Film Journal July 2018

we produce for Seven Bucks or creating workout gear for Under
Armour. In that spirit, better decisions are made.”
Having joined the ranks of big-time Hollywood producers,
he is well aware of his responsibilities to his staff: “There’s a lot of
people who depend on me and a lot of the work that I do, if we are
producing it, starts with me. So, inevitably, I am galvanizing a lot
of people and bringing them together. So that in itself will give me
enough motivation to put my best foot forward and try to work
with a smile. And also I think it’s in my personality. “
He has plenty to smile about. A multi-ethnic star at a time
when audiences crave diversity, he has proved to be capable of entertaining
in many genres, switching from brawny action roles to
light comedy to hosting “Saturday Night Live.”
His path to Hollywood success has been unusual, to say the least.
After being cut from the Canadian Football League, he turned to
wrestling, the profession of his father, Rocky Johnson, and grandfather
before him. Within a few months he was wrestling at Madison
Square Garden under the name Rocky Malvia. He was winning
matches, but fans were tiring of his good-guy image—so he decided
to reinvent himself. After a knee injury, he returned to the ring as
The Rock, a member of the “Nation of Domination” crew of bad
boys, replete with black boots and a menacing stare. His chiseled
good looks and muscular build brought in a new female wrestling fan
base and he became a breakout star and a merchandising goldmine.
In 1999, a wrestling champion and pop-culture phenomenon,
he made the first of several guest spots on television comedies and
in “Star Trek: Voyager.” But it was a hosting slot on “Saturday Night
Live” when he gamely donned drag, demonstrated a pleasant singing
voice and a flair for sketch comedy that made Hollywood take notice.
After winning his sixth championship belt in the ring, he quietly
walked away from wrestling and made his feature acting debut
as the Scorpion King in The Mummy Returns, followed by the title
role in The Scorpion King.
Johnson switched between action roles and comedic turns in
films like Reno 911, Game Plan, Get Smart and Tooth Fairy. But action
was where his strengths lay and he returned to basics in Faster
and then joined the Fast and the Furious franchise. After the eighth
in the series, The Fate of the Furious, he starred in San Andreas and
produced and starred in the less-than-successful Baywatch, followed
by Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle and the recent Rampage.
At the most recent count he has at least ten movies in the
works and the planning stages. He earned an estimated $65 million
last year and has a net worth estimated at $220 million. So he is
entitled to reflect on his life and career so far with satisfaction—
which he does, in a modest way that does not sound like bragging.
“I am really proud of the career that I have been able to navigate
through Hollywood and break the mold of a few things and
trailblaze a few paths,” he reflects. “There wasn’t a blueprint for me
to follow when I first came in, because there wasn’t a half-Samoan,
half-black wrestler who could be loud and bombastic on some
crazy wrestling show—there wasn’t that for me.
“But there were guys like Will Smith and George Clooney and
I wanted their kind of careers. So I am proud of that and more
proud of the people that I have been able to gather around me to
see my vision and really put in a lot of work.
“And what I mean by that is: I switched agencies about eight
years ago [from CAA, where he says he was advised to slim down
to look more like other leading men, to WME] and we opened up
the production company and started building that and just continued
to bring in more minds and more people who help me.”
Although he carefully planned his path into Hollywood, he
freely admits he had his regrets: “Yes, I had regrets. If you think
about it, as you are going along in life you have your ups and
downs, and at the time I left the world of wrestling I was on top of
that world, and I quietly transitioned away because I really wanted
to dedicate myself to acting.
“But I felt I didn’t just want to make action movies, I wanted
to do more. I wanted to have a diverse career and I felt that would
give me longevity. I didn’t want to just be around for five years and
then go off into the sunset and do other things—I really wanted to
have a footprint in Hollywood and that was important to me.
“So there was a time about two or three years into the transition,
into the 2000s, when I started to question whether I had
made the right decision, because the movies that I was making at
that time were doing okay at the box office, but I was just trying
to get better and I wanted to work with quality people. And when
questions and doubts started creeping in, I had to try and calm it
down and recognize it and try and work through it.”
Then he beams. “But I have also gotten to a place today where
I don’t have regrets, because in those times when I was questioning
things, I realized I wanted to bring in a new team of people around
me, to have a greater clarity and help me with everything.”
He pauses and beams again. “So, even the bad stuff leads to
something else.”
Divorced in 2007 from his first wife, Dany, by whom he has a
daughter, Simone, he has been romantically involved with singer
and songwriter Lauren Hashian since then. They have a two-yearold
daughter, Jasmine, and since we spoke Lauren has given birth
to another daughter, Tiana.
He takes his family with him wherever he goes and whether he
is at home or on location, he spends his life surrounded by women.
“I have daughters, a girlfriend, my mother, two rotating nannies,
housekeepers—you name it. It’s always all women,” he laughs.
Then, seriously: “I keep my family with me all the time and I
create the kind of environment that, regardless of whether we are in
Atlanta or Australia, when I come back from the set I come home
to a home, a running, working home with family, noise, babies running
around, baby toys everywhere, animals, dogs—that kind of
thing. So it never feels like I’m away from everybody, so that really
helps. As long as I have the core of family with me, then I am able
to do everything I have to do.”
Like everyone, Johnson has bad days and, being the boss, he is
probably more prone to them when things go wrong. And when he
does, he has what he calls “a resetting.”
He explains: “If I’m having a bad day, I need to get away from
the noise and go off to a quiet place, because in the world of Hollywood
and entertainment there is always a lot of noise. I like to
shut it out and go someplace quiet, whether it’s my bedroom or my
truck or my trailer and I will just reset myself and be calm and do
a little meditating and try to figure out exactly what the problem is
and what is bugging me.
“Often there’s something deeper behind it and I’ll do my best
to try and take care of it. Then, nine times out of ten, I get myself
back to being in a better place and then I’ll go back to work.”
Finally, a question he is being confronted with more and more
these days: Would he consider running for President?
Instead of laughing it off, he chooses his words carefully without
committing himself. But it is plain he has given it a great deal
of thought.
“I’ve been in the public eye for a very long time now and I
think over the years I have become a guy people can relate to who
gets up and works hard every day and—what we were talking about
earlier—tries to find solutions to any problems that come up. And
continued on page 42
38 FILMJOURNAL.COM / JULY 2018
024-068.indd 38
5/23/18 3:38 PM