He’s better than you, and you know it… and he’s also in Happy Gilmore 2.
AEW star Maxwell Jacob Friedman recently opened up about his role as Gordie Gilmore in Happy Gilmore 2 and revealed an interesting detail about his on-screen appearance: Adam Sandler allowed him to keep his trademark MJF tattoo visible during filming.
While appearing on Screen Rant‘s Coffee Chats with Liam Crowley, MJF explained why this particular piece of body art was allowed to remain uncovered, even though the rest of his tattoos were concealed for the movie.
“I think the beautiful thing about the Gilmores is that they’re very Jewish, and there is a star of David with my tattoo. I’d imagine that’s why Adam was okay with me keeping that tattoo. Now I did have to cover up the rest of my tats in the movie, but yeah, I was actually really happy that I got to keep that trademark MJF tattoo on screen.”
The placement of the tattoo has a personal backstory for Friedman, inspired by one of wrestling’s most iconic ink jobs.
“That was one of the main reasons for the placement of my tattoo was because when I was a kid, I remember when I saw the Brahma Bull specifically over the bicep, but not going over the shoulder. So you can still see the cap of the delt. These are very important things to people that work out. You don’t want to cover up all this hard work. So yeah, I remember I knew when I hit 18 on my 18th birthday, I actually had gotten that tattoo and that was the reason for the placement, not the reason for the tattoo. Obviously the tattoo was a different reason.”
MJF went on to explain that whether in wrestling or acting, he strives to bring authentic parts of himself into every role he plays.
“Anything I do, whether it’s me being myself in AEW or whether it’s me taking on the role of Gordy Gilmore and the future roles, I feel like I always approach things as let me take what is a part of me that fits this character, this role. So that way it’s not a character, I’m just being myself and I’m being real. So I find the things in relation to myself with the part I’m playing, so it feels authentic and real.”
That sense of authenticity, Friedman believes, is what connects him to audiences.
“I feel most confident when I feel like what I’m doing is true to me. So when I can have little reminders like that, it’s really helpful.”
He even compared the importance of authenticity in acting to one of the most talked-about promos of his AEW career — his June 1, 2022 “pipebomb” moment.
“In that moment when I took the scarf off, I needed everybody to know that first of all, everything that comes out of my mouth on a weekly basis is already real. But I needed everybody to know not only is this real, but please pay attention to everything that’s coming out of my mouth because I’m angry right now and I need everybody to know that I’m angry right now. And everybody did.”
MJF’s role in Happy Gilmore 2 marks another step in his growing presence outside the wrestling world — but as he makes clear, he’s bringing his trademark authenticity with him wherever he goes.
You can check out the entire interview with MJF from Screen Rant’s Coffee Chats with Liam Crowley below.
(h/t Liam Crowley and Screen Rant for the transcriptions.)
Go to eatshroombar.com and use code Bodyslam at checkout for 25% off your first order.
📺 FOLLOW & SUBSCRIBE:
- 🔗 Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/BodyslamNet
- 🔗YouTube: https://www.YouTube.com/@BodySlamNet
- 🔗 Twitter: https://www.Twitter.com/BodyslamNet
- 🔗 Facebook: https://www.Facebook.com/BodyslamNet
- 🔗 Website: https://www.Bodyslam.net
- 🔗 Discord: https://discord.gg/pwnexus
- 🔗 Donate: https://www.SlamChats.com
- 🔗 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/bodyslam-net-pro-wrestling-and-mma-podcasts/id1597223420
- 🔗 Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/4e69419f-4edb-4a71-bb1c-135caa275cda/bodyslam-net-pro-wrestling-and-mma-podcasts-interviews-news-and-more
- 🔗 iHeart Radio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-bodyslamnet-pro-wrestling-91327468/
- 🔗 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2kJXcW9A1syn9lUpwtqD37
Want to discuss wrestling further? Join our Discord community by clicking here!
If you enjoy Bodyslam’s content, you can help donate to the site here. You can also visit our PWTees store and buy Bodyslam official merchandise here.
You can listen to all of Bodyslam’s podcasts by following us on Spotify and subscribing to our YouTube Channel, Twitch, Apple, Google, or any of your favorite podcast platforms.
Follow me on X: @ToddHomegrown
Follow us on X: @BodyslamNet