Sports, acting, singing, producing, cooking, designing sportswear… Is there anything Dwayne Johnson can’t do? With one hit after another, it seems like he never runs out of steam.
Check out these 28 facts about Dwayne Johnson!
Dwayne Johnson Facts
1. Like father like son
Dwayne was destined for the the ring as his father and grandfather were both professional wrestlers before him. His father was initially against the idea of Dwayne becoming a wrestler. Eventually he allowed it and even trained Dwayne himself.
2. What's in a name
He made his WWF debut in 1996. His original stage name was 'Rocky Maivia' which was a combination of his father's name (Rocky Johnson) and his grandfather's name (Peter Maivia). It wasn't until 1997, and his return from a knee injury, that he had the opportunity to change his name to 'The Rock' and adopt a bad guy (heel) persona.
3. You’re welcome!
He had to rerecord some of his Maui lines for the Disney animated movie Moana (2016) because in some countries, the movie was renamed to “Vaiana”. There were rights issues in certain countries and in Italy the name was reminiscent of a famous local adult movies actress.
4. Where do you keep them all?
Holds the record as the first eight time WWE World Heavyweight Champion.
5. More records
In 2007, he was inducted into prestigious Guinness World Records for being the highest paid actor in his debut film, earning $5.5 million in his first role in the 2001 movie, The Mummy Returns.
6. Roocky
When he first joined the WWF, he was mentored by superstar Bret 'The Hitman' Hart.
7. All in the family
For insurance reasons, Johnson has a stunt double for dangerous action scenes in his movies. Surprisingly, his usual stunt double is Tanoai Reed, his nephew.
8. Coining the smack down
WWE Smackdown (1999) is named after one of The Rock’s catchphrases. “Layeth the Smack Down.”.
9. Dunkin’ do-nots
Dwayne Johnson was offered a promotional deal with “Dunkin’ Donuts”, which included the company naming a donut after him. He declined, thinking it would make him appear bigheaded.
10. Oh, momma!
In 2002, entertainment magazine Variety broke the news that Dwayne Johnson was going to play the leading role in a live action adaption of the cartoon hit series Johnny Bravo. According to one of the producers, Johnson’s was a childhood fan of Johnny Bravo. Alas, nothing became of the movie.
11. Owning it
Dwayne Johnson now owns the right to the name “The Rock” but earlier in his career, the name was owned by the WWE. Because of this, Vince McMahon (WWE owner) received executive producer credits in Johnson’s earlier movies.
12. Up and coming
Johnson owns a production company called “Seven Bucks Productions” that produces several of the movies in which he stars, including the upcoming films Baywatch (2017) and Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (2017).
13. Rock no more
In 2006, Dwayne Johnson stated in Entertainment Magazine that he no longer wants to be known as “The Rock”. After his retirement from wrestling, he considers himself an actor and wants to be known by his given name.
14. Little Rocky
He was 6"4" and 225 pounds when in high school. Students apparently thought he was actually an undercover police officer.
15. Stampede
Dwayne Johnson played professional football in the Canadian Football League for the Calgary Stampeders.
16. Me, myself, and I
Johnson published an autobiography in 2000. It hit number one on The New York Times Best Seller list and stayed there for several weeks.
17. Early Days
Before fighting in the WWF, he fought in the United States Wrestling Association. Initially he used his real name but changed it to Flex Kavana.
18. Solid as a rock
According to Forbes, his earnings in 2016 were approximately $64.5 million, making him the highest paid actor that year.
19. No excuses, play like a champion
Dwayne Johnson has a clothing deal with Under Armour, called “Project Rock”. The clothing line has been extremely successful, featuring a gym bag that was sold out in day, a t-shirt with the iconic brahma bull logo, shoes, and an alarm clock app that had more than a million downloads in its first week after release.
20. The Rocky show
The rock made a cameo in an episode of That 70’s Show. In the episode he played his father, Rocky Johnson. This was his first television-acting job.
21. Open for (show) business
A year after his television debut in 1999, Johnson hosted Saturday Night Live with wrestlers HHH, the Big Show, and Mick Foley, and this really launched what would become an extremely successful acting career.
22. Obama Smash!
Since then he has appeared on Saturday Night Live several times, most notably playing his character of “The Rock Obama”, a hilarious spoof that combined Obama and The Hulk.
23. Boldly going where no rock has gone before.
He also made a cameo on Star Trek: Voyager, playing an alien wrestler. Ironically, the wrester used all of the signature wrestling moves of Earthling wrester The Rock.
24. Multinational
Although he has lived in the United States for most of his life, he has a Samoan citizenship through his mother’s side of the family, a Canadian through his father’s side, and a U.S. citizenship by birth.
25. Blofeld Johnson
He has expressed a desire to play a James Bond villain, like his grandfather. Johnson’s grandfather played the driver for the evil Ernst Stavro Blofeld in You Only Live Twice (1967).
26. Would he even fit in that glass elevator?
He was considered as Tim Burton’s second choice for the part of Willy Wonka in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005), Burton’s first choice being Johnny Depp.
27. Smackdown!
Johnson accidentally knocked out co-star Michael Clarke Duncan while filming of The Scorpion King (2002). Duncan and Dwayne were filming a fight scene and Duncan leaned in a bit too far, and The Rock’s elbow connected right on his chin. Duncan apparently went down like a sack of bricks and was completely out.