Today’s featured Now & Then actor is the now legendary Dwayne Johnson.
When he first came onto the acting scene (not been a wrestling fan myself) I was a bit dubious. There was a lot of talk about him replacing Arnold Schwarzenegger as the “new” action hero of the time and I just couldn’t see it. There’s even a scene at the beginning of Welcome To the Jungle/The Rundown (2003) that features a cameo from Arnie, and as they walk past each other in a club Arnie says “have fun”. Many consider this to be a passing of the “action hero torch” to The Rock.
Fast forward to now, or even a few years ago and I never would’ve believed he’d become the mega star he’s become.
Before he became “The Rock”, Dwayne Johnson was a promising football prospect. He was offered several scholarships and eventually pursued a career in the sport playing professionally for both an American team (The Miami Hurricanes) then later a Canadian team (the Calgary Stampeders). After a number of years (and injuries) he decided to give it up and try his hand at Professional Wrestling and we all know what happened next.
Both Dwayne Johnson’s father and grandfather (ironically on his mum’s side) were professional wrestlers so it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that he’d go into the sport himself.
The Rock quickly established himself as a big player in the industry. He won over fans with his trademark catchphrases and huge amounts of charisma as well as winning multiple world championships throughout his career.
As if being one of the most popular professional wrestlers to ever step into the ring wasn’t enough The Rock decided to have a go at acting, and somewhere between starring as the scorpion king in The Mummy Returns (2001) and now, he’s become one of the most successful actors in Hollywood with his films grossing over $10.5 billion worldwide.
Away from the spotlight Dwayne is married, has three kids and owns several houses including a farm in Virginia. He’s also involved in charity work and in 2006 founded the Dwayne Johnson Rock Foundation - a charity working with at-risk and terminally ill children. What a hero!
I’m sorry for doubting you Dwayne.
P.S. Nice moustache.
My top Dwayne Johnson film recommendations are:
Welcome To The Jungle (2003)
Walking Tall (2004)
Moana (2016)
Baywatch (2017)
Tooth Fairy (2010)
Pain & Gain (2013)
San Andreas (2015)
Central Intelligence (2016)
Rampage (2018)
Fighting with My Family (2019)
What’s your favourite Dwayne Johnson movie?
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