These days, we know Dwayne Johnson to be one of the biggest names in Hollywood, but I and other pro wrestling fans have been familiar with him for an even longer period. That’s right, before he lit up the screen, we all smelled what “The Rock” was cookin’ back in the 1990’s. You know, when WWE (then WWF) was still watchable.
Believe it or not, even someone with Johnson’s infectious personality has their ups and downs. After all, transitioning from one high profile career to another can’t be the easiest thing in the world. In fact, the man himself recently revealed something rather appalling that he was told to do before hitting his stride in Tinseltown:
“There was a time when I was struggling in my career and trying to conform because at that time the biggest movie stars were Brad Pitt and George Clooney and I was told, ‘When are you going to be more like them?’ A couple of years of that, I finally was miserable and [decided] I have to be myself and see what happens. Fortunately, things worked out. Hollywood conformed around me, but that’s the power of being ourselves. That’s what this represents.”
Suffice it to say, Dwayne has come a long, long way since his small role in The Mummy Returns. If anything, this reminds me of when he was nearly tossed from the WWE’s roster very early on, back when he was wrestling under the name of Rocky Maivia.
For those unfamiliar with the situation, it was almost curtains for the fledgling grappler, but then he told the Powers That Be something before they completely gave up on him: “Give me a mic.” After that, the rest was history and deafening crowds the worlds over were saying a number of catch phrases along with him.
Like Johnson said, he found another situation in which he had to be himself, and it paid dividends when he did. And though most of us will never rake in the same amount of dough, a valuable lesson can be learned by all.
Dwayne Johnson can next be seen in Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw on August 2nd.
