For a man who made his reputation smashing his opponents into the wrestling-ring canvas, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson is a surprisingly nice guy. He tells DONALD CLARKEhow he made the transition from full-nelsons to full houses
THERE IS, in the interviewing game, a secret document, shared among journalists and PR folk, that lists the celebrities with whom you would least like to spend 25 minutes. This guy is notoriously rude. That guy is so dull he could be used as a walking analgesic. And so on. Sadly, for fear of writs, we can reveal no names.
Then there are the people that the publicists simply adore. Michael Palin, of course. Who doesn't like Brendan Gleeson? Every current Latin American director (bar one jerk) is absolutely lovely. Then there's Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. If the former wrestler, currently on our screens in Race to Witch Mountain, has just been in town, the boys and girls from Mega PR will visibly glow with pleasure. He's just sooooooo nice.
“Oh I have occasionally heard that,” he says, trying to look bashful. “My reputation does precede me. I always say you have to be grateful. We are in an industry that is, all things considered, doing pretty well. Hey, you have to be grateful for that.”
Dwayne Johnson was born into wrestling royalty (if there is such a thing). His father, Rocky Johnson, fought in the National Wrestling Alliance during the 1970s. His maternal grandfather, Peter Maivia, a Samoan behemoth, became a star during the 1950s. We make fun of this strange amalgam of sport and extreme theatre, but there’s no denying that it’s a tough, tough business.
Maiva disapproved of his daughter marrying a grappler and Rocky tried to stop his own boy going into the game.
"My dad didn't take it very well," he says. "We lived the life you saw in the movie The Wrestler. That character Mickey Rourke played so well was my dad. I had played some professional football in Canada and it was easy for him to say: 'Look, I am in this one-bedroom apartment. I have nothing to show for wrestling.' Being a parent now myself, I understand that."
As it transpired, things worked out well for Dwayne. Following the stalling of his professional football career, he entered wrestling when the "sport" was reaching the height of its gaudy popularity. For all the appeal of The Undertaker or (oh, I don't know) The Braineater, wrestling needs its heroes and The Rock, as he became known, had a head that ideally suited the white hat. Action figures followed. Now, at 36, he is the established star of hits such as The Scorpion King, The Mummy Returnsand The Game Plan. Still, one can sympathise with the older Mr Johnson. Dwayne was not always the assiduous go-getter he is today.
“I studied criminology in college and I think that might have to do with the fact that I got in trouble a lot as a kid,” he agrees. “That’s why I got interested in that. I had multiple arrests and got in a lot of trouble. When I went to college I originally wanted to be in the FBI.”
Was there a defining moment that turned him away from delinquency? "I had eight or nine arrests before I was 17 and the last time I was arrested my parents had to come and get me out. My folks were struggling then to put food on the table. As I say, it was like Mickey Rourke in The Wrestler. But I remembered the disappointment on my mom's face. For a long time I didn't mind it. But, when I was 17, that look on her face did begin to bother me."
It was about this time that Dwayne had a run-in with the school’s football coach. He insisted upon using the teachers’ loo and the coach was forced to give him a sound dressing down. The next day Johnson thought about how rude he’d been and went round to apologise. “‘What an asshole!’ I said to myself,” he remembers. Surprised at the young man’s composure, the teacher invited him to try out for the football team. He went on to play for the University of Miami and take that degree in criminology.
If the young Dwayne was anything like the man who sits before me today then Mr Johnson need not have feared. Cleanly articulate with an easy, open manner, he is drenched in that very American self-confidence that ensures lemons are always turned into lemonade. Just look at that early career. A coach offered him a lifeline and he took up football. His career in the pro game hit a stumbling block, so he re-invented himself as a wrestler. When he started to get a little creaky in the joints, he propelled himself into action films. Clever The Rock.
Mind you, wrestling should offer good training for the budding actor.
Remember all those staged arguments with evil kingpin Vince McMahon and his snarls at Stone Cold Steve Austin.
“Oh sure. There’s a great amount of acting in wrestling,” he agrees. “It’s a great form of entertainment. And it was a great training ground for me. That type of television is a very guerrilla sort of TV. It’s four hours of live programming a week, 52 weeks a year. It’s a wonderful experience if you take advantage of it. It forced me to listen to the audience, to get that acumen.”
The Scorpion Kingwas great fun, but nobody would argue that Duane's filmography is composed of unalloyed masterpieces. His turn in Richard Kelly's bizarre Southland Talesis notable more for its eccentricity than its subtlety. But he has enormous charisma, and the years in the ring have taught him how to do interesting things with a quip. He's also a good businessman. Asked about his partnership with Disney – the harmless Race to Witch Mountainis an updating of a Mouse House family romp from the 1970s – and he launches into a lengthy spiel about the company's corporate practices.
“For me the idea was to create opportunities to work in all genres,” he says. “Initially I was just getting action roles, so the opportunity to work with Disney was a great opportunity. Disney is very brand-specific and working with a company like that you learn the virtues of a brand. Disney does it pretty well.”
Where’s the phone? I want to buy a hundredweight of Mouse Ears right away.
Dwayne Johnson could sell horseshoes to kittens. If he ever elects to move into politics he could go far. After all Jesse Ventura, another wrestler, became a governor and he wasn’t a quarter as eloquent as The Rock. I had read that Dwayne addressed the Republican National Convention in 2000. Was that significant? “I did both parties,” he corrects me quickly. “At that time I had a really young following and that was about exercising your right to vote. Funnily enough, I am asked that a lot. Look, I love politics, but I am not passionate about pursuing politics. I will leave that to others who are more passionate. I will do what I am passionate about, which is entertaining.”
That’s sounds like a politician’s way of saying he isn’t a politician.
Beware voters. He’s smart, good-looking, articulate and he’s soooo nice.
