At nearly 7 feet tall and packing 300 pounds of sheer muscle, Glenn Jacobs is easy to spot in public — even though he used to wear a mask to work in the World Wrestling Entertainment ring, where he is known as Kane.
Now he's taking Kane to the big screen as the star of the slasher flick "See No Evil," which opened Friday.
"It was an awesome experience," he said. "The best part was being able to spend two months on the Gold Coast of Australia, where we filmed the movie."
He doesn't get credit in the film under his real name. He's billed as Kane in the WWE-produced movie. So Jacobs is doing the double duty — playing a character playing a character. It's enough to confuse most wrestling fans.
"I got treated like a movie star," he said. "I got my own trailer and all that stuff. So that was pretty cool. . . . I don't get to talk a lot in this movie, but that's OK. I like it that way."
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Jacobs was never one to have acting aspirations. He said he has always been happy enough to stay in professional wrestling, where he's worked for more than a decade.
He started off in small matches in Tennessee before being discovered by the organization then known as the World Wrestling Federation.
Kane has emerged as one of WWE's most popular figures — a man-monster of superhuman strength. He originally appeared in the ring wearing red spandex and a mask and sporting long curly hair.
In recent years, Kane has loosened up, or loosened up as much as such a character can. He lost the mask and shaved off his hair.
As WWE moved into moviemaking, the idea to use Kane as a character seemed a natural, especially in a horror film.
In real life, Jacobs is a big fan of horror movies. His favorite: the "Nightmare on Elm Street" series. Freddie Kruger is his favorite anti-hero.
"Freddie Kruger is one of the coolest guys in the movies," he said.
Other scary movies he loves to scream to: "Silence of the Lambs," "Seven" and "Saw."
But even though he can crush most people into itty-bitty piles of dust, he said you shouldn't a) try to pick a fight with him because he's a peace-loving kind of guy; and b) think he's a bad dude.
He's a softie, helping out local Boys and Girls Clubs and other support organizations when he can.
Fans recognize him and ask for autographs. He's always accommodating and is even a bit shy.
When he isn't in the TV wrestling ring or making movies, Jacobs tries to find some quiet with his wife and stepdaughters. They live out in a rural section of Jefferson County, Tenn., where no hulking characters stalk him in the hope of being able to body slam him.
