New on DVD

The former pro-wrestling superstar and current A-list actor talks about grappling, acting and his 'Race to Witch Mountain'

By Dave McCoy
MSN Movies

Posted March 10, 2009

The People's Champion. The Brahma Bull. The Great One. The Rock. Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. Now, simply Dwayne Johnson. In a dozen years, he's gone by all those names and personas before finally doing something nobody before him could: Champ/Bull/Rock/Johnson made the leap from a pro wrestler to an A-list Hollywood actor. Many tried, but only he has done it (we don't count Hulk Hogan's cameo as Thunderlips in "Rocky III"; John Cena? Bring it in "12 Rounds" if you can). If you watch some of Johnson's interviews -- or "promos" in wrestling speak -- as The Rock back in the '90s, the thriving transition isn't surprising. The man has "it": ridiculously stunning good looks, wicked sense of comic timing, charisma that mere mortal men dream of having. He's done action ("The Scorpion King") and comedy ("The Game Plan"), both of which made a ton of cash. Now he's remaking a '70s cult-adventure classic. "Race to Witch Mountain" is an update of "Escape to Witch Mountain." In it, Johnson plays a cab driver who picks up a couple aliens masquerading as children. Bad move. Soon, he's chased all over the Nevada desert, trying to ... well, you'll have to see it.

Recently, I got the pleasure to speak with The Great One, where I embarrassed myself, discussed Johnson's new project, old job and, of course, asked ...

MSN Movies: What is in Your DVD Player, Dwayne?

Dwayne Johnson: "Slumdog Millionaire"

And, what did you think?

Ha-ha. Can you imagine if I was one of the only people to say, "You know, I just didn't get it ... "? No! I loved it. I've watched it two or three times. I just found it wonderfully ironic how tragedy can come back full circle and aid in such great success as this film. Plus, the performances, the filmmaking ... I was just amazed.

Before we begin discussing "Race to Witch Mountain," may I geek out for a minute?

[Laughs] OK. Go for it.

We are the same age. I watched wrestling as a kid and then stopped when I got older. Then, I was flipping channels in the mid-to-late '90s, came across one of your promos and loved it. Cracked me up. And it got me hooked back on wrestling.

Oh, that is so cool. What wrestling were you watching as a kid?

It was the '80s, so WWF: Hulk Hogan and Iron Sheik stuff ... Randy Savage, Ultimate Warrior, Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka, Rick Rude ... all of it.

Wasn't that GREAT back then? It was so much more fun. Absolutely just fun. It's a lot different now.

I didn't know if you wanted to talk about wrestling and The Rock stuff.

You should know, and I am very forthcoming about this: First of all, I love that business, because I grew up in it. My grandfather, my father, my whole family was in it [Note: Johnson was the first third-generation wrestling superstar, and many of his cousins were or currently are pro wrestlers.] And I wouldn't be here right now without that. I think it is intriguing, because what happened was ... OK, this is my 10th year in acting. Eight to ten years ago, when I was trying to make the transition, [wrestling] is not always the first thing you want to talk about. [Laughs] But now, since the transition happened and so much has happened, it is easy to talk about it now, especially since I have been retired five years.

When you made the switch from wrestling to acting, was that natural for you? I mean, you were cutting promos, you were in character as The Rock. You were essentially acting. Is it any different being on a movie set and playing different characters?

It is different in a lot of ways, but what is the same is slipping into character and finding a good performance. But the wrestling arena compared to movie set is different. Was I comfortable? I was very comfortable, because I am always 100 percent prepared. I came into acting in a very unconventional way. My parents were studio executives -- I don't come from a lineage of actors -- so preparation, immersing myself in the process and surrounding myself with good actors was key. It was all so new.

OK, so we should probably get into "Race to Witch Mountain" or Disney will come down on both of us.

True.

So, had you seen the original, "Escape to Witch Mountain" as a kid?

Yeah, I loved it as a kid. I love the idea of these other kids having these special powers and doing a lot of cool things to a lot of bad guys with these powers. So when I was approached about doing a reimagining, to make it current, modern and entertaining -- plus, doing a movie that was this huge adventure, as opposed to a broad comedy or an action movie -- was really appealing to me.

You have the double whammy in this film: You have to work with kids and a dog -- in a cab.

Yeah ... don't work with kids or animals, right? But I keep doing it. The challenge is ... the kids are great. But, the dog ... I witnessed this also on "The Game Plan" ... regardless how great you are as an actor, doesn't matter if you are Brando in "On the Waterfront," the moment an animal is in your scene, you give it up for the animal. All eyes are watching the animal ... ha-ha.

You have a young daughter. Was it cool making something she could also enjoy?

Oh yeah. She loves the movie. As a 7-year-old, she was excited watching daddy run around with these cool kids, plus me saying funny stuff to make her laugh. Making funny faces ...

Does she know what daddy did before he was an actor?

It's interesting, because she was born in 2001 and I was already making my transition. She knows my nickname is The Rock. Other than that, she has never seen a match, but she knows that daddy used to do something where he'd have fun throwing guys around. [Laughs]

Deliver some Rock Bottoms here and there ...

Right. But that whole culture -- she is so unfamiliar with that.

Did you see "The Wrestler"?

I did. I absolutely loved it. The performances were incredible ... it was remarkably authentic. I loved the world Darren Aronofsky created. I called Mickey Rourke after I saw it to congratulate him. I was so proud of his performance. You remember the Wild Samoans?

Hell yeah.

Well, Sika is my uncle and his partner, Afa, trained Mickey for the movie. And Afa would call me every week during the making of the movie and give me these updates on Mickey. And he was so impressed. Keep in mind that Mickey is in his 50s and he went from never wrestling in his life to becoming a professional wrestler who had to have the perspective that he'd wrestled for 30 years. Phenomenal.

OK, final question. What is the last thing you cooked?

[Loud laughing]. Nice. Let me think. The incredibly complicated egg-white omelets.

Are you a Dwayne Johnson fan? A fan of The Rock? Will you see "Race to Witch Mountain"? Write us at heymsn@microsoft.com.

Dave McCoy is senior producer for MSN Entertainment. He is officially announcing to the world ("the millions AND MILLIONS") how much he STILL loves wrestling ... but thinks it hasn't been the same since The Rock retired. The People's Elbow? R.I.P.