jazzed up patrons, it doesn’t hurt to have any kind of admiration when you’re out there. You just have to go with it.
Do you have a favourite scene from the film or a moment during production that was particularly memorable for you?
There were so many great moments in it. So many people don’t know that Matt Bomer sings. The first time he sang was when we were in rehearsals, and I just said, ‘Wow, Matt, I don’t think I’ve ever heard that version of that song.’ And Chan looked at me and said, ‘That’s Matt singing.’ I was just like, ‘Oh, that kills.’ It was just amazing.