Dwayne Johnson – the second highest paid actor in the world was evicted 13 times
Twice depressed because he witnessed his mother commit suicide and missed his career as a football player, Johnson conquered the wrestling ring and became a Hollywood star.
With a total income of 65 million USD in 2017, Dwayne Johnson ranked second on the list of highest paid actors on the planet. The 46-year-old star is filming scenes for the latest Disney film project Jungle Cruise in his hometown of Hawaii, where he spent a not-so-pleasant childhood.
“Many people know that I grew up struggling with my family here in Hawaii, struggling to pay the rent and survive,” Johnson shared on CNBC. Even The Rock, Johnson’s stage name, half joked and half serious: “I never dared to dream about the current life. My dream used to be: to no longer be kicked out of the house.”
The actor said that his family was short on rent every week and “went on the road” every time they didn’t pay the due date.
As a child, Johnson was no stranger to the sight of his parents struggling to pay for the basics. Their car was repossessed due to debt and they couldn’t even afford to rent a one-bedroom apartment. Whatever had to happen finally happened, they left their home island helpless.
Teenager Johnson started fighting, joined a gang that robbed stores and became familiar with the police station. The boy was angry at his father who was often absent and made him move a total of 13 times during his childhood.
The Rock later recalled: “My family tightened its belt with a tight budget of 120 USD per week. One day when I came home, the door was locked and an eviction notice was stuck on it. My mother screamed, We cried and collapsed. We wondered what to do, where to live next.”
Johnson’s mother later attempted to commit suicide by running into traffic, an incident that caused him to fall into depression for many years.
Faced with the feeling of helplessness and losing his home, the young man turned to bodybuilding as the only thing he could control with his own hands. At the age of 14, Johnson embarked on an intense training journey, initially not for competition or fame.
He grew up watching his father, professional wrestler Rocky Johnson, in the ring but had no intention of following in his footsteps. Instead, the young man chose to play rugby and shine since high school. At the University of Miami, Johnson’s football career became even more promising thanks to Johnson’s athletic body and athletics skills. He was in the school’s squad that competed in the 1991 national championship.
However, persistent back and shoulder injuries caused the young player’s football future to gradually collapse, and he left school after the first semester. Once again Johnson lived in depression.
However, his inner vitality helps him not to choose the same solution as his mother. “We will all heal,” Johnson acknowledged, “but it’s important to wholeheartedly care for others when they’re in pain, so they know they’re not alone.”
Finally, the 24-year-old young man turned to wrestling with his debut in the WWE performance ring in 1996. The following year, he officially adopted the nickname “The Rock”. Since then, The Rock has conquered the arena with 17 individual and collective WWE championship titles.
Fame in the performance ring helped The Rock enter Hollywood’s sights. He was first invited to appear in Saturday Night Live, a long-standing famous comedy show in the US. That unexpected phone call, according to Johnson, made him “fall back out of his chair”. The new role was successful beyond expectations and more importantly, proved to Hollywood that The Rock is not just a fighter, he knows how to act.
The wrestling champion officially entered the cinema in 2001 with the movie The Mummy Returns playing the role of “Scorpion King”. This supporting character became the focus of the following year’s film in which Johnson played the main role. He received a salary of 5.5 million USD, the largest amount earned by a first-time leading actor. In particular, participating in part 5 of the action series Fast and Furious helped the actor’s name flourish along with Vin Diesel or Paul Walker.
The muscular star is known for his dedication to work. “Every day he’s like a grinder,” said Alvin Streeter, Johnson’s stunt double in films including The Fate of the Furious and Baywatch.
Johnson and co-star Mark Wahlberg, who was also the only person to surpass him in terms of acting income in 2017, each ate 17 meals a day to meet the requirements of gaining a large amount of muscle mass for the movie Pain and Gain (2013). Sharing with Muscle & Fitness magazine, The Rock said that his usual diet includes 7 meals a day.
Every day martial arts stars now regularly receive 8-figure salaries from movies like Baywatch or Jumanji even though they were panned by critics. Besides, he pocketed $650,000 for each episode of Ballers on HBO. In the film, Johnson transforms into a retired football star who becomes a financial consultant.
The actor also affirmed that he would seriously consider running for US president in 2020, alongside other media forces such as Oprah Winfrey, rapper Kanye West and comedian Chris Rock.
