Los Angeles, Aug 15 (IANS): Hollywood star John Cena revealed he took extra precautions to protect his face as he taught actress Awkwafina how to punch him.

The wrestler-turned-actor, who is used to getting hurt in the wrestling ring, said: "I’ve had my nose broken in real life and this was a prosthetic so that was fantastic.”

“I really think the setup for it was fun and when she actually did it and we did the gag, it looked great and it plays well in the movie," he told The Hollywood Reporter.

He advised Awkwafina to simply "swing for the fences", and has said she did exactly that in their upcoming film “Jackpot!".

The new film, which has been directed by Paul Feig, explores a world where a Grand Lottery has been set up in California which allows the losers to kill the winner before sundown and claim the multi-billion dollar jackpot, reports femalefirst.co.uk.

Awkwafina plays the lottery winner while Cena essays the role of her accomplice, and he thinks their respective roles play to their respective "strong assets" as performers.

He explained: "She was playing an anxious character who didn’t know what the hell was going on, and I get to be a peaceful, soothing voice of reason.

"And I think those are both really strong assets of our wheelhouse so we kind of just got to be ourselves and have jokes and funniness around that.”

Meanwhile, Feig was happy by Cena's approach to acting, where he doesn't mind looking "silly" if it works for the role.