Dwayne Johnson has made one hell of an impact on popular culture over the course of his career. From his early days as a wrestling star, through his development into one of the biggest actors on the planet, he’s displayed a winning charisma, an impressive work ethic and that unmistakable physique. And that’s not even counting the number of things he’s blown up, crashed and generally destroyed the hell out of in over two decades on screen.
In recognition of his long career, Johnson has now been named as this year’s recipient of MTV’s Generation Award, which honors actors who’ve become genuine household names due to their work within the TV and movie industry. Past recipients have included luminaries like Tom Cruise, Johnny Depp, Sandra Bullock, Will Smith and Robert Downey Jr, so Johnson’s joining some extremely hallowed company.
Amy Doyle, General Manager for MTV, explained why they’ve chosen him:
“Johnson is an icon on both film and TV who has become one of the most beloved actors of our generation. Throughout his career, Johnson has proven to be the ultimate badass – an action star with a flair for comedy, one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time and a true family man. He continues to captivate his audience worldwide and we are thrilled to celebrate him with the Generation Award.”
Can’t say fairer than that. If you want to see him collect the honor, this year’s MTV Movie & TV Awards, hosted by Shazam! star Zachary Levi, takes place on June 17th at 9:00 PM ET/PT.
And if you’re hungry for more Dwayne Johnson, don’t worry because (as always) he’s got multiple films soon to hit theaters. Most prominent is his role in Hobbs & Shaw, which opens August 2nd and is a Fast and Furious spinoff that’ll see his Luke Hobbs teaming up with Jason Statham’s Deckard Shaw to take down Idris Elba’s cyber-genetically enhanced international criminal mastermind Brixton. Beyond that, there’s an as yet untitled Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle sequel out in December, too.
Busy times for a busy man, and I think he’s definitely earned this award.