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Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is a beloved actor and wrestler. Check out photos of him here!
Few actors are as universally beloved as Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. Dwayne started gaining national attention as a college football superstar, but after failing to get drafted into the NFL, The Rock stepped into the ring and was a professional wrestler for the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). He left wrestling in 2004 and pursued an acting career, and he’s been incredibly successful since then.
While he has returned to the ring on occasions, The Rock has been a full-blown actor for over 15 years now. He’s been in various movies, aimed at all age ranges. Perhaps most famously, he’s starred in numerous films in The Fast And the Furious collection, beginning with Fast Five. Besides the action-adventure movies, Dwayne has also become a beloved actor in a bunch of family movies like Moana and Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle.
Scroll through our gallery to check out photos of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson from throughout his career.
Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson In 1999
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Dwayne Johnson wasn’t always “The Rock!” He took on the moniker when he began his pro-wrestling career in 1996. The name was inspired by his family.
As he explained in Aug. 2021, “My original nickname was ‘Rocky Miavia’ which was a combination of my dad’s first name and grandfather’s last name because both of them were pro wrestlers.”
Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson At The 199 Emmys
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Pro-wrestling has certainly had a major impact on television, and it dominated the 1990s. The Rock appeared at the 1999 Emmy Awards alongside “Stone Cold” Steve Austin to present Emmy-vote counters. He’s seen doing his signature move, called “The People’s Eyebrow”.
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Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson Leaves Wrestling In 2004
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Dwayne Johnson left pro-wrestling behind in 2004 to pursue an acting career. Before he left the WWF, he had a few roles, like in an episode of ‘That ’70s Show’ and the film ‘The Scorpion King’.
During a video Q&A on his Instagram in May 2020 he explained, “If I could leave and become successful outside the world of professional wrestling … and then I could come back, this time as a global entity. This time I could bring a greater value to the company of the WWE.”
“I wanted this to be a global success,” he said. “I wanted global influence in a very very real and powerful way.”
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Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson In ‘The Scorpion King’
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One of The Rock’s major blockbusters was ‘The Mummy Returns.’ He reprised his role as The Scorpion King to star in the sequel of the same name. The action-adventure film made a respectable $180 million after costing $60 million.
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Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson In ‘The Game Plan’
