35 Magnificient Facts About Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson's father descended from Black Loyalists, who escaped to Nova Scotia after the Revolutionary War on the promise of British emancipation.

2. In high school, with his imposing physique and creepy mustache, most of Dwayne Johnson’s classmates thought he was an undercover cop.

3. Dwayne Johnson’s grandfather, “High Chief” Peter Maivia, was also a professional wrestler, making him a third-generation wrestler. In fact, Dwayne Johnson was the WWF’s first third-generation wrestler and was heavily hyped upon his professional arrival.

4. Dwayne Johnson was arrested 8 to 9 by the time he was 17 after being involved in a theft ring.

5. The appearance of ‘Maui’ (voiced by Dwayne Johnson himself) in the movie Moana is based on Dwayne Johnson’s real-life grandfather, high chief Peter Maivia of Samoa.

Dwayne Johnson's first WWF persona was Rocky Maivia (good guy). The audience rejected him due to his cheesy character, with chants of “Die, Rocky, die!”. After this, he became a heel (villain), referring to himself in the third person as “The Rock” and insulting the audience.

7. Dwayne has a bachelor’s degree in criminology and physiology from Miami University.

8. Dwayne Johnson played for the University of Miami’s 1991 National Championship football team and when injured the following year, he was replaced by future NFL Hall of Famer Warren Sapp.

9. Dwayne Johnson joined the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League in 1995 after being passed over by the NFL.

10. When Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson was in the Canadian Football League, he was living “in a shoddy apartment that even a rat would run from” with 4 roommates and slept on “dumpster soiled mattresses” discarded by local motels. After being cut 2 months later, his wrestling career began.

His production company ‘Seven Bucks Production’ is named after how much money he had after being cut from the CFL (Canadian Football League) in 1995.

12. Dwayne Johnson was the first-ever wrestler to win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship 8 times.

13. Dwayne Johnson’s first acting role was on “That 70’s Show” in which he played his real-life father, Rocky Johnson.

14. Dwayne Johnson comes from the Anoaʻi family, a Samoan family that has given the world over 16 professional wrestlers.

15. In October 2002, Variety reported that Warner Bros. had secured the film rights to make a live-action Johnny Bravo movie starring Dwayne Johnson. However, no further developments regarding this project have been announced since then.

Dwayne Johnson was paid $5.5 million for his first leading role as Mathayus in “The Scorpion King.” It's the highest salary of any first-time leading actor ever.

17. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson was the 2nd person on earth to publicly report the news of Osama bin Laden’s death, only 47 seconds after a navy intel officer leaked it from official sources.

18. Dwayne Johnson's beard in Hercules (2014) was made out of yak testicle hair.

19. Dwayne Johnson was set to star in a movie about Hawaiian warrior-king Kamehameha, but he was pulled because he’s Samoan, with the producer saying, “It would be a great taboo for the part to go to a nationality that was a fierce enemy of the Hawaiians during that time.”

20. Dwayne Johnson’s manager is his ex-wife Dany Garcia who he split up with in 2007. She is currently married to Dave Rienzi who is Dwayne’s personal trainer. They have both said that they made better friends and coworkers than a couple, and are still super close.

In 2015, Dwayne Johnson became an ordained minister in order to surprise a superfan by officiating at his wedding.

22. Dwayne Johnson once suffered from gynecomastia and had to have breast reduction surgery.

23. Dwayne Johnson currently owns the rights to the name “The Rock” (including logos, phrases, etc). The rights to the name “The Rock” were previously owned by WWE, Inc. This is the main reason why Vince McMahon has received executive producer credits in some of the Rock's films.

24. Dwayne Johnson’s first cousin, Tanoai Reed, has nearly the same body type as ‘The Rock’ and has been his stunt double for all of his movies.

25. Dwayne Johnson found his character of Spencer/Dr. Bravestone in the “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle,” all too relatable. At the age of 16, he said he resembled a 46-year-old man, standing at 6'4, weighing 245 pounds, and sporting a thick mustache. Despite his bulky exterior, the young Dwayne was very much a vulnerable teen trying to find himself.