He shared that earlier in his career, he embraced roles in films like Dostana and Force that flaunted his physique. However, as a producer now, he aims to move beyond that image and focus on more meaningful storytelling.
John Abraham on breaking body stereotypes
The actor told India Today, "It was a monkey on my back but listen, I'm not apologetic about the body. I mean I had it in Dostana; 15 years later I had it in Pathaan - just the colour of the shorts was different, one was yellow and one was white. So I will definitely do action films, I'll do the big ones. I'd want to do Force - it's probably the most untapped big action film that's waiting to happen and I'm going to do that."
He further added, "When I became a producer, the first thing I did was try and change that perception because right now, for me, it's about legacy, it's about what I want to leave behind, what I want to do. I'm not going to do four films a year; I'll do one film if that's meaningful and I'll try and make it work. Even if it doesn't, I'm okay."
He also revealed how he used to see his body as a marketing tool and said, "I'm a marketing person also. So if it was about the body, I'd market the body. And talking about that, what do you mean by market the body? I mean I positioned myself as someone who has a body to show out there. So if it was the Dostana walking out of the water, if it was the Force, you know, it's fine - I just make the most of it."
On the work front, John was last seen in The Diplomat. He is gearing up for the release of Tehran, a geopolitical thriller. It will premiere on Zee5 on August 14.