Returning superstar J.J. Watt of the Houston Texans recently sat with renowned journalist Graham Bensinger for a full-length interview. On this week’s edition of In Depth With Graham Bensinger, Watt expounds upon an assortment of personal and professional topics with the Emmy-winning interviewer.

Highlights include:

Arnold Schwarzenegger pegging J.J. as a future Hollywood action hero

J.J. on why his next girlfriend will be ripped to shreds on social media

J.J. Watt and his dad on how close J.J. came to retiring this offseason

How he’s still not over Texans fans booing his draft pick

J.J. Watt: “I want to go down as the greatest football player ever.”

A full sneak peek of Watt’s discussion with Graham Bensinger can be seen here: episode preview.

Watt’s appearance begins with laudatory praise from Arnold Schwarzenegger. The former California Governor and global icon provided J.J. with his deepest affirmations. Schwarzenegger is adamant J.J. Watt possesses the panache to become Hollywood’s next unstoppable action hero.

[Featured Image Courtesy of Michael Loccisano/Getty Images]

“I think he looks cool if he puts a cowboy hat on… or if he’s just in a bathing suit. The guy really looks cool. As I said to him, he is going to really go far in his career because he can cross over from being… the greatest athlete to becoming also an action hero. Because he has that look and he has the movements, and he has everything down and he’s not afraid of the camera, he’s not afraid of the mic or anything. He can go out there and be a presenter at an award show in two seconds. He’s not intimidated by anything,” said Schwarzenegger.

J.J. Watt reveals his love-life travails and why his next girlfriend will need thick skin.

“I think [the difficulty is] having your salary printed on the front page of the newspaper. I think it’s having the whole world watch your every move and any female you’re ever seen with is automatically your girlfriend… Bringing a girl into this life and the scrutiny and the criticism that comes with it – no matter how perfect the girl is – people are gonna rip her to shreds because that’s the social media world we live in today. I think that you have to be so careful about that. So it’s not just on my end. It’s about bringing somebody in that can handle it as well,” said Watt.



J.J. Watt elaborates upon his arduous offseason road to recovery and the ensuing doubts that he would ever play football again.

Bensinger: “You went through some pretty dark times in the offseason and even questioned if you were done. Why?”

J.J. Watt: “… When you’ve been able to do anything you want and then that’s taken away from you, it makes you question everything. When you have to learn how to walk properly again, when you have to learn how to run again, when you have to learn how to cut again – that makes you question everything about you as a person, everything about you as an athlete. And there were moments where I legitimately did not know if I would physically be able to play football again. And then there were moments where I didn’t know if I wanted to play again, because of everything that went along with it.”

At 2:15 into the clip, J.J.’s dad, John Watt, spoke with Graham concerning the dispirited look in his son’s eyes following weeks of frustration with his recovery.

John Watt: “At even 3-4 weeks out from the surgery, for him to realize that this is gonna take way longer than I thought and this may be something that may be relatively permanent… you can see it in his eyes; he was a little scared… Boy – for a while there – my wife and I looked at each other and said, This is real serious.”

J.J. Watt declared his intent to be remembered as the greatest football player who ever lived. Watt stated anything less would be a waste of time.

Bensinger: “Somebody close to you told me that deep down you wanna go down as the greatest football player ever to live. True?”

Watt: “Shouldn’t everybody? Why would I not want that? I think that if you’re playing the game and if you’re waking up everyday and going to work and putting in the time, putting in the effort, eating right, sleeping right, doing everything – why would you do all that work if you’re not trying to be the best ever? It just seems like that would be such a waste of time to me. If you’re going to play something, I don’t care what it is… your goal should be to be the best ever.”

Finally, an unwavering J.J. Watt exclaims why Texan fans’ harsh censure of his 2011 first-round selection still serves as a fiery competitive catalyst. To this day, Watt preserves footage of his awakening Draft-night experience.

[Featured Image Courtesy of Chris Trotman/Getty Images]

Bensinger: “How true is it that you still keep a video file of the Texans fans booing the team after they draft you?”

Watt: “Yeah, I have it on my phone. I have it on my computer. I have that because I remember… how quickly things can turn in this league. You remember how fragile fame and success is. When they drafted me the whole place booed. The city kinda wondered who I was. They wanted somebody else… And my whole goal when I saw that for the first time was, ‘I’m gonna change this city’s mind. I’m gonna do everything I can to take this city from hating the draft pick to hopefully loving me.'”

J.J. Watt is one of many superlative guests to join Graham Bensinger’s eponymously titled program this season. Be sure to check Graham’s national airing schedule to locate his critically acclaimed show in your viewing market.

[Featured Image by David J. Phillip/AP Photo]