John Cena reveals his agency advised him not to do Barbie cameo

John Cena's brief role as merman Ken in Greta Gerwig's Barbie made for a hilarious scene in the blockbuster film. 

Yet, in a new interview during his recent appearance on The Howard Stern Show, the star revealed that he was advised by his agency not to take on the part. 

He added that his agency gave the explanation that the project did not match upto him.

"I read the script of the movie and I tried my hardest to be in it. Margot [Robbie] was like, 'We'll make you a mermaid. You'll be in it for half a day.' 'Yeah, sure. But I think the perspective from an agency standpoint was, 'This is beneath you,' which I get that. But also to the agency's credit, immediately they acquiesced. I've always operated under the philosophy of good work gets you another chance," he said.

Barbie received tremendous critical acclaim and earned eight Oscar nominations, including Best Picture. It grossed $1 billion at the box office globally. Barbie revolves around Margot's stereotypical Barbie, who has an existential crisis when she starts to lose her vibe and her perched Barbie toe. To get to the bottom of the mystery, she's told to go where no Barbie doll has gone before – 'the real world'. Along with Ryan Gosling's Ken, she jets off to experience the 'real world'.