UGO’s editorial head honcho and slobbering wrestling fan Chris Radtke got a chance to interview Ted DiBiase, Jr. about his new movie, The Marine II. Here is the conversation between the two new BFFs…

Did you have the same reaction as I did when you heard Ted DiBiase, Jr. was starring in The Marine II? “WTF? Really?” And then you watch it. It’s pretty friggin’ good. Probably the best we’ve seen from WWE Films to date. And DiBiase has a lot to do with why it works. He makes a good action star, and in this wrestling fan’s opinion, he’ll make an even better Face (c’mon WWE, we need a new Good Guy who has Championship potential!). I sat down with DiBiase and yacked about his work in The Marine II, putting Virgil to work and his influences in the squared circle.

CHRIS RADTKE: So let’s start it off. The Marine II. What, Cena’s too good for this?
TED DiBIASE, Jr.: Apparently [laughter]. I’m kidding. No, I asked the same question. It was six months after my debut, and they asked me to read for it, and I guess I nailed it. They were impressed and they called me a week later and told me I had the part. And that’s about how fast it happened. Then I found myself coming out to L.A., working with an acting coach and this guy who trains Marines and Navy SEALs. I was doing all this stuff for the movie and I’m on a plane on my way to Thailand. I wake up one day and I’m filming a movie and I’m the star. It was very surreal.

CR: In terms of the training you got for the film, has it helped you as a performer and what you’re doing as a wrestler?
TDJ: You know, we perform in front of a live audience every week, in front of thousands of people live, and then millions of people at home watching on TV. But one thing that helped… we always do backstage interviews, promo segments. There’s a lot of little stuff you do, but I learned less is more. I didn’t realize it would help me so much with the wrestling aspect, but it has. It gives you a certain confidence I guess, and that’s everything. It was a learning experience the entire time, and I was lucky to be surrounded by some wonderful people. Michael Rooker was in Cliffhanger, Tombstone, Days of Thunder, Temuera Morrison…

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Ted DiBiase Interview
By Eric Cohen, About.com Guide

In December of 2009, I had the opportunity to talk to Ted DiBiase. During this interview, we discussed The Marine 2, being a part of a wrestling family, and his future plans. In addition, Ted gives aspiring wrestlers some advice to make it in the business.

Eric: Congratulations on the upcoming release of your movie The Marine 2. Can you tell me a little about the film?

Ted DiBiase: It’s a lot like the first one, except that it is in a secluded resort. We filmed it in Thailand. What happens is I’m with my wife. She does PR for this company. She is helping to open this resort for this billionaire in the fictional island of Kassain. It is her business trip but we use it as a vacation at the same time too. At a dinner part one night, some terrorists storm the island and take over the resort. In the process they take hostages including the billionaire owner and my wife along with several other people.

(John) Cena saved his wife in the first movie, and I actually saved an entire resort. So I’ve got one up on Cena. After they take over, I go in and take matters into my own hands. I’m a sniper in the movie so I go in and save the day.

Eric: How did you get the role in the movie?

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WWE.com added thirteen digitals of Ted from yesterdays signing in Manchester, NH. Ted was at Best Buy signing copies of “The Marine 2″

Gallery Links:
– View Manchester, NH Signing Digitals

If your dad was the Million Dollar Man, you’d think that you’d be out living the life of a Brody Jenner or something. Not Ted DiBiase Jr – despite his father’s (potentially imaginary) riches, he’s knuckled up and made something of himself, first in the squared circle with WWE and now on the silver screen with The Marine 2. I sat down with Ted for a brief chat about the flick, the differences between Hollywood fake fighting and wrestling fake fighting, and what the future holds. Unfortunately, Virgil Jr. was not in attendance.

Heavy.com: So why don’t you give me a little background on The Marine 2? How did you get the part?
Ted DiBiase Jr: Well, it was really thrown in my lap – six months after I debuted on TV, they called me in. I read for the script, they called me a week later and offered me the lead role. My jaw hit the floor, and before I knew it I was in Phuket, Thailand filming an action movie.

Heavy.com: So what’s it about?
Ted DiBiase Jr: I play Marine sniper Joe Linwood. I come back on leave and find myself off duty on vacation with my wife in a beautiful secluded island resort. A group of terrorists put the island under siege and take my wife hostage and the millionaire owner of the resort hostage. The local authorities try but they can’t do anything, so I have to go into action. There’s some really amazing fight scenes, really great action from there.

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The Marine 2, out today from WWE Films, offers the first real opportunity to test the waters of the good guy/bad guy dichotomy. Will WWE fans head out to buy a copy of the film, which stars Ted DiBiase Jr., one of the hottest heels on the roster, and one of its true rising stars?

DiBiase thinks they will.

“Our fans get it. we’re World Wrestling Entertainment. You see the trailer, the movie speaks for itself,” he told SLAM! Wrestling. “It’s such an entertaining film. Our fans are so loyal, man, they are. They’re great about picking up our DVDs, because our company does such a great job with them, man. It’s a great movie. It’s action-packed. Nobody is going to be let down.”

The Marine 2 is a direct-to-DVD release from Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment and WWE Films on DVD and Blu-Ray. DiBiase plays Marine recon sniper Joe Linwood, who is at a luxurious five-star resort when local rebels seize control of the property and take the billionaire owner (Robert Coleby), a group of guests and his wife Robin (Lara Cox) hostage. Needless to say, it’s DiBiase who has to lead the fight against the rebels. (SLAM! Wrestling hasn’t seen the movie yet, but we doubt Cody Rhodes or Randy Orton help him out.)

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It’s no wonder that WWE superstar Ted DiBiase Jr. is a natural in the wrestling ring. His grandparents (yeah, his grandmother fought as well) were feared squared-circle competitors, and his father, “Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase, is a WWE Hall of Famer. The elder Ted’s résumé is legendary. So when Ted Jr. came to prominence as a member of the Legacy faction last year (the trio is led by Randy Orton, son of Hall of Famer “Cowboy” Bob Orton, and Cody Rhodes, son of Hall of Famer “American Dream” Dusty Rhodes), it was really no surprise. Ted Jr. won the tag-team titles in his first match for the WWE.

Now Ted DiBiase Jr. is stepping into a whole new arena, and it’s not one of the many venues that house WWE events all year round. The WWE is promoting DiBiase’s acting chops in the film “The Marine 2,” out on DVD Tuesday (December 29). The 27-year-old says the chairman of World Wrestling Entertainment, Vince McMahon, one of the producers of the film, had every confidence he could carry his own movie despite having no prior acting experience.

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For those who follow professional wrestling either now or back in the 80s, the name Ted DiBiase will surely ring a bell. Ted DiBiase Sr. wrestled under the moniker “The Million Dollar Man” and his son, Ted DiBiase Jr. just goes by Ted DiBiase and is one of the rising stars of World Wrestling Entertainment. Like many of the WWE’s stars such as Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, Kane and John Cena, DiBiase has branched out into film work, with his first role in a feature film as the lead in The Marine 2, which arrives on DVD and Blu-ray on December 29. I had the chance to speak with DiBiase over the phone about his feature film debut, and here’s what he had to say.

I was wondering how this whole thing came about for you. Were you looking for a film opportunity or did it just fall into your lap? How did this all work out for you?

Ted DiBiase: Honestly man, I was just doing my job as a wrestler, sports entertainer, and they came to me one day. Someone approached me and said, ‘We need you to come in early next weekend because we want you to read for this movie role.’ I got excited and thought it was pretty cool. I thought maybe I’d be an extra or have a scene in one of John’s (Cena) movies, I had no idea what it was for. I showed up and they gave me a script. I looked at it once or twice and I thought I was really going to give this my best shot. I went in and did a few scenes and afterwards they said, ‘How long have you been acting?’ I looked at my watch and said, ‘Well, about 15, 20 minutes, since I walked through the door.’ They couldn’t believe it and, this is all new to me, so I didn’t know what they saw. They said they’d be in touch and they called me a week later. I remember getting off a plane, coming back from France. We had been in Europe and I was just dead tired. I got a call as we got off the plane and it was Mike Lake, who used to be with WWE Studios. He said, ‘Hey Ted. I’ve got some good news, and some bad news.’ I said, ‘What’s the bad news?’ He said, ‘Well the bad news is you’re getting married on December 6.’ I said, ‘OK, that’s bad news?’ He said, “Yeah, because the good news is you got the part in the movie and we’re going to be filming at that time.’ I didn’t even know I got the lead role and he said, ‘You got the lead role. You’re the Marine.’ After that, it was a big challenge and a new adventure for me and something I ended up falling in love with. I really enjoyed doing this, so hopefully there will be more.

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