Dwayne Douglas Johnson, born on May 2, 1972 and known by his ring name The Rock, is one of the leading faces of American cinema and one of the legends of the professional wrestling world. Johnson, who continues to perform part-time under contract with WWE, is considered one of the greatest wrestlers throughout history and played a critical role in the rise in popularity of the WWF (modern-day WWE) during the Attitude Era.
The artist, who stepped into the world of cinema after working as a full-time wrestler for eight years, has become one of the highest-earning actors, earning over 14.9 billion dollars with his films. He also directs his business life as the co-owner of the United Football League, a board member of TKO Group Holdings, the parent company of UFC and WWE, and the co-founder of Seven Bucks Productions.
Before entering his wrestling career, he received an American football scholarship at the University of Miami and was a part of the 1991 National Championship team, but mostly played as a reserve. Johnson, who was not selected in the NFL 1995 Draft, signed a contract with the Calgary Stampeders for a short time, but left the team in his first season.
In 1996, he signed a deal with the WWF with the support of his father, Rocky Johnson, and quickly gained a global fan base with his character that highlights his "trash talk" style. He left WWE in 2004, returned part-time between 2011 and 2013, announced his retirement in 2019 but continued to perform again in 2023. A ten-time world champion, the first African-American world champion in the company's history, a two-time Intercontinental Champion, a five-time Tag Team Champion, a one-time Royal Rumble winner and WWE's sixth Triple Crown champion; He has also taken part in events with record viewing numbers, such as WrestleMania 28.
Johnson, who started his film career with a supporting role in the 2001 film "The Mummy Returns", gained a solid place for himself by taking the leading role in "The Scorpion King" a year later. Afterwards, he took part in family-oriented projects such as “Game Plan” (2007), “Journey to Witch Mountain” (2009), “Tooth Fairy” (2010), “Jumanji: Wild Jungle” (2017), “Jumanji: The Next Level” (2019) and “Jungle Cruise” (2021), while “Journey to the Mysterious Island” (2012), “G.I.
Joe: Retaliation” (2013), “Hercules: Freedom Fighter” (2014), “San Andreas” (2015), “Skyscraper” (2018) and “Rampage: The Great Destruction” (2018). He has also appeared in action-comedy productions such as “Get Smart” (2008), “Central Intelligence” (2016), “Sahil Guard” (2017) and “Red Notice” (2021); As Luke Hobbs in the "Fast and Furious" series, he contributed to the success of some of the highest-grossing films in the series, starting with "Fast Five" in 2011.
Johnson, who stepped into the DC Universe with 2022's "Black Adam", also voiced the character of Maui in Disney's "Moana" (2016) and its sequel "Moana 2" (2024).
Dwayne Johnson was born in Hayward, California, the son of the famous professional wrestler Rocky Johnson. This deep family history has been one of the cornerstones of his success in both the sports and entertainment worlds.
