Dwayne Johnson was told to ‘lose weight and stage name’ to succeed in Hollywood

Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson discusses going into politics

Dwayne Johnson, 51, is one of the few wrestling stars who have transitioned into acting with successful long-term impact but revealed that at the start he was told to stop everything he knew.

Speaking on The Pivot Podcast with fellow former athletes Channing Crowder, Fred Taylor and Ryan Clark when the actor explained that his “biggest pivot” in life was breaking out of the boxes Hollywood wanted to put him in.

The Jumanji star explained that moving to acting he didn’t simply want a successful career, he “wanted to be good” and “do everything”.

Those helping him with the transition from the world of wrestling told the budding star that in order to do this, he would need to follow some guidelines and make some changes.

Dwayne revealed: “I was told at the time, ‘Here’s the biggest stars in the world; Will Smith, George Clooney, Johnny Depp. You look nothing like them.

“You’ve got to stop talking about wrestling, stop calling yourself The Rock. You’re too big, go on a diet and get out of the gym’.”

The actor admitted he followed these recommendations for a few years, adding: “If you don’t know any better and trying to stay focused, you buy into it because you’re trusting the people around you.

“It’s not an indictment on them, they were just giving me advice on what the best thing to do is if you want to be a leading man.

“You can’t look like this, you can’t talk like this, not The Rock, not wrestling.”

Don’t miss…
Olly Murs’ fling with TV presenter revisited as engaged singer marks birthday[ANALYSIS]
Roger Moore’s son was last to learn of father’s death in devastating phone call[LATEST]
Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield ‘turn backs on ITV peace talks’[INSIGHT]

After “a few years”, the former WWE Champion decided “I’ve got to be me” and fired his entire team.

The liberated actor returned to all of the things he loved, including the gym and wrestling which he dubbed “my family’s saviour”, as well as regaining ownership of his stage name.

When Dwayne brought on board a new team of faces, the more-experienced actor took the reins entirely, explaining where he wanted to be, how he wanted to get there and ultimately decided: “If I fail, then I fail being myself.”

Source: Read Full Article