Dwayne “Rock” Johnson is a former popular American wrestler, and now a famous Hollywood film actor, who has worked on the sets of the films “The Fast and the Furious,” “Jumanji,” “Second Chance” and many others.

The actor was twice noted in the Guinness Book of Records: for the mind-boggling fee received for playing his debut leading role ($5.5 million), and for the incredible number of selfies taken in a very short period of time (105 photos in 3 minutes).

Childhood

Dwayne was born in early May 1972 in California, into a family that made a living from wrestling. Her father, grandfather, cousins ​​and uncles were professional wrestlers, her mother was her husband's promoter, and her grandmother made a career as the head of a women's wrestling league in Polynesia.

Their father's work, which involved constant moving, did not allow the Johnsons to sit still. Therefore, Dwayne received his secondary education in three different schools: first in New Zealand, then in Hawaii, and finished his senior year in Pennsylvania.

Sports have always been present in the Johnsons’ lives: from childhood, Dwayne’s father took Dwayne with him to competitions and to train in the gym. At the age of 12, during one of these classes, the younger Johnson decided to test his capabilities on a barbell. The forces turned out to be unequal - the barbell crushed the guy.

This incident did not affect Dwayne’s physical health in any way, but helped convince the boy to connect his future with sports. From that moment on, Dwayne's serious training began under the authoritative guidance of his own dad.

Dwayne Johnson. Training

Dwayne's father, Rocky Johnson, half African American and half Canadian, was not a good enough wrestler to provide the family with a comfortable life. He grabbed every opportunity to earn money and almost never appeared at home. Over the years, Dwayne saw him less and less, and his life with his mother became more and more difficult. Finally, when he was 14, his parents divorced.

Dwayne and his mother settled in a tiny house in Honolulu, which they rented with their meager savings. One day they returned home to find an eviction notice on the door. They could have spent the night in the car, but it had been repossessed for tax evasion a week earlier. Looking at his crying mother, Dwayne hated himself for being helpless.

Adversity could not but affect the guy’s behavior. His behavior became aggressive, at school he constantly fought with his peers, sometimes it came to showdowns with the police. Quarrels with my mother became commonplace. Dwayne was burdened by poverty and dreamed of the day when he would earn enough to not have to count every cent.

His mother's parents lent them money and they returned to their home, but Duane understood that this was a temporary measure. He was determined to make a living through physical strength, but until he got into shape and finished school, something had to be done. And while his mother worked as a cleaner, he became even more immersed in training and... in the world of crime. He joined one of the gangs in the city of Waikiki, robbing branded clothing stores and jewelry stores. Fortunately, the guy quickly realized that such a path was unlikely to lead him to professional sports, but perhaps to prison.

Youth

By the age of 16, Dwayne had been expelled from four schools. Finally, in Pennsylvania, he entered Freedom Public School, i.e. "Liberty".

One day, Dwayne went into the boys' bathroom, but it was so smoky that he used the teachers' bathroom. While he was washing his hands, the coach of the local football team saw him and was indignant - students were strictly forbidden to use the teacher's restroom. To his stern shout, Dwayne replied: “Yeah, I’ll leave now, just wash my hands home.” The coach seethed with anger, but remained silent. And Dwayne spent the whole day tormented by a feeling of guilt, because he understood that he was too rude. The next morning, he found the coach and asked for forgiveness, after which he gave the high school student an appraising look and invited him to practice.

He looked at me, and I was a typical punk who didn’t respect his elders, and said: “I believe in you.” I will never forget what this man did for my future.

Already in those years, Dwayne Johnson's height was 6 feet 4 inches (about 195 cm), and his weight was 225 feet (105 kg). And these were 105 kg not of fat, but of cast muscles. Because of his size, his teammates were long convinced that Dwayne was not a schoolboy, but an undercover drug agent embedded in a school in a disadvantaged area. “It probably had to do with the stupid mustache I was wearing at the time,” jokes The Rock.

Johnson quickly fell in love with football. He not only achieved good results in the game, but also improved his academic performance. After all, now he had a real chance to get out of poverty - the best universities in the USA were ready to get such a student so that he would play for their national team. By the time he graduated, he chose from many offers from US universities and ultimately chose the University of Miami.

Dwayne fully lived up to the expectations placed on him, winning the NCAA national student championship in 1991 as a member of the Miami Hurricanes team.

But a severe back injury received a year later put a spoke in the wheels. Without the opportunity to play football, the university did not need him - his average grade for the first year was 0.7 units.

Under the patronage of the coach, he was eventually reinstated, and in 1995, Dwayne received a diploma in criminology. Immediately after graduation, he signed a contract with the Canadian team Calgary Stampeders. In Canada, he lived with two teammates, ate instant noodles and slept on a dirty mattress, hoping the Calgary coach would soon pull him off the bench. But that did not happen. Two months later he was kicked off the team.

Having lost the opportunity to play professional football, Dwayne discovered new horizons for himself in the ring.

WWE

Football was over. With his dreams shattered and $7 in his pocket - and nothing else left to him - he contacted his father and asked him to put in a good word for him in wrestling. With his last money, Dwayne bought a bus ticket to Tampa, Florida, and moved into a tiny apartment with his father. Soon the bell rang in the apartment of the aspiring wrestler. On the other end, Dwayne heard the coach of the Calgary Stampeders. He asked the guy to return to the team. Dwayne hung up. His father called him a fool and said that he was missing the best chance of his life. To which Dwayne replied: “Now my place is in the ring.”

Dwayne Johnson made his WWE Survivor debut in November 1996 under the stage name Rocky Maivia, a combination of his father's first name and his grandfather's last name. He was, in his own opinion, absolutely unprepared for battle. Why, he even borrowed shorts from his uncle.

Young Dwayne Johnson in the ring

At the first performances, he tried to create the impression of a “good guy”, because, as you know, wrestling, especially WWE, is not so much a sport as a theatrical performance. But when he entered the ring, the crowd booed and hooted, and during the fight, “Rocky, you suck” was heard every now and then. Then Dwayne changed tactics and showed the audience his aggressive alter ego under the name The Rock.

And it was a success. In this spectacular role, he managed to earn the boundless love of the public and win the championship in various WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment) competitions 17 times and even become a fixture in pop culture.

Dwayne finally felt happy. First of all, he bought a house for his mother, helped his father with money, and then fulfilled his childhood dream and bought a real Rolex watch. At this stage he felt empty. The Rock realized that he had achieved everything he wanted in wrestling, and decided, like Mickey Rourke, Hulk Hogan and many other wrestlers who went into films, to become an actor.

Film career

In 2000, Dwayne Johnson released his autobiographical book “The Rock Says...”, which became a bestseller, which greatly fueled interest in his person, including in Hollywood.

“The Rock” was offered his first supporting role in the film “The Mummy Returns,” and then the main role in its prequel, “The Scorpion King.” In the first film of the company, the wrestler happened to be on the same set with such stars as Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz.

The spin-off "Metaes, the Scorpion King" provided Dwayne with a Guinness World Record and great demand as an action actor.

Dwayne Johnson - how to attract girls

Since 2011, a new streak of success began for the muscular actor, which was marked by filming in the continuation of the series of popular racing films “The Fast and the Furious,” where Johnson played alongside Vin Diesel and Paul Walker. The screenwriter of the fifth part, Chris Morgan, specially rewrote the role of agent Luke Hobbs for Dwayne, so that the viewer could enjoy the brutal Vin Diesel and The Rock in one frame.

In the summer of 2014, the film “Hercules” was released worldwide, in which Dwayne Johnson played the Greek demigod. In April 2015, audiences were presented with the seventh film about outlaw racers from the Fast and the Furious series, in which Vin Diesel, Paul Walker and Jason Statham starred along with the actor.

Dwayne Johnson in the movie "Hercules"

In 2017, Dwayne Johnson again attracted the attention of Fast and Furious fans in the eighth part of the franchise. In the summer of the same year, he could be seen in the beach comedy Baywatch along with Zac Efron, Alexandra Daddario, Priyanka Chopra and Kelly Rohrbach.

Exciting action films with the participation of “The Rock” Johnson came out one after another: for example, in 2017, the actor pleased the audience with his participation in the remake of the popular film “Jumanji”, where his partners were Karen Gillan and Kevin Hart, and in April 2018 the adventure film was released disaster movie Rampage starring Dwayne.

But in June 2007, Dani and Dwayne made an official announcement of divorce: the daughter remained with her mother. Simone Alexandra Duane pays $22,000 a month for daily expenses, not counting another five thousand for her education. Despite the breakup, the couple nevertheless managed to maintain friendly relations.

After the release of the film “Hercules,” Johnson was credited with an affair with his partner in the film, top model Irina Shayk, who allegedly left football player Cristiano Ronaldo because of the Hollywood actor. But this information was not confirmed, and soon the tabloids were filled with photographs of Irina with the equally famous actor Bradley Cooper.

As for Dwayne, he has been dating singer Lauren Hashiyan since 2007. Their romance began after the star’s divorce from his first wife.

And in 2015, there was an addition to the couple: Lauren gave birth to a girl, Jasmine Leah. In 2018, the couple had a second daughter, Tiana, in whom Dwayne dotes.

In April 2018, there was another addition to the Johnson family, and Dwayne touched fans with a joint photo with his third newborn daughter, Tiana Gia. In August 2019, the lovers got married.

Dwayne Johnson now

The actor has colossal plans - he has been cast in at least five major projects, including the sequels to Suicide Squad and Jumanji. At the same time, the directors of more than 10 other big-budget films expressed hope that he would join their cast.

In 2019, the number of The Rock's followers on Instagram crossed the 150 million mark, and this figure is growing every day.

In the fall, Dwayne Johnson made peace with Vin Diesel (the actors had a conflict over filming in “The Fast and the Furious,” which is why Dwayne did not appear in the ninth film in the series), so The Rock will appear again in the tenth part of “The Fast and the Furious.”

Tanoai Reed is not just The Rock's stunt double, but his cousin. As a thank you for what his cousin does for him, Dwayne gave him a car in 2018. The touching moment was captured in a video that the actor published on Instagram.

Johnson noted more than once that over the years of working together, Reed more than once broke his bones, tore his tendons and ligaments. A small gift of a brand new car was the least he could do for Tanoay.

Chris Hemsworth and Bobby Holland Hanton

Australian stuntman Holland Hanton replaced Chris Hemsworth in all parts of Thor and The Avengers. During filming, Bobby managed to break three vertebrae, a rib, a pelvic bone and dislocate his shoulder.

He was also Daniel Craig's stunt double in Quantum of Solace, where he jumped from one balcony to another. The crazy stunt was performed without insurance. This is who should be paid huge fees!

Mark Ruffalo and Anthony Molinari

This photo shows stunt double Anthony Molinari with Avengers star Mark Ruffalo on set. Men are like two peas in a pod. As they say, perfect match!

Daniel Radcliffe and David Holmes

Former gymnast David Holmes was Daniel Radcliffe's stunt double in the first six Boy Wizard films. However, during the filming of Deathly Hallows, David, while rehearsing a flight scene, broke his neck: his body was paralyzed from the chest down.

After the incident, Daniel Radcliffe organized a fundraiser to pay the victim's medical bills. Now, ten years later, the former stunt double still manages to risk his life racing a modified car.

Jennifer Lopez and her stunt double

In 2017, photos of Jennifer Lopez from the filming of the series “Shades of Blue” appeared on the Internet. In the photographs, the actress posed with her stunt double. The same wigs and clothes did the trick. It's really hard to tell who is who from these photos!

Johnny Depp and Tony Angelotti

In 2010, during the filming of The Tourist, Johnny Depp had to use the services of a stunt double during particularly extreme scenes. Tony Angelotti helped the actor in this. On the Internet you can find footage of a stuntman jumping from a balcony.

The young man is not only fearless, but also talented: he has two Taurus World Academy of Stuntman awards for the best fight in the film Pirates of the Caribbean. It’s still good that understudies also have bonuses!

Dwayne Johnson was born on May 2, 1972 in Hayward (California, USA). His father, Soulman Rocky Johnson, was a famous wrestler. Mother - Ata Maivia. Interestingly, his maternal grandfather High Chief Peter Maivia was also a wrestler, and his grandmother Lia Maivia was involved in the wrestling promotion from 1982 to 1988 (Polynesian Pacific Pro Wrestling).

Here is the future actor Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and his father Rocky Johnson, who was a wrestler in his youth.

Rocky Johnson(real name Wade Douglas Bowles) is a former professional wrestler. Rocky achieved great success in the 1970-1980s, during his performances in World Wrestling Entertainment.

Dwayne lived with his mother's family in Auckland, New Zealand as a child. He went to school there (Richmond Road Primary School). He later moved to live with his parents in Honolulu, Hawaii. Here he graduated from 10th grade at President William McKinley High School. At about the age of 12, he began playing sports. He went to the gym with his father. Usually young Dwayne would do pull-ups or hit a punching bag. Soon his father took over his physical training. The program consisted mainly of the same exercises that his father did. Dwayne liked to train. Almost every day he visited the athletic club, which was located 5 kilometers from home. The results were not long in coming. At 13 years old, Dwayne was 170 cm tall and weighed 78 kg. Yes, he was a prominent guy. At school he also took part in various sporting events.

His debut in wrestling took place in November 1996 and he then performed under the name Rocky Maivia (his father’s name and grandfather’s surname). Yes, he became the third generation of wrestlers. Well, he showed himself. Three months later he won the WWF Intercontinental Championship. During all this time that he spent in wrestling, which was from 1996 to 2004, Dwayne Johnson received quite a lot of titles and awards. He is still known as The Rock, one of his ring names.

Dwayne Johnson, anticipating the end of his wrestling career, is trying himself in the acting field. In 2001, Dwayne Johnson played a role in the film “The Mummy Returns,” for which he received a fee of $5.5 million. The wrestler acquires the status of a movie star and accepts incoming offers from directors. Dwayne Johnson played leading roles in such films as “Fast and Furious 5”, “Fast and Furious 6”, “Snitch”, “Journey 2: The Mysterious Island”, “Blood and Sweat: Anabolics”.

Since his debut as a wrestler decades ago, Dwayne Johnson has become one of the most successful wrestlers of all time. But Dwayne Johnson didn't limit himself to just wrestling, here are 25 interesting facts about Dwayne Johnson, also known as "The Rock":

25. He played for the Calgary Stampeders in the Canadian Football League

Dwayne Johnson played with Douglas Flutie for the Calgary Stampede in the Canadian Football League after he was unable to make the National Football League due to injury.

24. His role in The Mummy led to him then starring in The Scorpion King.


Before being offered the lead role in The Scorpion King, he had a supporting role in The Mummy Returns.

23. In 1999, he became the World Wrestling Federation champion for the first time.

Dwayne Johnson won his first WWF title in 1999, just two years after he joined the Federation.

22. In the early 2000s, he earned an average of about $120 million a year


At the peak of his popularity, his average earnings were about 120 million per year. These amounts included his participation in WWE and royalties for filming.

21. He played his father in That '70s Show


In one of the first episodes of That '70s Show, Dwayne Johnson played the role of his father, who was also a wrestler. The title of the episode was "The Wrestling Show" and it was in this series that The Rock referred to his father as "the hottest man in entertainment sports."

20. He played the role of an alien wrestler in the movie Star Trek


In one of the Star Trek films, Dwayne Johnson was able to find a middle ground between wrestling and acting. He was the first WWE Superstar to star in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, where he played the role of alien wrestler and warrior Pendari, whose name was Tsunkatse.

19. His stunt double in many fight scenes is his cousin.


For most of his action scenes, Dwayne Johnson enlists the help of his cousin, Tanoai Reed, as his stunt double.

18. His role in the Fast and Furious film series was not originally intended for him.


The Fast and the Furious writer actually planned to give the role of The Rock to an older actor in the film. However, fans really wanted to see Dwayne Johnson and Vin Diesel in the same film, so he decided to rewrite the script for Dwayne's character.

17. He participated in the filming of the music video for the 2000 hit “It Doesn’t Matter”


Dwayne Johnson starred not only in films and variety shows, but also in music videos. One of the first music videos he appeared in was for Wyclef Jean Trach's "It Doesn't Matter", released in 2000.

16. He is the first third generation professional wrestler wwechampion2011.


Of all the famous professional wrestlers in wrestling history, Dwayne Johnson is the first third generation wrestler. His grandfather and father were also professional wrestlers who became quite popular in this sport. His grandfather Peter Maivia was the High Chief of the WWE, and his father Rocky Johnson was also a famous wrestler.

15. He grew up in different places


Dwayne Johnson moved around a lot as a child, as his father was also a professional wrestler. He was born in Hayward, California, but his family moved to other places, such as Pennsylvania, Hawaii, California and New Zealand.

14. The success of Saturday Night Live paved his way to Hollywood.


When Dwayne Johnson successfully starred in several late-night television comedy shows and Saturday Night Live, several Hollywood studios became interested in him and offered him several roles. It was with the help of this program that he was able to get into Hollywood.

13. At Madame Tussauds in New York, USA, there is a wax figure dedicated to him


The museum, a famous tourist attraction in the city, houses reproductions of famous showbiz stars such as Rihanna and Katy Perry. The wax figure of The Rock is one of the most popular in the museum.

12. In 2013, he realized his dream of becoming a presenter and producer


During his time as a wrestler, Dwayne Johnson decided to become an actor. After finding success in his acting career, he decided to move into the role of host and producer. His dream came true in 2013, when he was invited to become the host and producer of “Hero,” a game and competition reality show.

11. His acting career blossomed with the film "The Scorpio King"


Thanks to the success of his first film, The Scorpion King, Dwayne Johnson became an in-demand action actor. Since his debut, he has acted in several other successful films, including Amazon Treasure, Walking Tall, The Game Plan, Witch Mountain, Tooth Fairy, Fast 5 and Fast & Furious 6.

10. He was paid $5.5 million for his role in The Scorpio King


Dwayne Johnson's first starring role was in the film The Scorpion King. He received $5.5 million in royalties, a staggering amount considering it was his first film.

9. At the moment, he prefers filming movies to wrestling.


Dwayne Johnson said in an interview with Entertainment magazine in 2006 that he no longer saw himself as a wrestler, and was interested in an acting career and wanted to become a director in the future. “I'm not The Rock. I'm Dwayne Johnson," he said.

8. He is recognized as one of the greatest professional wrestlers in history.


Dwayne Johnson is the only professional wrestler to become a 17-time WWE Champion. Of this number, 10 times he became the heavyweight champion. He also became the WWF Intercontinental Champion twice. In 2000, he became champion in the Royal Rumble and became a three-division champion in the sixth WWF show.

7. Early in his WWF career, Dwayne competed under the name Flex Kavanagh.

When Dwayne Johnson began his career in the World Wrestling Federation, his original ring name was Flex Kavana. A year later, he became a member of the Nation of Domination group, where he became a recognized leader. It was only then that he began using the name "The Rock".

6. The Rock's first book was published in 2000


Harpers Entertainment published The Rock Says, The Rock's first book, in 2000. This book is a funny, action-packed memoir that chronicles The Rock's life in and out of the ring. The book begins with his childhood and travels around the world with his father. The book reached number one on the New York Times bestseller list.

5. He divorced his wife in 2007


After ten years of marriage, Dwayne Johnson and Dany Garcia decided to divorce. Their only child, Simone Alexandria, is now with his ex-wife. Dwayne pays $22,000 a month for his daughter's daily needs, plus $5,000 on top for her education.

4. He married his college girlfriend, Dany Garcia, in 1997.


In 1997, Dwayne married his girlfriend, Dani Garcia, whom he met while attending the University of Miami. Dani graduated from the University of Miami in 1992 and became a member of the University's Board of Trustees several years later.

3. He played for the University of Miami football team


While attending the University of Miami, Dwayne received several offers from various Division I programs who saw great athletic potential in him. After numerous offers, he decided to play as a defensive tackle for the national championship team, the Miami Hurricanes. Unfortunately, he missed out on the National Football League due to injury.

2. He's part of a wrestling dynasty.


Dwayne Johnson isn't the only wrestler in the family. Moreover, he is part of a long-lasting wrestling dynasty. Peter Maivia, his maternal grandfather, was also a wrestler. His maternal grandmother, Lia Maivia, was also a professional women's wrestling promoter. His father, also a wrestler, was the Soulman of the wrestling world in his day.

1. He was born on May 2, 1972


On May 2, 1972, world famous wrestler Dwayne Johnson was born to Ata Johnson and Rocky Johnson in Hayward, California. He, along with his mother, retain their Samoan citizenship, despite also having Scottish ancestry. His father is of Black Nova Scotian descent, and his mother is of Polynesian descent.

The Rock doesn't fit Hollywood standards

To begin with, to be a star in Hollywood, and then throughout the world, you need to meet the standards formed by popular culture and the film industry. You need to not just be photographed on a poster with a pathetic expression on your face, but to move the project forward, not to indulge in narcissism, but to work for yourself and everyone around you, not to multiply with your presence the problems of the director and producers, but to help them in every possible way. It’s not that Dwayne Johnson lets down his partners, but, frankly speaking, he’s not very good at pulling something on himself, he’s by no means a ballast, but he’s not a locomotive either, where other actors try their best, The Rock looks relaxed and unperturbed.

No, of course, Johnson is a great professional, directors speak of him as a talented artist, capable of accurately fulfilling the tasks voiced by the director, but imagine The Rock regulating relations on the set, dictating his terms, and most importantly, demonstrating that his words were correct from the very beginning is quite difficult. For all his charisma and powerful stature, Dwayne is such an Ilya Muromets lying on the stove. From time to time he is asked to turn over from side to side, and he does this, but to get up and sweep away everything in his path - it hasn’t come to that yet, and, I’m afraid, it won’t happen anymore.

Johnson has been playing the same role all his life.

Some call it a narrow acting range, others think it’s just a style, but it’s hard to blame Dwayne Johnson for pampering viewers with a variety of images. Wherever The Rock appears, no matter what picture he is involved in, we are guaranteed one of two types - either he is a nice homely family guy, forced to bare his muscles for the sake of his family, or a servant with a limited sense of humor and a desire to destroy everything. It is clear that it is difficult for a shaven-headed, tattooed pile of muscles to choose at least some intellectual roles for himself (although Johnson also played scientists, remember, remember), but why drive yourself into such a narrow framework?

Dwayne Johnson on the set of "Skyscraper"

And from this problem another one clearly emerges: due to the fact that The Rock is the same everywhere, he cannot become a full-fledged face of any franchise (“Fast and Furious” does not count, he is a secondary person in it). It was not possible to launch a sequel to either “San Andreas Fault”, or “GI Joe”, or “Baywatch”; it is unlikely that anything will work out for “Rampage” and “Skyscraper”. A sequel to Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle has been announced, but we remember how long we had to wait for the second film. It turns out that continuations are not needed, because The Rock continues the same line everywhere, but this cannot be called stardom, it is rather the other side of star status. This is the lot of a baked Bruce Willis or a Jason Statham who has not soared to the heights - stars are not monotonous.

Dwayne is hampered by his desire to please people.

One explanation for the fact that Johnson is the same everywhere can be a very simple fact: The Rock really wants to please the audience, especially family and teenage audiences, and this prevents him from truly revealing himself. This problem has actually been known for quite a long time; many classical actors did not want to play negative characters, fearing such images would scare off their fans and lose popularity. The example of Jackie Chan is well known in this regard - the popular actor completely refused to play antagonists, thereby depriving the audience of a kind of pleasure. Later, Chan, by the way, came to his senses, but it was too late.

Dwayne Johnson on the set of Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle

Dwayne Johnson, on and off screen, nurtures the image of a cheerful man, an exemplary father, a fighter for morality and health, but this monotonous song has long become boring and no longer attractive. The ability to laugh at oneself is great, but The Rock's self-irony never crosses a very moderate line. Playing a villain or even a monster, literally or figuratively, is also not for Johnson, he is “too good” for that. But this super-positive image does not make Dwayne a star, but turns the actor into a Mickey Mouse life-size doll in Disneyland - seemingly positive in everything, but insincere and lifeless.

Johnson avoids sharp corners

What is guaranteed to distinguish a star from the ranks of mediocrity or artisans who are not deprived of a modicum of talent is the ability to impress with tough statements, unexpected moves, bright ups and dizzying downs in the cinema and beyond. The Rock is not a star at all, if only because it is impossible to imagine him demonstrating his significance and status in one way or another. On the contrary, Johnson disappoints with his absolute non-conflict, bordering on weakness. The Rock even defends his failures and failures somehow infantilely, as if he doesn’t need all this - remember his tweets in defense of “Baywatch”, this is not even defense, but capitulation with an important look. And this was at a time when the scandal could have played into the picture’s hands.

But it’s even more difficult than in scandalous skirmishes on Internet sites to imagine Johnson in some controversial roles. God forbid, we are not talking about auteur cinema or experiments, no one insists that The Rock play in something like “Dallas Buyers Club”, “Brokeback Mountain” or “Call Me by Your Name”, but the actor does not allow even the slightest genre shifts - the actor’s business did not move beyond the worthless “Informer”. But unexpected, even if not very successful, roles of big actors are what make stars out of them: Stallone and Schwarzenegger starred in comedies, Willis and Cruise in erotic thrillers, Diesel in a legal drama, and Pitt in an old man’s tragedy. Unexpected transformations are the bread and butter of a true star, but The Rock does not eat bread, it has a bad effect on muscle mass. That is why he remains an overgrown jock without his own recognizable “I”.

The era of stars is gone

However, perhaps I am wrong to criticize Dwayne Johnson for not trying to transcend the status of a popular actor and become a full-fledged superstar. Perhaps the time of superstars is quietly passing without us even noticing. After all, judge for yourself - today only a few among hundreds of artists continue to bear the “cross” of the stars, the rest of the popular names sparkled solely thanks to the achievements of the films in which they starred. Today, stars are films and franchises, and not the people involved in them: the Marvel Cinematic Universe gave star status to previously unknown Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston, “Star Wars” brought Daisy Ridley to the top, and “Bond” - Daniel Craig. And changing the main person in these films will not destroy brand recognition.

Dwayne Johnson had every chance of becoming the latest action movie hero. He came out of the sport (wrestling is also a bit of a sport), having his own army of fans, he actively filmed and gladly showed off his muscles to the audience, he quickly found a comfortable audience and cultivated this soil as he saw fit. But, unlike their predecessors, those actors whose names are called with aspiration stopped developing and changing direction. The Rock is straightforward and predictable, and “Skyscraper” proves that best. After a series of box office triumphs, after studios began to call him “Viagra for a blockbuster,” the true essence was revealed - Dwayne Johnson is not a star at all, but just a for the time being successful, monotonous actor, for whom the bright streak has now been replaced by a dark one. The trouble is that he himself does not know how to control his own destiny, and therefore is forced to go with the flow, like the most ordinary supporting actor, only dreaming of superstar status.