John Cena's Ferdinand the bull charges into cinemas

Wrestler John Cena fights for a living but he flat out refuses to do so in his new movie, Ferdinand.

He stars as the voice of Ferdinand the bull - a pacifist fighting bull who's forced back to the arena to face off against the world's greatest bullfighter.

Cena says there are similarities between him and Ferdinand.

"Yeah, we're both misunderstood - by no means, not in a bad way," he told Newshub.

"The courage to be brave enough to be yourself - that's all."

Cena says he's proud of his role in the film.

"They've done such a good job of building and creating this universe that you just sit down and watch a good movie.

"That's very important and I think different people will take certain messages away from the movie, but step one is sitting down and enjoying a good movie."

Ferdinand and his animated buddies hit the big screen here on Boxing Day.

Newshub.