Let's Get It On!_ The Making of MMA and Its Ultimate Referee - Big John Mccarthy [86]
The movie was about prostitution—something I knew a lot about—so I remember being impressed with the authenticity of it all when one of the women on set walked toward Cage to speak with him. She was wearing a rabbit fur jacket, which was all the rage with the prostitutes back in Los Angeles. She was a pretty girl, and I kept thinking she looked familiar. I realized a few seconds later that she was Cage’s girlfriend, Lisa Marie Presley.
American Pie actress Mena Suvari and veteran actor Harry Dean Stanton were also in the film. Acclaimed British actress and Academy Award nominee Brenda Blethyn played Sonny’s mother. I shared a van with her on the way to the set the first day of shooting. She looked at me and started speaking in a slow New Orleans drawl. It took me a few seconds to realize she was speaking her lines and wanted me to respond with mine. She was in character and wanted me to play along. In that moment, I knew actors were a different breed altogether and I was way out of my element.
On the set of NBC’s Friends: the UFC’s logo mascot, Ulti-Man, would be “softened” in a later version as the UFC tried to change its image.
One scene was particularly difficult for me because it required Franco to spit on me after I’d beaten him up. I had to stand there and take it, and I had to change my clothes between each take because Franco would get his syrupy fake blood all over me. Each time Cage yelled, “Cut,” I prayed it would be the last. But we must have done that scene ten times.
During one of the takes, Cage walked up to Franco and me. “Hey, I want to put one more thing in. When he spits and before you hit him again, give him the ‘kiss of death.’”
At first I thought my wife was putting Cage up to it. I don’t kiss men, other than my dad or my sons, unless I’m joking around.
“Do you have a problem with this?” Cage asked.
With the set waiting for Cage to leave the shot, I nodded. “I can do it.” Then at the right moment, I grabbed Franco by the ears and kissed him on the lips.
“That was awesome,” Cage said. “Let’s do one more take or would that be a problem?”
“Of course he has a problem,” Franco said to Cage, cracking up. “I’m kissing John McCarthy!”
Imagine my relief when I got a call a few months later from the assistant. Despite everyone from Cage down to the director of photography telling me how great I was, Detective Rollo and his kiss of death were left on the cutting room floor. I’m not a religious person, but I thanked God profusely in that moment.
Acting wasn’t really my thing, but I’ve always been grateful for the opportunities that come from being associated with the UFC and the sport. Over the years, I’ve been asked to play myself for films, in popular TV shows like HBO’s Entourage, and in music videos. Once I was even asked to record a ringtone.
I haven’t accepted every offer, and some have been a little ridiculous. I’ve been asked to officiate weddings many times, even though I’m the furthest thing from an ordained minister. I also felt some of the offers could damage the sport’s reputation.
In 2000, when pro wrestling juggernaut World Wrestling Entertainment decided to produce WWE Tough Enough, a reality series about training young hopefuls for the ring, they tried to incorporate real fighting. WWE hired Dan Severn and Ken Shamrock to wrestle for the organization, but when this show came around, Severn was moved to coaching. The show then morphed into having the lesser-known WWE wrestlers enter boxing matches against one another. Guess who they called to referee that circus? Though the WWE was a hugely popular and established operation, I thought affiliating myself with it in such a visible way would only confuse fans and the general public—some already thought MMA was just as fake as pro wrestling—so I politely turned down the offer.
I don’t feel awkward in the