During the nine years that Copeland spent thinking his wrestling days were behind him, he discovered acting and developed a passion for it. He started with a role in the Syfy series Haven and has appeared in numerous other TV shows and films over the years including The Flash, Vikings and Money Plane.
While being cleared for action and returning to the ring has allowed The Rated-R Superstar to continue doing what he loves, he still intends to continue acting when the opportunity arises.
"I love it," Copeland said. "I really do. And acting really kind of saved me in a way through what could have been emotionally tumultuous times. Acting fell in my lap right after I retired. And it was Haven and going out to Nova Scotia shooting that and really diving into the character and becoming one of the main characters on the show.
"That was huge because otherwise I just would have been kind of floating and not really knowing what to do with myself. And that gave me something to do and then I realized, it still taps that creative vein. And it's not the same as wrestling. And it doesn't give me the same feeling that wrestling nothing does. But it still gave me a feeling. And a really good one.
"When you do a scene and you go, 'Oh man, I think we found something there. And we discovered something.' The act of discovery with another artist is so much fun. It's when you find a groove or you find chemistry and a connection with an opponent, you're doing this thing, but it's alive. That's the beauty of professional wrestling.
"You're discovering these things and hearing reactions off of these discoveries. And you're getting that instant gratification. That to me is just the best thing in the world. But yes, I plan on still continuing acting and you know, Percy Jackson comes out December 20."
We always end our AEW interviews with a movie review to give the wrestlers a chance to speak about something other than wrestling. Copeland decided to talk about a modern classic he just revisited recently.
"I just watched Gangs of New York randomly the other night, because I wanted to watch some Daniel Day-Lewis," he said. "And it's funny, we were talking about Nick Wayne with Christian Cage, and what is that dynamic? And it was an interesting dynamic with Daniel Day-Lewis, his character, and Leonardo DiCaprio's character in Gangs of New York.
"It was obviously, well performed. And yeah, just thought that that is an interesting dynamic. So that was one that I recently watched. I first saw that a theater and I see it now and realize some of the editing and some of the choices are a little of its time, but it still holds up because of Daniel Day-Lewis."
Copeland will step into an AEW ring as a competitor for the first time on the upcoming Title Tuesday episode of Dynamite on October 10 against Luchasaurus. Whenever The Living Dinosaur is involved, you know the TNT champion won't be far away.
