electrifying
FO RE VE R
ELECTRIFYING
TAKING
HOLLYWOOD JUST A FEW SHORT YEARS AFTER CONQUERING THE WWE RING, THE ROCK BRANCHED OUT AND CONQUERED THE SILVER SCREEN.
A
s The Rock was defeating opponents night after night on TV, Vince McMahon placed a phone call to Marty Adelstein of Endeavor Entertainment agency (now William Morris Endeavor) and said, simply, “I have a guy who transcends what we do in sports-entertainment.” That one call kick-started a career in movies that turned The Rock from WWE Superstar into a global sensation. Before long, The Great One was appearing on Star Trek: Voyager and That ’70s Show (playing his father no less) as studios began to take notice. After a memorable stint hosting Saturday Night Live, movie studios began to take notice. “The studios—especially Universal—saw the impact that it had,” The
40
THE ROCK
The Rock electrifies in his breakout film role as Mathayus in The Scorpion King. Set in ancient times, the film is a prequel to the popularl film that also featured Mathayus, The Mummy Returns.
FO RE VE R
ELECTRIFYING
From left: The Rock is ready to save the day in San Andreas, The Great One resuming his role as Hobbs in Furious 7, The Rock impresses as bodybuilder Paul Doyle in Pain & Gain. Due to its box office success, a sequel to San Andreas has been announced.
THERE'S NOT A CERTAIN PERIOD OR A CERTAIN GENRE THAT I WOULD NOT TRY...WHETHER OR NOT THE ROCK DOES SHAKESPEARE REMAINS TO BE SEEN, BUT I'D GIVE IT A TRY. THE ROCK
Rock says, “not only in the ratings, but more importantly, from what I am told, the depth I showed comically. I’m not saying I’m Jim Carrey by any means, but I think I did pretty well.” Acting had long been something The Rock had been entertaining for some time, even before he made the leap to WWE Superstardom. “I had it in my head, but I also had it in my head that I wanted to be a Secret Service Agent,” he once told WWE Magazine. “It was only when I actually tried acting and got a taste of it—people talk about the acting bug and things like that, but it was actually trying it that got me going.” Universal’s interest led to a small but integral role as the Scorpion King in 2001’s The Mummy Returns. While The Rock spent the majority of his screentime as a CGI Scorpion with a human head, fans still came out in droves, driving the film’s box office sky-high. Almost immediately, The Rock began fielding offers. Initially the Jet Li/Jason Statham vehicle The One was going
to be his first starring role, but timing issues resulted in The Rock reprising his Mummy role in The Scorpion King. A string of actionoriented films ranging from the well-received The Rundown to a remake of Walking Tall followed and both garnered solid box office returns. However, The People’s Champ wasn’t content simply trading beating up Superstars in the ring for beating up villains on film. “There’s not a certain period or a certain genre that I would not try,” he told WWE Magazine. “I’d at least give it a shot. Whether or not The Rock does Shakespeare remains to be seen, but I’d give it a try.” To that end, The Rock began branching out, trying his hand at everything from drama (Gridiron Gang, Southland Tales) to family films (The Game Plan, Race to Witch Mountain). He even managed to turn a concept like The Tooth Fairy into a box office hit. However, it wasn’t until 2011 when he appeared as DSS agent Luke Hobbs in Fast Five that The Rock’s film career
went stratospheric. The character, a tough-asnails agent tasked with tracking the franchise’s car-boosting heroes, became an immediate hit with fans and a series mainstay, returning for the sixth, seventh and upcoming eighth installments. “I love the Fast movies, man,” he told Biography. “The character I play, Hobbs, he continues to be one of the most fun challenges and most rewarding characters I've ever played. We continue to add these little layers to Hobbs. It’s so much fun keeping him bad-ass, but allowing him to show these tiny little bits of vulnerability every once in a while, then going back to the tough guy thing, being able to throw a wink or two at my longtime fans. It's been the best.” After the success of Fast Five, The Rock went on to appear in a number of blockbuster sequels, including Journey 2: The Mysterious Island and G.I. Joe: Retaliation, earning him the reputation as a “franchise saver.” He’s also continued to branch out and try new projects, ranging from a felonious personal trainer in Pain & Gain to a comedic turn in Central Intelligence. The Rock has also joined forces with Disney for the film Moana, and animated feature that pays tribute to his South Pacific heritage. He also sings in the kid flick. In June of 2016, a few weeks before the debut of the second season of his HBO series Ballers (which he also produced), Forbes declared The Rock the world’s highest paid actor. The Brahma Bull clearly has Hollywood by the horns, but it seems he is only just getting started. “If I could start my Hollywood career over again, I wouldn’t change a thing,” he says. “Every success and failure, every love and heartbreak, it’s all led me down the path I’m on. I’m lucky to be enjoying the Hollywood career I have these days—but I also wake up every morning with the mindset that there is no substitute for hard work, and there’s no amount of sweat I won’t drop to achieve my goals.” T H E R O C K 40
ELECTRIFYING
TAKING
HOLLYWOOD JUST A FEW SHORT YEARS AFTER CONQUERING THE WWE RING, THE ROCK BRANCHED OUT AND CONQUERED THE SILVER SCREEN.
A
s The Rock was defeating opponents night after night on TV, Vince McMahon placed a phone call to Marty Adelstein of Endeavor Entertainment agency (now William Morris Endeavor) and said, simply, “I have a guy who transcends what we do in sports-entertainment.” That one call kick-started a career in movies that turned The Rock from WWE Superstar into a global sensation. Before long, The Great One was appearing on Star Trek: Voyager and That ’70s Show (playing his father no less) as studios began to take notice. After a memorable stint hosting Saturday Night Live, movie studios began to take notice. “The studios—especially Universal—saw the impact that it had,” The
40
THE ROCK
The Rock electrifies in his breakout film role as Mathayus in The Scorpion King. Set in ancient times, the film is a prequel to the popularl film that also featured Mathayus, The Mummy Returns.
FO RE VE R
ELECTRIFYING
From left: The Rock is ready to save the day in San Andreas, The Great One resuming his role as Hobbs in Furious 7, The Rock impresses as bodybuilder Paul Doyle in Pain & Gain. Due to its box office success, a sequel to San Andreas has been announced.
THERE'S NOT A CERTAIN PERIOD OR A CERTAIN GENRE THAT I WOULD NOT TRY...WHETHER OR NOT THE ROCK DOES SHAKESPEARE REMAINS TO BE SEEN, BUT I'D GIVE IT A TRY. THE ROCK
Rock says, “not only in the ratings, but more importantly, from what I am told, the depth I showed comically. I’m not saying I’m Jim Carrey by any means, but I think I did pretty well.” Acting had long been something The Rock had been entertaining for some time, even before he made the leap to WWE Superstardom. “I had it in my head, but I also had it in my head that I wanted to be a Secret Service Agent,” he once told WWE Magazine. “It was only when I actually tried acting and got a taste of it—people talk about the acting bug and things like that, but it was actually trying it that got me going.” Universal’s interest led to a small but integral role as the Scorpion King in 2001’s The Mummy Returns. While The Rock spent the majority of his screentime as a CGI Scorpion with a human head, fans still came out in droves, driving the film’s box office sky-high. Almost immediately, The Rock began fielding offers. Initially the Jet Li/Jason Statham vehicle The One was going
to be his first starring role, but timing issues resulted in The Rock reprising his Mummy role in The Scorpion King. A string of actionoriented films ranging from the well-received The Rundown to a remake of Walking Tall followed and both garnered solid box office returns. However, The People’s Champ wasn’t content simply trading beating up Superstars in the ring for beating up villains on film. “There’s not a certain period or a certain genre that I would not try,” he told WWE Magazine. “I’d at least give it a shot. Whether or not The Rock does Shakespeare remains to be seen, but I’d give it a try.” To that end, The Rock began branching out, trying his hand at everything from drama (Gridiron Gang, Southland Tales) to family films (The Game Plan, Race to Witch Mountain). He even managed to turn a concept like The Tooth Fairy into a box office hit. However, it wasn’t until 2011 when he appeared as DSS agent Luke Hobbs in Fast Five that The Rock’s film career
went stratospheric. The character, a tough-asnails agent tasked with tracking the franchise’s car-boosting heroes, became an immediate hit with fans and a series mainstay, returning for the sixth, seventh and upcoming eighth installments. “I love the Fast movies, man,” he told Biography. “The character I play, Hobbs, he continues to be one of the most fun challenges and most rewarding characters I've ever played. We continue to add these little layers to Hobbs. It’s so much fun keeping him bad-ass, but allowing him to show these tiny little bits of vulnerability every once in a while, then going back to the tough guy thing, being able to throw a wink or two at my longtime fans. It's been the best.” After the success of Fast Five, The Rock went on to appear in a number of blockbuster sequels, including Journey 2: The Mysterious Island and G.I. Joe: Retaliation, earning him the reputation as a “franchise saver.” He’s also continued to branch out and try new projects, ranging from a felonious personal trainer in Pain & Gain to a comedic turn in Central Intelligence. The Rock has also joined forces with Disney for the film Moana, and animated feature that pays tribute to his South Pacific heritage. He also sings in the kid flick. In June of 2016, a few weeks before the debut of the second season of his HBO series Ballers (which he also produced), Forbes declared The Rock the world’s highest paid actor. The Brahma Bull clearly has Hollywood by the horns, but it seems he is only just getting started. “If I could start my Hollywood career over again, I wouldn’t change a thing,” he says. “Every success and failure, every love and heartbreak, it’s all led me down the path I’m on. I’m lucky to be enjoying the Hollywood career I have these days—but I also wake up every morning with the mindset that there is no substitute for hard work, and there’s no amount of sweat I won’t drop to achieve my goals.” T H E R O C K 40
