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    Dwayne Johnson

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    Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson is a professional wrestler turned actor.

    Short summary describing this person.

    Dwayne Johnson last edited by Cosmic Cube on 01/21/23 10:00AM View full history

    Comic Related Roles

    Roadblock

    Johnson played the lead role of Roadblock in the Jon M. Chu-directed film G.I. Joe: Retaliation.

    Hercules

    Johnson played Hercules in the 2014 film Hercules. The film was loosely based on the late Steve Moore's series Hercules: The Thracian Wars.

    Black Adam

    In September of 2014, after several months of teasing his involvement in a DC Comics-based film, Johnson at long last revealed that he will be playing Shazam villain Black Adam. The film, titled Shazam, is set for a 2019 release through Warner Bros. subsidiary New Line Cinema.

    Doc Savage

    In May of 2016, Johnson announced via Instagram that he would be taking on the role of Doc Savage in the Shane Black written and directed project. There is no release date set at this time.

    History

    Dwayne Douglas Johnson (born May 2, 1972), also known by his ring name The Rock, is an American actor, producer and retired professional wrestler. Regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, he wrestled for the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) for eight years prior to pursuing an acting career. His films have grossed over $3.5 billionin North America and over $10.5 billion worldwide, making him one of the world's highest-grossing and highest-paid actors.

    Johnson was a college football player at the University of Miami, with whom he won a national championship in 1991. He aspired to have a professional career in football and entered the 1995 NFL Draft, but went undrafted. He signed with the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League (CFL), but was cut from the team in his first season. Shortly after, he began training as a professional wrestler.

    An honorary member of the Anoa'i family, and the son of wrestler Rocky Johnson and grandson of Peter Maivia, Johnson secured a contract with the WWF in 1996. He rose to prominence after developing the gimmick of a charismatic, boastful, trash-talker. He won his first WWF Championship in 1998, becoming the promotion's first world champion of African-American descent. Johnson helped usher in the Attitude Era, an industry boom period in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

    In 2004, he left the WWE to pursue an acting career. He returned in 2011 as a part-time performer until 2013, and made sporadic appearances until retiring in 2019. Johnson headlined the most-bought professional wrestling pay-per-view (WrestleMania XXVIII) and was featured among the most watched episodes of WWE's two flagship television shows (Raw and SmackDown). He is a 10-time world champion, a two-time Intercontinental Champion, a five-time Tag Team Champion, the 2000 Royal Rumble winner, and WWE's sixth Triple Crown champion.

    Johnson's first leading film role was as the titular character in The Scorpion King (2002), having previously briefly portrayed the character in The Mummy Returns (2001). He has since starred in many successful films, including The Game Plan (2007), Tooth Fairy (2010), Journey 2: The Mysterious Island (2012), G.I. Joe: Retaliation (2013), Hercules (2014), San Andreas (2015), Central Intelligence (2016), Moana (2016), Rampage and Skyscraper (both 2018). His role as Luke Hobbs in the Fast & Furious films, beginning with Fast Five (2011), helped it become one of the highest-grossing film franchises. Johnson also stars in the Jumanji films, appearing in Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (2017) and Jumanji: The Next Level (2019).

    Johnson produced and starred in the HBO series Ballers (2015–2019), which ran for five seasons and was ranked as HBO's most-watched comedy in six years. He also stars and produces the autobiographical series Young Rock (2021). In 2000, Johnson released the autobiography The Rock Says, a New York Times bestseller. In 2012, he founded the entertainment production company Seven Bucks Productions.

    In 2016 and 2019, Johnson made the Time 100 Most Influential People in the World list. He is the co-owner of the American football league, the XFL.

    Early life

    Dwayne Douglas Johnson was born in Hayward, California on May 2, 1972, the son of Ata Johnson (née Maivia; born 1948) and former professional wrestler Rocky Johnson (born Wayde Douglas Bowles; 1944–2020). Growing up, Johnson lived briefly in Grey Lynnin New Zealand with his mother's family, where he played rugby and attended Richmond Road Primary School before returning to the U.S. He attended Montclaire Elementary School in Charlotte, North Carolina, before moving to Hamden, Connecticut, where he spent a couple of years at Shepherd Glen Elementary School and Hamden Middle School. He attended President William McKinley High Schoolin Honolulu, Hawaii, then Glencliff High School and McGavock High School in Nashville, Tennessee, and finally Freedom High School in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Before the age of 17, he struggled, being arrested multiple times for fighting, theft, and check fraud. A gifted athlete, he was on his high schools' gridiron football, track and field, and wrestling teams. Johnson's father was a Black Nova Scotian, with a small amount of Irish ancestry. His mother is Samoan. His father was part of the first black tag team champions in WWE history, along with Tony Atlas. His mother is the adopted daughter of Peter Maivia, who was also a pro wrestler, and his wife. Maivia's wife, Lia, was the first female pro wrestling promoter, taking over Polynesian Pacific Pro Wrestling after her husband's death in 1982, and managing it until 1988. Through his grandfather Maivia, Johnson is considered a non-blood relative to the Anoa'i wrestling family. In 2008, Johnson inducted his father and grandfather into the WWE Hall of Fame.

    Football career

    Johnson was a promising football prospect and received offers from many Division I collegiate programs. He decided on a full scholarship from the University of Miami where he mostly played defensive tackle. In 1991, he was on the Miami Hurricanes' national championship team. Johnson would appear in a backup role, starting only one game in four years, playing behind players such as Pro Football Hall of FamerWarren Sapp.

    After Johnson graduated in 1995 with a Bachelor of General Studies in criminology and physiology,[55] he signed with the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League as a linebacker. He was assigned to the practice roster but was cut two months into the season.

    Professional wrestling career

    Early career (1996)

    After his football career, Johnson decided to pursue a career as a professional wrestler. Veteran wrestler Pat Patterson got Johnson several tryout matches with the World Wrestling Federation

    WWF) in 1996. Under his real name, he defeated The Brooklyn Brawler at a house show on March 10 and lost matches to Chris Candido and Owen Hart. After wrestling at Jerry Lawler's United States Wrestling Association as Flex Kavana and winning the USWA World Tag Team Championship twice with Bart Sawyer in the summer of 1996, Johnson signed a WWF contract. He received additional training from Tom Prichard, alongside Achim Albrecht and Mark Henry.

    World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment

    Debut and Intercontinental Champion (1996–1997)

    Johnson made his WWF debut as Rocky Maivia, a combination of his father and grandfather's ring names, although his real name was acknowledged by the announcers. He was initially reluctant to take this ring name but was persuaded by Vince McMahon and Jim Ross. He was given the nickname "The Blue Chipper" and his lineage was played to on TV, where he was hyped as the WWF's first third-generation wrestler. Maivia, a clean-cut face character, was pushed heavily from the start despite his wrestling inexperience. He debuted on Monday Night Raw as a member of Marc Mero's entourage on November 4, 1996. His first match came at Survivor Series, on November 17, in an eight-man elimination tag match; he was the sole survivor and eliminated the final two members of the opposing team, Crush and Goldust. On February 13, 1997, he won the Intercontinental Championship from Hunter Hearst Helmsley on Monday Night Raw. Maivia then successfully defended the title against Helmsley at In Your House 13: Final Four. He had his first WrestleMania match at WrestleMania 13 where he was victorious in his Intercontinental Championship defense against The Sultan. WWF fans started to reject his character and push from the company. He defeated Bret Hart by disqualification in a title defense on the March 31 episode of Raw is War. Behind the scenes, Hart mentored Johnson for his first year in WWF and refused to be booked to take the title from him. On April 20, at In Your House 14: Revenge of the 'Taker, he lost to Savio Vega by countout but retained the title. Audiences became increasingly hostile toward Maivia, with chants of "die, Rocky, die" and "Rocky sucks" being heard during his matches.

    The Nation of Domination (1997–1998)

    After losing the Intercontinental Championship to Owen Hart on the April 28, 1997 episode of Raw Is War and suffering a legitimate knee injury in a match against Mankind, Maivia returned in August 1997 and turned heel for the first time in his career by lashing out at fans who had been booing him and joining Faarooq, D'Lo Brown and Kama in the stable called the Nation of Domination. He then refused to acknowledge the Rocky Maivia name, instead referring to himself in the third person as the Rock, though he would still be billed as "the Rock" Rocky Maivia until 1998. The Rock would then regularly insult the audience, WWF performers, and interviewers in his promos.

    At D-Generation X: In Your House, Stone Cold Steve Austin defeated the Rock in under six minutes to retain the Intercontinental Championship. The next night on Raw Is War, Austin was ordered by Mr. McMahon to defend the title in a rematch, but forfeited it to the Rock instead, handing him the title belt before hitting him with the Stone Cold Stunner. The Rock feuded with Austin and Ken Shamrock through the end of 1997 and beginning of 1998. On January 19, 1998, at Royal Rumble, the Rock defeated Shamrock by disqualification to retain the Intercontinental title. Later that night, he entered the Royal Rumble match and lasted until the final two before he was eliminated by Stone Cold Steve Austin. On March 29, at WrestleMania XIV, he defeated Shamrock by disqualification once again to retain the title. The next night, on Raw is War, the Rock debuted a new Intercontinental Championship design and would later overthrow Faarooq as leader of the Nation of Domination to spark a feud between the two. He then successfully defended the Intercontinental title against Faarooq at Over the Edge: In Your House on May 31. The stable would then refer to themselves as simply "The Nation".

    The Rock and The Nation then feuded with Triple H and D-Generation X, with the two stable leaders first meeting in the quarter-final of the 1998 King of the Ring tournament, which the Rock won. At King of the Ring, the Rock defeated Dan Severn in the semi-final match and lost to rival Ken Shamrock in the final. The Rock then resumed his feud with Triple H, as the two had a two out of three falls match at Fully Loaded: In Your House for the Intercontinental title, which the Rock retained in controversial fashion. This led to a ladder match at SummerSlam, where the Rock lost the title.

    The Rock saw a big uptick in fan support during this time, causing him to be booked in a feud with fellow Nation members Mark Henry and D'Lo Brown, turning babyface in the process. Henry defeated him at Judgment Day: In Your House, after interference from Brown, effectively breaking up the stable.

    Acting career

    Johnson entered Hollywood and the film industry, becoming a star initially through his wrestling popularity and noted work ethic. Over his acting career, he became one of the highest paid and most successful actors in Hollywood. He began his acting career on television while wrestling. In his first television acting job, in 1999, he played his own father in an episode of That '70s Show called "That Wrestling Show". Nearly a year later, he appeared in the Star Trek: Voyager episode "Tsunkatse" as an alien wrestler who fought popular character Seven of Nine. While Johnson was away from WWE, the company continued to sell "The Rock" merchandise, and he continued to be featured prominently in the opening montages of their television shows.

    Johnson began his theatrical career in The Mummy Returns (2001), The Scorpion King (2002), The Rundown (2003), and Walking Tall (2004). He played a supporting role in Be Cool (2005) - most notable for the meta element of playing a bodyguard that wants to become an actor - and was the primary antagonist in Doom (2005). He also had roles in Gridiron Gang (2006), Reno 911!: Miami (2007), and Southland Tales (2006). He played a cocky famous American football player in The Game Plan (2007) and Agent 23 in Get Smart (2008). He presented the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects at the 80th Academy Awards.

    In 2012, Johnson founded his production company Seven Bucks Productions. He became known for reinvigorating film franchises after portraying Marvin F. Hinton / Roadblock in G.I. Joe: Retaliation and reprising his role as Luke Hobbs in Fast & Furious 6 (2013), while also starring in true-story films Pain & Gain (2013) and Empire State (2013). That same year, he hosted and produced the TNT reality competition series The Hero, and won the Favorite Male Buttkicker Award at the 2013 Nickelodeon Kid's Choice Awards. In May 2013, it was announced that he would executive produce and star in Ballers, an HBO comedy-drama series about NFL players living in Miami. By December of that year, Forbes named him the top-grossing actor of 2013, with his films bringing in $1.3 billion worldwide for the year. Forbes credited the success of Fast & Furious 6, which grossed $789 million globally, and his frequent acting work as primary reasons for topping the list.

    Johnson starred as the title character in Hercules (2014) and reprised his role as Luke Hobbs in Furious 7 (2015). He hosted another reality series for TNT in 2014, entitled Wake Up Call, which saw him "lending a helping hand to everyday people who were facing enormous challenges in their lives" alongside guest experts such as Rocco DiSpirito, Jillian Michaels, and Josh Shipp. It was announced that he would executive produce and star in the horror film Seal Team 666, and is set to play Nick Schuyler in the drama film Not Without Hope. In 2016, Johnson co-starred with Kevin Hart in the action-comedy Central Intelligence and had a lead voice role in the Disney animated film Moana, in which he voiced the Polynesian demigod Maui. He reprised his role as Luke Hobbs in The Fate of the Furious, which was released in 2017. Johnson starred in two other blockbuster movies that year, Baywatch and Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle as Mitchell "Mitch" Buchannon and Dr. Smolder Bravestone, respectively. In 2018, he starred in the action films Rampage and Skyscraper.

    In 2019, Johnson produced and appeared as himself in Fighting with My Family, a comedy-drama about Paige and her family, who are also professional wrestlers. Johnson's role within The Fast and the Furious franchise continued with Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw, co-starring Johnson and Jason Statham. David Leitch directed the project from a script co-written by franchise-writer Chris Morgan and Drew Pearce. The film began principal photography in September 2018, and was released on July 26, 2019. Though initially believed to be a part of Fast & Furious 9, Johnson has since stated that he will not appear in the film; instead, opting to begin development on a sequel to Hobbs & Shaw. Johnson reprised his role as Bravestone, in Jumanji: The Next Level. With the critical and financial success of Welcome to the Jungle, production of the movie began in early 2019, and was released on December 13, 2019.

    Apparently Johnson was in Netflix's Red Notice, written and directed by Rawson Marshall Thurber. Thats the third time that the two collaborated, following Central Intelligence and Skyscraper. Johnson co-starred with Emily Blunt in The Walt Disney Company's Jungle Cruise, as Frank and Lily Houghton. Cast in the role in August 2015, the film was announced to be based on the theme-park ride of the same name. In addition to his work on the film, Johnson assisted with re-designing the titular ride for all Disney theme parks.

    Johnson has also been trying to develop a reboot of Big Trouble in Little China, as well as a new interpretation of Doc Savage. A film centered around Teth-Adam/Black Adam was announced to be in development in January 2017. Originally cast in the role as early as September 2014 as the antagonist, in a film centered around the superhero Billy Batson/Shazam, his villainous role for Shazam! was re-worked into two separate films. Though Johnson would not appear in Shazam!, he served as a producer and his likeness was used through special effects in flashback scenes. On November 14, 2019, he announced a December 2021 release date for the standalone Black Adam film. Production on Black Adam began filming in April 2021. Johnson promised a change in the "Hierarchy of Power" at DC Films and he certainly got it though not in his favor. Due to the long development history and reshoots, Black Adam's budget was overwhelmingly large and unable to break even though it performed relatively well. A surprise cameo by Henry Cavill was arranged shortly before the film's october 2022 release. Cavill announced that he would return as Superman and instagram for sequel where he fights Black Adam promised many more films to come. Johnson gloated and boasted during the promotion of the film that he had "listened" to the fans and delivered what they want. Then in december Warner announced that they would be rebooting/re-casting Superman and the DC Films universe. Johnson's future as Black Adam looks bleak other than a few "multiverse cameos".

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