Dwayne Johnson

"Rock Johnson" redirects here. Not to be confused with Rocky Johnson, Duane Johnson, Dewayne Johnson, or Wayne Johnson.

Dwayne Johnson
Johnson in 2023
Born
Dwayne Douglas Johnson

(1972-05-02) May 2, 1972 (age 52)
Hayward, California, U.S.
EducationUniversity of Miami (BGS)
Occupations
Years active
    • 1996–2004
    • 2011–2019
    • 2023–present
    (wrestling)
  • 1999–present (acting)
  • 2000; 2021–present (rapping)
WorksFilmography
Spouses
  • ​
    ​
    (m. 1997; div. 2008)​
  • Lauren Hashian
    ​
    (m. 2019)​
Children3, including Simone
FatherRocky Johnson
RelativesAnoaʻi family
Ring name(s)
  • Flex Kavana
  • Rocky Maivia
  • The Rock[1]
Billed height6 ft 5 in (196 cm)[2][3]
Billed weight260 lb (118 kg)[2][3]
Billed fromMiami, Florida, U.S.[2][3]
Trained by
DebutMarch 10, 1996[4]
Signature

Dwayne Douglas Johnson (born May 2, 1972), also known by his ring name The Rock, is an American actor, professional wrestler, and businessman. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on a part-time basis. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time,[6][7] Johnson was integral to the development and success of the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) during the Attitude Era. He wrestled for the WWF full-time for eight years before pursuing an acting career. His films have grossed over $3.5 billion in North America and over $10.5 billion worldwide,[8] making him one of the world's highest-grossing and highest-paid actors.[9][10][11] He is a co-owner of the United Football League,[12][13][14] a member of the board of directors of TKO Group Holdings—the parent company of UFC and WWE[15][16][17]—and co-founder of Seven Bucks Productions.[18]

After accepting an athletic scholarship to play football at the University of Miami, Johnson was a member of the 1991 national championship team but was largely a backup player.[19] Despite aspirations to professional football, he went undrafted in the 1995 NFL draft, and briefly signed with the Calgary Stampeders before being cut in his first season.[20] In 1996, his father assisted in helping him secure a contract with the WWF.[1] Johnson quickly rose to global prominence, aided by a gimmick he employed as a charismatic trash talker. Johnson left the WWE in 2004; he returned in 2011 as a part-time performer until 2013 and made sporadic appearances from thereon until his retirement in 2019;[21] in 2023, he returned once again on a part-time basis. A 10-time world champion—including the promotion's first of African-American descent[22]—he is also a two-time Intercontinental Champion, a five-time Tag Team Champion, the 2000 Royal Rumble winner, and WWE's sixth Triple Crown champion. Johnson headlined multiple pay-per-view events, including WWE's flagship event WrestleMania six times (15, 16, 17, 28, 29 and 40) which includes the most-bought professional wrestling pay-per-view (WrestleMania 28) and main evented the most watched episodes of WWE's flagship television series (Raw and SmackDown).[23][24]

Johnson's first film role was in The Mummy Returns (2001). The next year, he played his first leading role in the action fantasy film The Scorpion King. He has since starred in family films The Game Plan (2007), Race to Witch Mountain (2009), Tooth Fairy (2010), Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (2017), Jumanji: The Next Level (2019), and Jungle Cruise (2021), and the action films Journey 2: The Mysterious Island (2012), G.I. Joe: Retaliation (2013), Hercules (2014), Skyscraper (2018), San Andreas (2015) and Rampage (2018). He also starred in the action comedy films Get Smart (2008), Central Intelligence (2016), Baywatch (2017), and Red Notice (2021). His role as Luke Hobbs in the Fast & Furious films, beginning with Fast Five (2011), helped the franchise become one of the highest grossing in film.[25] He joined the DC Extended Universe by playing the title role in Black Adam (2022).[26] He is also known for voicing Maui in the Disney animated film Moana (2016).

Johnson produced and starred in the HBO comedy-drama series Ballers (2015–2019)[27] and the autobiographical sitcom Young Rock (2021–2023). His autobiography, The Rock Says, was released in 2000 and was a New York Times bestseller.[28][29] In 2016 and 2019, Time named him as one of the world's most influential people.[30][31]

  1. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference slam was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b c "Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson". WWE. Retrieved March 9, 2012.
  3. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference ESPN was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ a b "The Rock". Cagematch. Retrieved January 26, 2024.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference Dworkis was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ "The Greatest Professional Wrestlers of All Time". UGO. Archived from the original on November 4, 2013. Retrieved July 21, 2018.
  7. ^ "The Top 100 Pro Wrestlers of All time Reviewed in Wrestling Perspective". Wrestling Perspective. Retrieved November 14, 2011.
  8. ^ "Dwayne Johnson Movie Box Office Results". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved September 11, 2019.
  9. ^ "People Index". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved September 11, 2019.
  10. ^ Robehmed, Natalie (August 25, 2016). "The World's Highest-Paid Actors 2016: The Rock Leads With Knockout $64.5 Million Year". Forbes. Retrieved August 27, 2016.
  11. ^ "Some Lesser-Known Truths About Academe". May 3, 2017. "Asking a professor whether you should pursue a Ph.D. is a little like asking The Rock — aka Dwayne Douglas Johnson, the world's highest-paid actor last year — whether you should become an actor"
  12. ^ "The Rock Buys The XFL for $15 Million". RingsideNews.com. August 2, 2020. Retrieved August 2, 2020.
  13. ^ Kerr, Jeff (August 2, 2020). "Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson buys XFL for $15 million with partner Redbird Capital, per report". CBS Sports. Retrieved August 2, 2020.
  14. ^ Earl, William (February 21, 2022). "Dwayne Johnson's XFL Sets Football R&D Pact With NFL". Variety. Retrieved March 28, 2023.
  15. ^ Cite error: The named reference espntko was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  16. ^ Valinsky, Jordan (January 23, 2024). "Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson scores mega payday to join the WWE's board". CNN. Retrieved January 23, 2024.
  17. ^ Chiari, Mike (January 23, 2024). "The Rock Becomes Board Member of WWE's Parent Company TKO, Obtains Trademark to Name". Bleacher Report. Retrieved January 23, 2024.
  18. ^ Busch, Anita (June 7, 2017). "Hiram Garcia Named President of Production at Seven Bucks Prods". Deadline. Retrieved April 19, 2019.
  19. ^ "Suspension at Freedom High took Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson from troubled teen to one of world's 'most likable people'," The Morning Call, January 4, 2021
  20. ^ "20 Surprising Facts About Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson". Hollywood.com. Archived from the original on August 26, 2015. Retrieved August 27, 2015.
  21. ^ Cloete, Faden (February 15, 2024). "Tragic Details About The Rock". Wrestling Inc. Retrieved March 30, 2024.
  22. ^ Dee, Johnny (May 22, 2015). "Dwayne Johnson". The Guardian. Retrieved September 28, 2016.
  23. ^ Castillo, Alfonso (April 16, 2019). "WWE: WrestleMania sets new PPV record". Newsday. Archived from the original on February 7, 2022. Retrieved April 19, 2019.
  24. ^ Oestriecher, Blake. "WWE Isn't Bringing Back The Attitude Era, But An Edgier Product Can't Hurt". Forbes. Retrieved April 19, 2019.
  25. ^ Lynch, John (March 20, 2018). "The 23 most successful movie franchises of all time". Business Insider. Retrieved April 19, 2019.
  26. ^ "Dwayne Johnson, 'Black Adam' Cast on Film's 15-Year Journey and Hopes for DCEU's Future". The Hollywood Reporter. October 13, 2022. Retrieved May 19, 2023.
  27. ^ Kissell, Rick (August 25, 2015). "Ratings: 'Ballers' Ends First Season as HBO's Most-Watched Comedy in Six Years".
  28. ^ "Best Sellers Plus". The New York Times. Retrieved August 28, 2012.
  29. ^ "Bulletin with Newsweek". J. Haynes and J.F. Archibald. November 12, 2016. Retrieved November 12, 2016 – via Google Books.
  30. ^ Berg, Peter (April 21, 2016). "The World's 100 Most Influential People: Dwayne Johnson". Time. Archived from the original on March 17, 2022. Retrieved May 22, 2016.
  31. ^ "Dwayne Johnson, Taylor Swift, Gayle King, more cover Time's 100 most influential people issue". USA Today. Retrieved April 19, 2019.