Dwayne Johnson is one of the world’s most famous wrestlers turned actor.
He is known for his contributions to WWE and to many as The Rock, but do you know how his career started?
Johnson is not only an entertainer but a man of many talents and an entrepreneur.
He has impacted many people’s lives around the globe, not only through TV but through charity work and volunteering.
Here are 35 interesting facts about Dwayne Johnson.
Dwayne Douglas Johnson was born on May 2, 1972, in Hayward, California, US.
Johnson spent some of his childhood growing up in New Zealand with his mother’s family. He attended Richmond Road Primary School in Grey Lynn.
He admits to being arrested multiple times for theft and fighting before the age of 17.
Dwayne Johnson is 6 foot 5 inches (196cm). When he was in high school, he was 6 foot 4 inches (193cm) and weighed 225 pounds (102 kg). Many of his classmates thought he was an undercover cop.
Born into a family of fighters, both Johnson’s father and grandfather were professional wrestlers, and his grandmother was a pioneer of Polynesian Pro Wrestling.
Johnson’s grandmother was a strong-willed businesswoman who was one of the first female promoters of the Polynesian Pro Wrestling.
Originally Johnson wanted to work for the FBI, so he studied criminology and physiology at a university in Miami, Florida.
Johnson made his first WWE appearance with the name Rocky Maivia in 1996. The name was a combination of his father’s first name Rocky and his grandfather’s last name Maivia.
He suffered from a knee injury and was unable to fight again until 1997, and this was his first appearance under his new name, The Rock.
WWE owner Vince McMahon originally owned the rights to the name “The Rock”; therefore, McMahon received executive producer credits for Johnson’s movies. Eventually, Johnson got the right for the name “The Rock.”
In 2000 Dwayne published “The Rock Says…” his autobiography that he co-wrote with Joe Layden. It remained number one on The New York Times Best Seller List for multiple weeks.
Johnson featured in one episode of Star Trek: Voyager in 2000, playing an alien gladiator.
In 2002 whilst filming The Scorpion King, Johnson accidentally hit co-star Michael Clarke Duncan whilst acting out a fight scene. Johnson’s elbow collided with Duncan’s chin so hard it knocked Duncan out.
Have you seen his tattoo? In 2003 Johnson got a tattoo that spans from his chest through his left arm. The tattoo is based on a Pe’a, which is a traditional style of tattoo in Samoan culture.
Johnsons tattoo took 60 hours to complete, and it tells a story of his family history and ancestry as he is half Samoan.
Johnson was the second-choice actor for playing Willie Wonker in Tim Burton’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
The Dwayne Johnson Rock Foundation was formed in 2006. The charity works with terminally ill and at-risk children.
In 2007 Dwayne Johnson obtained a Guinness World Record for being the highest-paid actor in his debut film, The Mummy Returns. He was paid $5.5 million for the 2001 movie.
Johnson was the main character in the Universal Studios ride called Disaster! The ride was for the public to work alongside Johnson in a quest. This was then updated in 2018 with a new ride based on Fast and Furious, which also has Johnson playing a key role.
Johnson loves to play guitar, and in 2010 he told Jay Leno on The Tonight Show that Willie Nelson, the famous country singer, gave him a guitar for his birthday.
In 2012 Johnson founded his own production company called Seven Bucks Productions. The name comes from the amount of money he had in his wallet when he was cut from the Canadian Football League.
In 2013 Forbes magazine listed him as number 25 in the Top 100 Most Powerful Celebrities.
In 2015 Johnson donated $1,500 to a GoFundMe campaign to pay for the surgery of an abandoned dog.
Dwayne Johnson set a Guinness World Record on May 22, 2015, for most selfies taken in three minutes. Dwayne captured 105 selfies on the red carpet at the world premiere of his new film San Andreas.
In 2015 Johnson adapted two French bulldogs who were brothers and named them Hobbs and Brutus.
Sadly Brutus’ life was taken when he was a puppy after consuming a toxic mushroom whilst playing in the garden with Hobbs. Previous to this, he’d had a near-death experience when he jumped into Johnson’s pool and almost drowned.
Johnson’s stunt double is his distant cousin Tanoai Reed and has been for over 15 years. They are related through their great-grandfathers.
In January 2016, Johnson collaborated with Under Armour to create a selection of products based on Johnson.
As part of the partnership, a specialized duffle bag and backpack were created, and both products sold out on the first day of their release.
In 2017 Johnson revealed that the character of Maui in the film Moana was based on his grandfather. As well as Johnson’s voicing Maui, he had some influence in the design of the character and was inspired by his grandfather as he was a legendary Samoan wrestler.
Johnson loves fishing! Amongst many hobbies, fishing is one of his favorite pastimes. In an interview in 2017, he said he raises his own bass on his farm.
After the Hawaiian floods in 2018, Dwayne helped the non-profit organization Malama Kauai repair damages caused by the flooding.
In 2019 Johnson was awarded the 100 Most Influential People in The World award from Time magazine.
In 2019 Johnson became the host for NBC’s competition series called The Titan Games.
Dwayne Johnson’s Net Worth is estimated at $280 million as of 2020.
Dwayne Johnson is a legend to many and a global inspiration.
Despite his challenging past, he has shown that you can still achieve great things through persistence and determination.
He is a man of many talents and has not only entertained the world for decades but contributed immensely through setting up a charity and donating to good causes.
