Dwayne Johnson decided to try and make it in Hollywood, with one of his first roles in 2001’s The Mummy Returns – despite numerous relatives and friends warning him that it wasn’t the best idea.
Dwayne Johnson was told by “influential people” in his life that he should “stick to wrestling” when he announced his plan to swap the ring for the screen.
Before becoming an actor, Dwayne was known for wrestling – working under the name ‘The Rock’.
However, he then decided to try and make it in Hollywood, with one of his first roles in 2001’s The Mummy Returns – despite numerous relatives and friends warning him that it wasn’t the best idea.
He told MamaMia: “At one time I wasn’t an actor, at one time I was a pro wrestler. I was suplexing 300-pound men around the ring, but I wanted more.
“I loved what I did, and the world of pro-wrestling afforded me a great life… But in the spirit of wanting more, I said, “Ok, I want to expand, and I want to grow. What does Hollywood look like for me? And what can I offer Hollywood? What kind of actor can I be?
“In the beginning, there were a lot of people in my life, people who were influential in my life who said, ‘I think you should stick with wrestling’.
“They said, ‘You’ll make a couple of movies, and then you’ll probably just be spit out of the machine’. So I took a risk, and you have got to take risks, you have to.”
He added: “For folks out there reading this, you’ve got to bet on yourself. You have to, because no one else will.”
Dwayne, 54, added that he “never wanted to feel like [he] had arrived at the thing [he] was supposed to do – because it “scared” him.
He mused: “It scared me to think that I might get too comfortable, and I don’t want to be comfortable.
“You’ve seen it, when people get the thing they wanted to accomplish, and they just get comfortable. Before you know it, 20 years have gone by, and they’re still just comfortable.
“I used to be scared of that. I’d say ‘I don’t want to be comfortable, I don’t want to feel like I have arrived. But within the past year, with the things I’ve been studying and practising, I’ve realised I love arriving.
Dwayne continued: “I love being present in whatever I’m doing. To be present at the thing I’ve arrived at and enjoy it. Hopefully, people will like the thing I’ve just put out, whatever that is, and then I’ll move on to the next thing.”
He can next be seen in the live-action remake of Moana, in which he is playing Maui – a role he previously voiced in the animated Moana movie.
Dwayne Johnson warned to ‘stick to wrestling’ upon announcing acting dreams
