The Rock reveals how wrestling shaped his acting career
From starting as The Rock in WWE to becoming one of the highest-paid actors in Hollywood, Dwayne Johnson has come a long way. Following the critical success of his film, ‘The Smashing Machine,’ Johnson appeared in an interview on the THR Actor Roundtable with Adam Sandler, Jacob Elordi, Michael B. Jordan, and more, where he revealed how his past as a wrestler shaped his acting career.
“I think performatively, yes. In wrestling, it’s very big and over the top as you’re performing for everybody for a stadium. But I think probably one of the main takeaways from wrestling was it really forced me live, and you guys know this in theater,” Johnson continued.
“It’s like it forces you, it’s almost like a forcing mechanism to listen. To really make sure that you’re really honing in on that skill set of just really listening to the audience and keeping you on your toes.”
In a career spanning over two decades, Johnson has appeared in nearly 50 films, with roles varying across full-length appearances, animations, and cameos.
Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson discusses his Hollywood jump
In the same interview, Johnson also opened up about his Hollywood jump from WWE in the early 2000s.
“Well, I think it was planned by something more powerful than me, for sure. Destiny, I believe in the universe, but I also wanted to grow, and I wanted to challenge myself.“
Extremely successful and popular, Johnson recently received his first-ever Golden Globes nomination for one of the spots in the Best Male Actor in a Motion Picture (Drama) category.
Shounak Chakrabarti is an experienced sports journalist with a lifelong passion for athletics and storytelling. He holds a Master’s Degree in International Journalism from the University of Leeds and joined F4WOnline in 2025.
Shounak takes particular interest in soccer, closely following top clubs like Real Madrid and Arsenal. Beyond sports, he enjoys fiction writing, photography, gaming, and cinema.