The pair star together in the upcoming comedy 'Ricky Stanicky,' out March 7 on Prime Video.
Zac Efron received plenty of praise for his recent starring role in the wrestling drama The Iron Claw, but it was especially meaningful coming from a real-life wrestler.
Efron and John Cena star together in the upcoming comedy Ricky Stanicky, and when they sat down with ET's Cassie DiLaura to talk about the film, Cena was quick to share genuine compliments to his co-star.
"It was a real good treat to be able to go to the premiere of Iron Claw and see Zac do his thing -- especially from a lens that I'm familiar with," Cena raved. "He did an excellent job."
For Efron, having Cena's seal of approval on his performance means "everything."
"There's something special about when John's like, 'I know what you went through for that,'" he explained. "Not many people get it, so it's nice. It's pretty epic."
Ricky Stanicky -- which marks writer-director Peter Farrelly's return to raunchy comedy after helming such classics as Dumb and Dumber and There's Something About Mary -- was a nice change of pace for Efron coming off of The Iron Claw, which tells the tragic real-life story of the Von Erich brothers.
"I didn't realize how much it was affecting me until I got back on set with these guys and started having fun again," he admitted with a laugh. "I was like, oh man, I'm enjoying this process."
He even got to try out some of his newfound wrestling moves in a fight scene with Cena.
"I had to, like, throw him at one point and... I literally put no effort into it and he flew across the room into a shelf and took a hit," Efron recalled. "It was amazing. He did it, like, 10 times, no complaints."
So, would the pair ever take to the ring together for real?
"No, 'cause I would talk him into doing Wrestlemania or something stupid like that," Cena laughed.
In Ricky Stanicky, Efron, Jermaine Fowler and Andrew Santino play a trio that have been friends since high school. They're all also "friends" with the titular character, Ricky Stanicky, who it turns out the pals made up to use as an excuse to get out of obligations at work and home. (Visiting Ricky in the hospital is a cover for a trip to Atlantic City, etc.)
However, when the lie is almost exposed, the friends hire a rock and roll impersonator who goes by the stage name "Rock Hard Rod" (Cena), to pretend to be Ricky Stanicky and protect their deceptions.
As expected, they end up a bit over their heads as Rod takes a liking to his newfound identity, infiltrating the friends' lives and jobs to an uncomfortable degree.
The film also stars William H. Macy, Lex Scott Davis, Anja Savcic and Jane Badler.
Ricky Stanicky is set to be released on Prime Video on March 7.
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