The Rock (entertainer)

Football career

Johnson was born in Hayward, California and raised in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Johnson's maternal grandfather, "High Chief" Peter Maivia, was a star in the World Wrestling Federation (now World Wrestling Entertainment). A native of Samoa, his father's "trademark" was the ceremonial tattoos that covered the lower half of his body. Johnson's father, Rocky Johnson, was a WWF tag-team champion.

During high school in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, Johnson began playing football at Bethlehem's Freedom High School. A member of Lehigh Valley's East Penn League, Freedom played in one of the most competitive high school football conferences in the nation.

Johnson received scholarship offers from several collegiate programs and ended up choosing the University of Miami, which had not openly recruited him. He was a member of the 'Canes 1990 NCAA National Championship team. A back injury, however, ended his probable NFL career before it began. Johnson signed a three-year deal with the Canadian Football League, but was cut after a year and decided to pursue professional wrestling.

Wrestling career

Johnson first wrestled in the WWF as Rocky Maivia, a combination of his father and grandfather's ring names. The WWF played up his connection to his father and grandfather, calling him the first third-generation superstar to wrestle for the company. Johnson was first portrayed as a clean-cut babyface, and gained early success, winning the prestigious Intercontinental Championship after only three months. However, wrestling had changed since Hulk Hogan's heyday in the mid-'80s, and fans quickly grew sick of the two-dimensional good guy character. Despite often being loudly booed, Johnson was forced to go to the ring and smile, as if the crowd was cheering (like they were "supposed to").

Eventually, Johnson was allowed to turn heel and joined the Nation of Domination (wrestling's version of the Black Panthers), spewing venom at the fans for turning on him, influenced by Johnson's real-life feelings toward the WWF audience. In the Nation, Rocky Maivia became The Rock, a cocky and charismatic bully. Now allowed to be more or less himself (Johnson has often said in interviews that The Rock is merely Dwayne Johnson with "the volume turned up"), The Rock became wildly popular, establishing several much-quoted catchphrases including "Do you smell what The Rock is cookin'?", "Layeth the Smacketh down," and "Know your role and shut your mouth!" Johnson's popularity as The Rock propelled him to the WWF Championship in 1998 at age 26. At the time, he was the youngest WWF Champion in history, siding with then-heels Vince and Shane McMahon as the crown jewel of their "Corporation" stable. Johnson eventually turned (baby)face again and would have many face/heel turns, feuding with all of WWE's top talent.

Fueled by the star power of The Rock and other stars such as Stone Cold Steve Austin and Mankind, the WWF experienced a massive surge in popularity not seen since Hulk Hogan's reign in the '80s. In particular, Johnson's extremely entertaining interviews and storylines made WWF programming a must-see for wrestling fans. From 1998 to 2002, The Rock feuded against the WWF's top stars, winning the WWF Championship on several occasions, and eventually crossed over into mainstream popularity, such as a guest appearance on R&B singer Wyclef Jean's track "It Doesn't Matter" and the accompanying video. While still wrestling full-time, Johnson made an appearance as host of the popular sketch comedy TV series Saturday Night Live. The episode was very popular, and showcased Johnson's acting and comedic ability favorably. After this, Johnson started to get offers from Hollywood for a multitude of different projects. He was a guest star on That '70s Show, in which he played the role of his father. The Rock's first role in a major film was a limited appearance as The Scorpion King in The Mummy Returns, and his natural charisma translated well to the silver screen. He made occasional wrestling appearances up to 2004's WrestleMania XX, but has since devoted himself to acting full-time.

The Rock added numerous tattoos to his body over the course of his wrestling career. An early nickname "The Brahma Bull" came from the steer's head tattoo on his right bicep.

In interviews conducted in 2005, Johnson revealed that his contract with World Wrestling Entertainment expired at the end of 2004. He also stated that he is able to continue using his stage name The Rock as part of a dual-ownership agreement with WWE.

Acting career

In 2004, The Rock starred in a remake of Walking Tall, as war hero-turned-sheriff Chris Vaughn (loosely based on Buford Pusser, the real-life inspiration for the original), who returns to the town where he grew up and rids it of corruption with his trusty two-by-four.

In 2005, The Rock will see more exposure on the big screen as he stars alongside John Travolta and Uma Thurman in Be Cool, the sequel to Get Shorty, and Spy Hunter, a movie based on the popular video game. He has been approached to play the role of Duke Nukem in a live action Duke Nukem movie, and will star in a movie based on the popular Doom video game series, which recently finished filming. Johnson will also star in the live-action movie adaptation of the Cartoon Network series Johnny Bravo.

During the shooting of "Be Cool", The Rock gets punk'd by Ashton Kutcher's Punk'd crew member when his mobile home explodes during the shooting of the movie.

Johnson married Dany Garcia on May 3, 1997. They have a daughter, Simone Alexandra.

Filmography