Dwayne Johnson

Background

Dwayne Douglas Johnson, better known by his stage name The Rock, is an American actor, wrestler, and businessman. He was born into a wrestling family, but he has built a name for himself in the sport. Johnson was born in Hayward, California, on May 2, 1972. He’s the son of professional wrestler, Rocky Johnson, and his mother Ata. In the 1960s and 1970s, his maternal grandpa, Peter Maivia, rose to prominence in the professional world as ‘High Chief.’ Johnson spent a lot of his childhood traveling with his parents and seeing his father wrestle in the ring. Johnson started playing football throughout his high school years, and he soon obtained a full scholarship to the University of Miami, where he excelled. He earned a Bachelor of General Studies degree in criminology and physiology the same year.

Following in his father’s footsteps, Johnson tried his hand at professional wrestling and made his professional wrestling debut in the United States Wrestling Association, where he performed as ‘Flex Kavana’. In 1996, Johnson joined the World Wrestling Federation as Rocky Maivia, joining a group known as the Nation of Domination. Wrestling, on the other hand, was only the beginning. Johnson made his acting debut as his father on an episode of “That ’70s Show.” He also starred in “The Scorpion King” (2002). His early film appearances were mainly action-oriented and include “The Rundown” (2003) and “Doom” (2005).

Johnson shifted his game in the following years by acting in varied genres. He was in Richard Kelly’s “Southland Tales” (2006), “The Game Plan” (2007), and Will Ferrell’s comedy, “The Other Guys” (2010). Johnson’s transformation from wrestler to an actor with true Hollywood charisma didn’t happen until his role as Luke Hobbs in the “Fast Five” (2011). In 2013, He had roles in “G.I. Joe: Retaliation” following his entrance into the “Fast & Furious” universe. He resumed his Hobbs role in “Fast & Furious 6” (2013), “Furious 7” (2015), and “Fate of the Furious” (2016). In between these roles, Johnson also appeared in “Central Intelligence” (2016) alongside Kevin Hart.

He went on to be a voice-over artist and took on the role of Maui in “Moana” (2016). In the T.V. show “Ballers,” Johnson played Spencer Strasmore. He also co-starred with Hart in “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle” (2017) and its sequel “Jumanji: The Next Level” (2019). In 2018, two more films starring Johnson were released; “Rampage” (2018), based on gameplay, and “Skyscraper” (2018). In the “Fast & Furious” spinoff “Hobbs & Shaw,” his character Luke Hobbs teamed up with Jason Statham. Johnson went on to co-star with Emily Blunt in the Disney-inspired “Jungle Cruise” (2020).

Dwayne Johnson Movies