Dwayne Johnson had a big 2019. He starred in a slew of movies, including but not limited to Hobbs & Shaw and Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle. He also partnered with a tequila brand, talked about the DCEU and Black Adam and kept up with fans on social media. The Rock is also candid about how incredibly hard it is to be a movie star.
Or, as he puts it, a “bankable actor” in Hollywood. Here’s what Dwayne Johnson had to say when asked what it’s like to be the biggest star in the whole wide world (but not a galaxy far, far away), even if he doesn't feel comfortable calling it that.
So, what it takes to become… we’ll just say a bankable actor – you guys could say ‘biggest movie star in the world’ – it takes, again, hard work and it takes perseverance. And again it takes context and perspective, especially when you get into this world of Hollywood and the business of Hollywood. Because it is so demanding and it’s incredibly difficult.
I really love that the interviewer asks Dwayne Johnson what it’s like to be the “biggest movie star in the world” and he honestly feels like his head would swell too much if he answered that question. He knows he’s an in demand actor in Hollywood and that the path he is on is very difficult, but I’m honestly almost more enamored with the fact that The Rock is so humble he can’t even say “biggest movie star” when he was literally the highest paid actor in the world in 2019.
This is probably exactly why Dwayne Johnson has become the highest paid actor in the world (again). Sure, he jokes around in interviews a lot – particularly when Kevin Hart is around – but he also just feels like a real person who takes his career and the responsibility of being a public figure seriously.
Some of this is probably just his personality, but he really does get candid to try and explain that acting is hard and he has to be very regimented and trust himself every day.
Yes, being in the ring is incredibly difficult, but the scope of the audience and the world that you now entertain and are responsible for in movies is global. This is why it requires a consistent and very constant daily hard work. And also, very very important is trust your gut and trust your instincts on what the audience will really enjoy and love. That’s the most important thing.
At the end of the day, there’s not one path to success or one personality type that is able to be successful, but this is how Dwayne Johnson pivoted early in his career when he thought he would be a pro football player and that didn’t work out.
You can see more from the interview with SPORTbible, below.
Ultimately what works for Dwayne Johnson works for Dwayne Johnson, even if it ain’t easy. Next up the actor has a slew of additional projects in the pipeline, including the aforementioned Black Adam movie and Disney’s Jungle Cruise movie with Emily Blunt (who also should have a very bankable 2020 with A Quiet Place Part II also coming).
Related: The 10 Highest-Grossing Dwayne Johnson Movies
In the meantime, you can see what all is coming in 2020 with our full movies schedule, which has some Dwayne Johnson gems, of course.
