Dwayne Johnson’s upcoming film is Skyscraper.
Dwayne Johnson has revealed that after reaching the heights of fame as WWE wrestler The Rock, he was asked to drop the nickname. According to Entertainment Weekly, Johnson made the revelations on Jamie Foxx’s digital series Off Script. The 46-year-old actor said that he was pressurised to drop his wrestling persona to further his acting career.
“I was told at that time, ‘Listen, you can’t talk about wrestling. You can’t go by ‘The Rock’. You can’t be as big,'” Johnson said. He further revealed he did not like the forced personality change and “was tired of trying to be something I wasn’t”.
Johnson’s attachment to his fans also motivated him to reinstate the name.
“It’s the most important relationship I have,” the San Andreas star said.
“So finally I reached a point where I said, ‘Alright, two things have to happen: I’m gonna surround myself with a different group of people, different management, and then I’m gonna make sure that I just gotta be me. If you wanna call me ‘Rock’, you call me ‘Rock’,” he added.
Dwayne Johnson at the premiere of Skyscraper in New York City.
There have also been presidential talks surrounding the wrestler-turned-actor after he mentioned last year that he was seriously considering the position. He told Vanity Fair at the premiere of his new film Skyscraper, “Unfortunately I don’t see it happening in 2020. It’s a position that requires years of hard work and experience to learn the skills. There’s a lot of ground to cover, and due to my schedule, it’s not possible in 2020.”
The 46-year old actor is currently busy shooting for Disney’s Jungle Cruise with co-star Emily Blunt. He also has a Fast and Furious spinoff lined up with Jason Statham.
(With inputs from PTI)