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Okay, everyone knows “The Rock” the professional wrestler, right? Well, now everyone is getting to know Dwayne Johnson, the actor. Though it wasn’t the goal, it was probably inevitable that Dwayne Douglas Johnson (born May 2, 1972) would become a professional wrestler as he comes from a long line of them. His father was “Soulman” Rocky Johnson, a Canadian professional wrestler and his maternal grandfather was “High Chief” Peter Maiva, a Samoan professional wrestler. Also, his uncles, the Wild Samoans (Afa Anoai and Sika Anoai) and three of his cousins (Rikishi, Rosy, and Umaga) were all professional wrestlers.
When he was in high school, Dwayne played football, ran track, and wrestled, but he receive scholarship offers in football. He decided to go to the University of Miami where he played football (defensive tackle) for the Miami hurricanes. After college, he was turned down by the NFL, but was accepted into the Canadian Football League in 1995 and played for the Calgary Stampeders for two months when he was cut from the team.
It wasn’t long after that point that Dwayne decided to try out to become a professional wrestler. Though his father was against the idea, he trained Dwayne and Dwayne effortlessly made it into the WWF. When he made his debut, he called himself Rocky Mavia, a cross between his father (Rocky Johnson) and his grandfather (Peter Mavia). However, the public wasn’t fond of his clean-cut nice guy persona. So, in 1997, he changed his image and called himself “The Rock”. From there, the rest is history.
In his wrestling career, “The Rock” has been the world champion nine times, won the WWF Intercontinental Championship twice, won the WWE Tag Team Championship five times, and also won the 2000 Royal Rumble. Then, in 2004, “The Rock” retired from wrestling.
Since he was so popular in the ring, transitioning to show business wasn’t a he stretch. In fact, he got his foot in the door with several opportunities well before he retired from wrestling. In 1999, “The Rock” made his debut in the movie Beyond the Mat, which was a wrestling documentary. So, of course, he played himself. He also made guest appearances on two TV series that year: “That 70′s Show”, where he played the role of his father Rocky Johnson and “The Net”, where he played a character named Brody. He also had a couple of small appearances in 2000, but his acting career really started to take off with the “Mummy” movies in which he played the role of Mathayus the Scorpion King in The Mummy Returns (2001) and again in The Scorpion King (2002). Since then, his acting career has really taken off as he’s becoming an accredited actor in his own right. It’s interesting that his wrestling career turned into a stepping stone for his acting career, though that most likely wasn’t his original plan or goal. He found that he really enjoys acting and producers found that they really love him. He has become so accomplished as an actor, that he has dropped “The Rock” and is making a huge name for himself as Dwayne Johnson, the actor. I find it admirable that he wants to be known purely on his acting ability rather than for his accomplishments as a wrestler. However, he also played it really smart by getting known in the acting world by using his wrestling personality, as an edge and I believe we will see Dwayne in many movies to come.
He met Dany Garcia in college when he attended the University of Miami and married her on May 3, 1997, but they have since divorced (May 19, 2008). From the marriage, they have a daughter, Simone Alexandra Johnson, born August 14, 2001. Dwayne Johnson (AKA “The Rock”) is admired by men and drooled over by women, as most of America has fallen for him both in wrestling and now on the big screen. He’s a true example of great success and great talent.
