Exclusive: Aron Stevens, formerly Damien Sandow, on acting and his WWE career
Recently, Aron Stevens - formerly known as WWE fan-favourite Damien Sandow - revealed that he's landed a role in NBC drama Midnight, Texas on Barnburner’s No Holds Barred podcast.
Stevens hasn't wrestled since 2017, last appearing for Impact Wrestling as Aron Rex where he was the first ever Grand Champion, and is most warmly remembered for his roles as Damien Sandow and Mizdow characters.
Stevens has since moved to California, where he's been trying his hand at acting and bagged a role in Midnight, Texas - adapted from a Charlaine Harris book, much like the hugely popular show True Blood.
So, how has Stevens found the transition to acting? And will he ever return to the ring? We reached out and spoke to the man himself.
Hey, Aron. Thank you so much for speaking to us. So, let's not hang about - the reason I'm speaking to you today is because you've recently landed a role in the hit TV show Midnight, Texas. How did that come about?
Pretty much that came about by a friend that I had met in Malibu who had another friend who was the stunt co-ordinator and one thing led to another. I don't want to spoil too much about the role, I want to keep people having their eyes peeled for me, but my background in wrestling was kind of a natural... I don't know if preparation is the right word, but it was just natural to transition on film with a little bit of physicality and the theatrics as well, so it all just lined up.
I'm really, really lucky because I'd only been at it for a short time and, to get an opportunity to be in a show like Midnight, Texas for a couple of shows, I'm really blessed.
Now, this isn't your first acting role. Of course, you were in Public Disturbance and the 5th Quarter, starring as a wrestler, I believe. How much of a step up is this for you?
It's huge. I got to work with a few great directors. The cast was amazing, and I just got to see how a show of that level of production is done. It's also important, when I mention directors, to mention another film I done with Jonathan Banks (Mike Ehrmantraut in Breaking Bad, Better Call Caul) so I did a film with him for Hollyweird Films. That's going to be out in 2019, and that was amazing. It's similar - when you're learning how to wrestle, you have guys who have been around for years and years, and you just learn from being around them - I had that with Jonathan and that was really cool to me.
Coming up... Aron speaks about his WWE career, including favourite opponents and dropping the Money In The Bank briefcase.
NEXT: Aron opens up on transitioning from WWE to acting and his OTHER new venture