Little friends, let me introduce you to Dwayne Douglas Johnson!
We all also know him by his ring name, The Rockđ˛!
He is an American film producer, actor, and even retired professional wrestler!
During the Attitude Era, he was quite integral to the development and also the success of the World Wrestling Federation.
So, let us go through some interesting facts about this amazing person and talented actor.
Interesting Facts About Dwayne Johnson
Johnson was born in Hayward, California
Dwayne was born on May 2, 1972, in Hayward, California.
His father, Rocky Johnson, is a former professional wrestler, and his mom is Ata Johnson.
Growing upđ§, Dwyane lived with his momâs family for some time in Grey Lynn in Auckland, New Zealand.
Both his parental grandparents, James and Lilian Bowles, were both of African origin! While his maternal grandparents were Samoan.
There Dwayne played rugby and even attended Richmond Road Primary School.
Johnson comes from a diverse background
Little friends, have you heard this interesting fact about Johnson?
His dad đ¨ is of Black Nova Scotian and also Samoan descent. At the same time, his mom is of Irish and Samoan ancestry!
This unique yet amazing mix of heritages has contributed to his cultural influences and distinctive look.
Wrestling runs in Dwayneâs family
Yes, it is quite amazing, right??
All that runs in Johnsonâs family are receding hairlines and varicose veins!!
The older generation of our dads will definitely remember Rocky Johnson, Dwayneâs father, and maybe also Peter Maiviađ§, Dwayneâs gramps!!
Dwayneâs grandmother was a pioneer of Polynesian Pro Wrestling! She was also a strong-willed businesswoman who became one of the first female promoters of the Polynesian Pro Wrestling!!
Both of these personalities wrestled for WWF, and hence, the Rock became the first third-generation wrestler in the history of WWF!!
Will there be a first fourth-generation?? Letâs wait and watch!!
Johnson is a Canadian citizen
Though basically, our favorite Dwayne was born in the U.S., did you know that his father was born in Canada??
Apparently, in the year 2009, Canada changed its citizenship laws and basically agreed to make the Rock one of them as well!
Hence, our favorite actor is a Canadian citizen!! Impressive, right??
Johnson was a very good football player
Before The Rock became a professional wrestler and one of the amazing Hollywood stars, Dwayne got his start as a member of the 1991 national champion Miami Hurricanes football team!
Before graduating in 1995, he served as a backup defensive tackle behind Pat Riley and Warren Sapp.
After a high school teacher encouraged Johnson to play football, â˝ he found that he really liked the game! Very quickly, he even excelled in it and earned a full scholarship to the top football college, the University of Miami!
He also played football as a defensive lineman at the University of Miami!
The WWE program Smackdown was a catchphrase of The Rock
Did you know this amazing secret about Johnson?
The well-known WWE program Smackdown was inspired by a catchphrase of The Rock, âlay the smackdown!â
Johnson used the term âThe Smackdownâ in the Thursday night special of WWE!
Actually, the smackdown is a lethal blow that he lands on different parts of the body of his opponent.
Soon it turned out to be the show of Rock himself!
In April 1999, Smackdown show debuted in WWE, and finally, the show became one of the main events!
In 2007, the word âsmackdownâ was added to the database of Merriam-Webster dictionary!
Johnson wasnât always âThe Rockâ
Although we all know him as The Rock of the wrestling world, Dwayne wasnât like this đ˛from the start when he joined WWF.
Today, Dwayne is world-famous by the name âThe Rock.â However, before becoming The Rock, he went by two other names! Those are âFlex Kavanaâ and âRocky Maivia.â
Later, he dropped Flex Kavana because WWF felt that it didnât suit the world stage of wrestling!
After that, he moved to âRocky Maivia,â which is a combination of his grandfatherâs and fatherâs names!!
Johnsonâs classmate thought that he was an undercover cop
Little friends, have you heard this fun fact about Johnson?
At the age of 15, Johnson had sprouted a full mustache and had a height of 6â4â.
So, his classmates in High School thought of him as a grown-up man or a copđŽ!
The Rock said that because of that, he actually had no friends!
However, I am quite sure that later his classmates regretted it a lot, right??
Johnson has a degree in criminology
Little friends, do you remember when Dwayne played for the Miami Hurricanes?
It was the same time when he was getting a Bachelor of General Studies in criminologyđ and also physiology!
However, if you are wondering about his collegiate athletic career, then the truth is started only one game in four years!
Johnson was arrested a lot as a teen
Like me, you will be surprised to know that Dwayne was arrested more than nine times!! Surprised??
He grew up in Hawaii, and things werenât always breezy!
When Johnsonâs family got evicted from their small apartment, he had to find ways to make some quick cash!
All of those ways were not always legal! For example, partaking in a theft ring that targeted visitors!
Later, Dwayne would say that it was a formative experience, and he came to know that the only way to take control of his life was to take control of his body!
Johnsonâs manager is his ex-wife
After ten years of marriage, the Rock and his then-wife Dany Garcia decided to split up in 2007, like many people!
However, unlike many people, these two planned to work together and start a production company!
Thatâs how & Bucks Productions came into existence!
Later, Dany married Dave Rienzi, who worked as Johnsonâs strength and conditioning coach! Surprised!! Right?
Dwayne Johnson holds world records for taking selfies
In 2015, Dwayne broke the record for most selfies taken! He had taken around 105 selfies in a time span of just three minutes, all with his fans on the red carpet!
It was during the premiere of San Andreas!
Johnson was paid $5 million for his role in The Scorpion King
After appearing in The Mummy Returns, Johnson got his first leading role in the movie âThe Scorpion King.â
The movie grossed around $180 million around the world!
He was paid over $5 million for the role!
The Mummy Returns is a 2001 American film directed by Stephen Sommers. In that movie, Johnson debuted as an actor!
This movie inspired the 2002 prequel film The Scorpion KingđŚđ, whose eponymous character was portrayed by Johnson!
Johnson is a recorded artist
Fugees member Wyclef Jean collaborated with professional wrestler The Rock on his solo album, known as The Ecleftic- 2 Sides II a Book.
The Rock even provided some funny vocals on their track! Dwayne appeared in Wyclef Jeanâs single It Doesnât Matter to shout his wrestling catchphrase.
He was even the subject of âPie on WWF: The Music, Vol. 5.
In 2001, Johnson dropped his first rap songđź!
It was featured on Tech N9neâs new single âFace Off,â alongside King Iso and Joey King!
Johnson even described âFace Offâ as his âhistoric rap debut.â
Dwyane Johnson is a high-net-worth individual
Along with making a lot of money as a wrestler, âThe Rockâ has got a healthy fortune through acting also!
In 2016, it was reported that Johnson earnt $64.5 million Forbes becoming the highest-paid actor of the year.
His mixture of power, charm, and muscle still continues to make him a favorite star with the general people!
It is believed that Dwyane gets around a million US dollars per movie nowadays!
From being successful as a lean wrestler đ¤źwho can easily smack down opponents to being an amazing actor, Dwyane has made huge strides!
Dwyane Johnsonâs autobiography is a best seller
Dwyane co-wrote an autobiography with Joe Layden, âThe Rock SaysâŚâ It was published in 2000.
In fact, the book became no. 1 on the list of The New York Times Best Seller and even continued for some weeks!
The book tells about Johnsonâs family legacy of wrestling and also his struggles as a professional wrestler!
The book became quite popular and also paved the way for Johnson to become an unquestionable superstar in WWE and even in his life!!
However, the book doesnât cover Johnsonâs Hollywood career! However, it gives us an insight into the man behind the legend!!
Johnson and his distinctive cultural tattoo
In 2003, Dwyane went to Hawaii and got a tattoo on his body linked to his family heritage! The tattoo was done by Poâoini Yrondi, a Tahitian tattoo artist.
The tattoo took 60 hours, divided into three sessions of 20 hours each!
The tattooâs elaborate design represents, as stated by Johnson, âall the things that are important to me, that I love and that Iâm passionate about.â
Among the symbolisms are the sun representing good fortune, coconut leaves representing a Samoan chief warrior, a tortoiseshell to fend off evil spirits, and two eyes of ancestors looking over him.
Charities of âThe Rockâ
Little friends, did you know this wonderful fact about Johnson?
Though Dwyane is quite a tough wrestler, outside the ring, he is a person with a golden heart!
He is a celebrity who always shows his affection towards charity!
Johnson has donated $2 million to the University of Miami! He donated the amount for the construction of the Robert and Judi Prokop Newman Alumni Center.
Moreover, in the year 2006, Johnson founded âDwyane Johnson Rock Foundationâ to serve severely ill and high-risk children.
He is also an advocate for mental health awareness!!
He is, no doubt, a tough man with a soft heart! Isnât it??
Johnsonâs Fast and Furious role was initially written for Tommy Lee Jones
Can you imagine anyone else as FBI Agent Luke Hobbs other than The Rock??
However, the most interesting fact about this role is that the role was originally written for Tommy Lee Jones!!
However, fans are now quite happy that later Johnson got the role!! Right??
Dwyane Johnson eats seven meals a day
I am really amazed to learn this surprising fact about The Rock!! Want to know??
Johnson actually eats a huge amount of food every dayđ˛!!
This talented actor loves cod, which puts his cod stats around more than 800 lbs of codđ in a year!
Also, Johnson has a passion for cooking and even released a cookbook featuring his favorite recipes called âThe Rockâs Cheat Day Meals.â
Dwyane Johnson: A proud father of three daughters
Johnson often shares heartfelt posts on social media, expressing his intense love and admiration for his daughters!!
He has three daughters, including one daughter from his first marriage and two from his second!
He is a caring father who even likes styling his daughtersâ hair and even monitoring them quite seriously!
His first daughter, Simoneđ§, started training at the WWE Performance Center in 2020. This makes her the first fourth-generation wrestler in history!! Amazed, right?
Moreover, later she even announced that she had signed a contract with WWE!!! We all can feel that Johnson is very proud, isnât it?
Johnson has won many awards for his performances
Dwyane Johnson has received many significant accolades, like Peopleâs Choice AwardsđĽ, the Teen Choice Awards, and also NAACP Image Awards.
The Rock is a talented guitar player and also a great motivational speaker
Like me, you will be amazed to know that The Rock has many other interesting talents!!
He is a talented guitar đ¸ player! He has displayed his musical skills by playing the instrument in several interviews and appearances!!
Johnson is a great motivational speaker and shares inspiring lessons and messages on self-belief and perseverance through his social media posts and speeches!
Summing up
Happy with what you came to know about Dwyane Johnsonđ˛???
We have tried to collect as much information about him as possible.
How many of these facts made you feel satisfied đ??
Please let us knowâŚwe are eager to know your answer.
I’m a former teacher (and mother of Two Childs) with a background in child development. Here to help you with play-based learning activities for kids. ( Check my  Next startup Cledemy.Com)
