Not only is he a champion in the ring, the bald guy nicknamed “The Rock” is also the king of the box office charts.
Hollywood has repeatedly given acting opportunities to professional wrestlers who want to “change things” and become screen heroes, such as John Cena, Dave Bautista, Kevin Nash… But perhaps, only wrestlers have won 17 championships. The Rock is making a big difference.
In 2016, Dwayne Johnson – an amateur – surpassed many veteran faces to become the highest-paid actor in the world with 64.5 million USD. In 2017, he dropped to second place on the list with 65 million USD (3 million USD less than the leader, Mark Wahlberg). Also in this year, two out of three films that Dwayne Johnson participated in achieved huge revenue: The Fate of the Furious swept with 1.163 billion USD and Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle quietly “pocketed” 944.4 million USD.
Director Brad Peyton (who worked with Dwayne in three films: Journey 2: The Mysterious Island, San Andreas and Rampage) called this 1m96 tall giant “The world’s biggest movie star”. And perhaps, this compliment is not too flattering.
The secret to creating success
At the age of 45, Dwayne Johnson is one of the best-earning stars in the world, both for himself and for the studio. The total income that this former wrestler earned from filming is estimated at about 220 million USD. The total revenue of Dwayne’s 27 released films brought in about 9 billion USD (according to data from Boxoffice Mojo).
More importantly, Dwayne Jonhson’s image and name have become popular with the general audience. When asked by Vanity Fair about the secret to success in both careers – wrestling and acting, Dwayne sincerely revealed: “Work hard and always be grateful to others. You must always focus and not have too big an ego. When you achieve success, never be complacent. Finally, never doubt yourself.”
The giant with a sentimental soul
Looking back, the path this former champion has taken has not been a bed of roses. Born on May 2, 1972, Dawyne Douglas Johnson is the third generation of a family that has a long history of wrestling. His father was the first African-American champion, and his maternal grandfather, a tribal chief, was the first Samoan to compete in the sport.
But from the beginning, Dwayne Johnson did not choose the same path as his father and grandfather. He loves playing rugby and received a full scholarship from the University of Miami to pursue a football career. The dream was shattered by a cruel injury. And Dwayne returned to wrestling – something that has always been in his blood.
Not having formal acting training but having the ambition to become a Will Smith (a more muscular version), Dwayne Johnson often chooses action-packed, entertaining scripts.
He himself once shared: “I don’t like movies with sad endings. Life has brought so many terrible things – I don’t want that to appear in my movies. When the credits appear, I want to feel satisfied” .
Growing up in a wrestling family wasn’t easy. Dwayne describes his dad as extremely demanding. His constant travel meant the family of three moved around a lot. Dwayne lived in five different states by kindergarten, and 13 by high school.
At age 12, his father switched from dueling with opponents to arguing with his mother. His father was unemployed, the family fell into poverty, Dwayne started stealing and was caught. He fights more, becoming an angry person when he cannot control his emotions.
Parents divorced. At the age of 15, Dwayne Johnson had to witness his mother try to commit suicide by wandering down the highway after they were evicted from their apartment. Worries about his mother, injuries, and a breakup with his girlfriend caused Dwayne to face psychological problems for many years. But instead of giving up, he chose to fight and heal the wounds for himself and his mother.
The more he was beaten down by life, the stronger Dwayne Johnson became. It’s similar to what a 13-year-old boy chose when his friends made fun of him because of his hair and body like a girl’s. He chose to train his muscles, forcing his body to become stronger to resist bullying at school.
A smart star
We often mock big, brutish people with the simile: “The mind is stupid, the limbs are developed.” But with Dwayne Johnson, this is not true at all.
Dwayne Johnson in the “Fast & Furious” film series.
So far, Dwayne’s on-screen success hasn’t come entirely from his acting ability (but he’s been working hard, hiring a coach to improve his expressive skills).
A great figure, a bright smile, a cool face, a cinematic aura and especially smart choices are what make the former legendary wrestler a true silver screen star.
In 2001, Dwayne – who still used The Rock with his first name – Johnson made his Hollywood debut in The Mummy Returns with a record salary of 5.5 million USD (higher than any other star at that time). His portrayal of the Scorpion King in the film was so impressive that the producer decided to make a spin-off film called The Scorpion King (2002).
Dwayne Johnson and the image of the Scorpion King.
In October 2006, Dwayne Johnson announced: “I am no longer a wrestler, my goal from now until the future is to become an actor and one day a director. I am no longer The Rock. I’m Dwayne Johnson”.
Johnson majored in Criminal Psychology in college (in addition to playing football). He wanted to be an agent working for the FBI or CIA and “kill bad guys.” If that didn’t work out in real life, then make it happen on screen.
Step by step, Dwayne Johnson has built himself a solid action image. Race to Witch Mountain, San Andreas, Hercules… bring heroes that no one wants to cause trouble with.
Since joining Fast Five, Dwayne Johnson has become an indispensable face in the billion-dollar racing movie franchise. The two most recent films, Furious 7, brought in $1.5 billion and The Fate of the Furious, $1.13 billion, which has helped Dwayne’s value and salary increase significantly. Then, the conflict on set between Dwayne Johnson and Vin Diesel (to the point that some sources claimed they refused to film any scenes together) has increased the anticipation for the ninth film.
Along with the image of a hero overcoming difficulties, Dwayne Johnson also actively participates in comedy films. This is considered a step quite similar to what action legend Arnold Schawarzenegger – a bodybuilder turned actor – once did successfully: bring his cool and serious features into play. laugh for the audience.
Action-comedy works such as The Game Plan, Tooth Fairy, Central Intelligence… and especially Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle bring a Dwayne Johnson who is charming, flexible but still maintains his domineering personality when needed.
The nuances of a man with sticky rice and meat are also very diverse!
Dwayne’s first movie released this year – Rampage also has a strong sense of humor, combined with familiar rescue action scenes. In the movie, Dwayne plays a former special forces soldier and biology expert who will have to try to save his friend Godzilla and the whole world from the problem of angry giant crocodiles and wolves.
Off-screen, Dwayne Johnson always maintains the image of a friendly, elegant, kind and devoted man to his family. He once revealed on the Elle Degeneres program that he was considering running for president of the United States to “serve the people and create a better environment for them”.
Having great success with his sports career and flourishing with his acting career, will Dwayne Johnson continue to create a third career – a politician when his muscles have withered over the years? Dwayne still leaves things open: “I feel like the best thing I can do right now is, give me a few years. Let me work and learn.”
