M&F: Without the neck injury, would you still be wrestling?
AC: I don’t know at this point. I always said my drop-dead age with wrestling was 40—and I’m 40. I would always see a guy like Brett Favre and be like, “I get it. I get why he’s trying to go to the Vikings now, because he’ll make that 60-yard pass with two seconds left. That’s still there—just not all the time.” I never wanted to get there. But there was no second-guessing. The decision was made by the WWE medical team.
That’s when Syfy picked you up for Haven, where you play a character named Dwight Hendrickson.
Oh, man, poor Dwight. He’s a tortured character. He’s cursed. He’s a veteran of Afghanistan, and when the guns go off, the bullets find him. It’s a tragic character who’s been really fun to play.
How did you handle the transition from an arena to a single camera?
When you’re doing WrestleMania in Detroit and there are 80,000 people, you have to go with big movements with big expressions, bulging eyes. In one of my first episodes of Haven, the director goes,“What are you doing with your eyes? Stop it.” You have to translate your mood to a small city.
How is your training different now?
I’m much more fit now. Wrestling keeps you in the best “worst shape” possible because, you look in the mirror and you’re like, “OK,” but you feel horrible because your entire body is sore. I used to lift very heavy for that. Now I ride my mountain bike, use the rower, and circuit train.
HEAVY DUTY: In his heyday, Copeland says he once military-pressed 315 pounds.
HAVEN airs Fridays on the Syfy channel at 7 p.m. Eastern.
