Biography:

Dwayne Johnson is an actor and wrestler known as The Rock. He holds the Guinness Book of Records record – he received the highest fee for his debut role in the film “The Mummy Returns” ($5.5 million). During his film career, he managed to become a real professional in the acting field. Today, the celebrity is one of the highest paid artists in his genre.

Childhood and youth:

Dwayne was born under the zodiac sign Taurus on May 2, 1972 in America. By nationality, Johnson is partly Polynesian, partly black Nova Scotian, but what is much more important is that he is a hereditary wrestler. Grandfather, father, uncles, cousins all made a living from wrestling. Even my mother and grandmother were involved in the sports show – the first as a husband’s promoter, and the second as the director of a women’s club. Because of his father’s work, the family constantly moved from place to place, so the son changed more than one school.

Johnson Jr. attended his father’s training from an early age, and at the age of 12 he tried the weights himself, but was unsuccessful. From that moment on, he trained under the supervision of his father. As a child, Dwayne was overweight, so playing sports came in handy.

In high school, the young man began playing American football and showed such good results that several universities offered him training. Dwayne graduated from the Department of Psychology and Criminology at the University of Miami. He would have continued his career in American football, but a back injury prevented him. Then Johnson took up wrestling.

Wrestling:

Dwayne’s debut took place in the fall of 1996. He appeared before the audience under the pseudonym Rocky Maivia, and by the end of the same year he had already won his first championship title.

The volume of Skala’s biceps at his peak reached 53 cm. The athlete was able to squeeze a barbell weighing 105 kg 33 times. Johnson achieved this physical condition through training and nutrition.

The wrestler tried to perform honestly, without breaking the rules. At first the audience liked it, but quickly got tired of it. During his speeches, Johnson was often booed and demanded that he leave. The athlete decided to take a break.

Dwayne returned to the ring as the “bad guy” The Rock. This nickname also emphasized the wrestler’s outstanding parameters (height is 196 cm and weight is 118 kg). The new image and fighting style brought popularity to the wrestler. Dwayne himself called himself the people’s champion: the public loved and supported him. After his return and until the end of his wrestling career, The Rock became world champion 17 times.

Movies:

The cinematic biography of Dwayne Johnson began immediately on a grand scale. Hollywood directors became interested in Johnson in 2000, after the release of his book “The Rock Speaks.” That same year, he was invited to star in the film “The Mummy Returns.”

This is not the first appearance of the champion on screen: athletes from the wrestling company WWE are attracting the attention of Hollywood directors. Among the successful bodybuilders, the public notes Dave Bautista, a successful actor who plays Drax the Destroyer in the films of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

The next role of the Rock was already the main one – Johnson worked in the film “The Scorpion King”. In 2011, filming of “Fast and the Furious” began with his participation. The films of the media franchise focus on racing and the confrontation between criminals and police, again with the help of cars. Dwayne joined the popular crime action series with the fifth film. The role of Agent Hobbs was recast specifically for the actor. The main role in this film, as in others, was played by Vin Diesel.

Dwayne not only stars in action films, he is just as good at comedy roles, for example, in “The Tooth Fairy” and “The Game Plan.” In the black comedy “Blood and Sweat: Anabolics,” the actor played a bodybuilder. The film’s cast also includes Mark Wahlberg and Ed Harris. The artist’s works include leading roles in the films Faster than a Bullet, Journey 2: The Mysterious Island and Informer.

In 2014, the premiere of “Hercules” took place, in which Johnson played the main role. Irina Shayk and Rebecca Ferguson starred in the action-adventure film alongside the wrestler. In addition, he also appeared in documentaries dedicated to sports. His filmography was supplemented by the film “The Epic Adventure of Dwayne The Rock Johnson.”

In the spring of next year, the seventh film “Fast and the Furious” with the participation of the actor was released, and in 2016 the comedy “A Spy and a Half” was released. Here Dwayne played the main role of agent Bob Stone. As a child, he grew up as an overweight boy and endured ridicule from his classmates, but later grew into a super spy with molten muscles. Bob takes as his partner an old friend (Kevin Hart), who works as an accountant and only dreams of adventures, chases and shootouts.

Also in 2016, the actor voiced Maui in the animated film Moana. Maui is a narcissistic demigod and the second main character, after the chief’s daughter Moana.

In April 2017, a new film from the popular film series “Fast and Furious 8” was released. The film, like the previous ones, is filled with street racing, crimes and chases, however, the characters develop. Dominic (Vin Diesel) celebrates his honeymoon with his beloved wife, and at the end of the film becomes a father. However, family joys do not interfere with participation in criminal showdowns and special operations.

The Rock also returned to the role of Agent Luke Hobbs, who came to the fore in the latest Fast and Furious films and is considered the second main character. During the announcement of the new part of the film franchise, Dwayne hinted at the possibility of a separate spin-off about Luke Hobbs.

In the summer of 2017, the actor appeared on screens in the leading role in the comedy “Baywatch,” a film version of the popular American series. Dwayne’s character is an experienced beach lifeguard who works with a team on the Pacific coast.

On December 28, 2017, the actor appeared in the title role in the adventure film Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, a sequel to the famous film Jumanji. This time the action takes place not in a board game, but in a video game.

In April 2018, the actor appeared as a primatologist in the fantasy action film Rampage about animal experiments and the rebellion of genetically modified animals. In July, he played in the action movie “Skyscraper”; in addition, in the same year, Johnson starred in the comedy “Fighting with My Family.”

The public is not going to part with the beloved heroes of the Fast and the Furious franchise, so in August 2019 the spin-off Fast and the Furious: Hobbs and Shaw began showing, in which, in addition to Johnson, Jason Statham appeared.

The 9th film in the Fast and Furious franchise, released in the spring of 2021, upset fans of The Rock: their idol was not in the plot. In an interview, Dwayne stated that he would not participate in the subsequent final parts either. There was information in the media that the reason for the actor’s refusal to film was a conflict between him and Diesel.

In the summer, the long-awaited premiere of the film “Jungle Cruise” took place. Johnson appeared on the screens in the image of a selfless captain of a ship moving towards the Tree of Life. Dwayne was accompanied by Emily Blunt, who played the main role in the film.

In the adventure comedy Red Notice, Dwayne played an Interpol agent who must track down the “greatest thief in the art world.” The “world’s greatest swindler” played by Ryan Reynolds is also involved in the case.

The Rock played Black Adam in the action comic book Black Adam, which takes place in the DC Universe. In addition, the artist announced that he agreed to play the hero in all the upcoming films of the franchise. By the way, working on this particular character, according to The Rock, became the most difficult in his film career. In an interview, the actor spoke about some of the features of his character. For example, his difference from Superman is that, in addition to superpower, he also has magical abilities.

Personal life:

In his youth, Dwayne Johnson dated Dany Garcia for 7 years. The actor saw a Cuban girl when he was still at university and fell in love. Their personal life was happy. They lived in a civil marriage, and in 1999 they officially got married.

In August 2001, Johnson became a happy father – his wife gave him a daughter. Dani and Dwayne lived together for another 6 years, and then officially announced that they were breaking up. The actor’s daughter lives with her mother, and Johnson provides for the child financially. After the divorce, the couple managed to maintain friendly relations.

In 2007, Dwayne began appearing in public with his new lover Lauren Hashian, a singer of Armenian origin. On December 16, 2015, it became known that Dwayne was now the father of three children: the new chosen one gave birth to the actor’s daughter Jasmine, and 3 years later baby Tiana appeared. In August 2019, the couple legalized their relationship. The wedding was celebrated in Hawaii.

Johnson does not skimp on generous gifts. In 2018, he gave the truck to his stunt double Tanoai Reid, who performs all the dangerous stunts for the actor. Despite the fact that the colleagues are cousins, they look like twin brothers. The similarity was especially evident when Dwayne still appeared in front of the public with hair. To work together, his brother later had to become bald too.

After filming one of the difficult scenes, the stuntman was injured. In order to please him, the artist presented him with the keys to an exclusive pickup truck. A photo of the car appeared on Johnson’s official Instagram page (the social network is banned in the Russian Federation, it belongs to the Meta corporation, which is recognized as extremist in the Russian Federation).

In 2020, The Rock and his family members suffered a coronavirus infection. According to the wrestler, it was a difficult test for him, his wife and children. The athlete urged everyone to follow safety measures and improve their health.

The actor admitted to followers on Instagram that sometimes he has to use force in real life. In September 2020, being late for the set, the athlete found himself trapped in his own home: the entrance gate was jammed due to power outages.

Not wanting to let down more than a hundred people, the artist tore off the gate and then walked unhindered to the studio. Dwayne later admitted that next time he would do things differently – he would simply jump over the obstacle and catch a taxi.

Physical activity allows The Rock not only to solve life’s difficulties and look impressive on screen, but also helps to cope with mental problems. In an interview, the artist admitted that he had repeatedly faced depression. The first time this happened was in college after an injury that ended his sports career. There was also a depressive period after the divorce from my first girlfriend. Now Dwayne has found a remedy for this illness – do not hesitate to seek help from specialists and devote more time to physical activity.

Dwayne Johnson now:

Johnson’s appearance in Fast and Furious 10 was a pleasant shock for fans of the franchise. After a six-year break, he returned to the role in 2023, although he only appeared in the post-credits scene. Viewers expressed hope that The Rock will appear in the 11th part of the film series.

Filmography:

2001 — “The Mummy Returns”
2002 — “The Scorpion King”
2005 — “Doom”
2008 — “Get Smart”
2009 — “Witch Mountain”
2010 — “Tooth Fairy”
2010 — “Cops in deep reserve”
2011 — “Fast and Furious 5”
2012 — “Journey – 2: Mysterious Island”
2013 — “Blood and sweat: Anabolics”
2013 — “Fast and Furious 6”
2014 — “Hercules”
2015 — “Fast and Furious 7”
2015 — “San Andreas Fault”
2016 — “A Spy and a Half”
2017 — “Fast and Furious 8”
2018 — “Skyscraper”
2018 — “Unsolved Case”
2018 — “Rampage”
2019 — “Fighting with my family”
2019 — “Jumanji: The Next Level”
2019 — “Fast and Furious: Hobbs and Shaw”
2021 — “Jungle Cruise”
2021 — “Red Notice”
2021 — “Black Adam”
2023 — “Fast and Furious 10”

Interesting Facts:

In his youth, Johnson’s idols were famous bodybuilders Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone, who went on to brilliant acting careers.
The wrestler takes acting seriously. In 2018, on this basis, he had a conflict with Vin Diesel: Dwayne accused his colleague of frivolous behavior on the set.
The celebrity’s left arm, part of the back and chest are covered with tattoos. This is an ancestral Polynesian tattoo in the Samoan tradition that encapsulates The Rock’s life story and personal values.
Johnson is a frequent subject for memes. Images of him, made from stills from films with his participation, are actively going viral on the Internet.