Four Stars Who Inspired Dwayne Johnson's Career As An Actor

• 27.09.2025, 15:51

His path to success was not an easy one.

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson became a wrestling legend in the 1990s and eventually turned into one of Hollywood's most recognizable stars. However, the path to success for him was not predetermined - he was inspired by idols, writes Far Out Magazine (translated by Charter97.org).

Even in high school, Johnson was interested in bodybuilding and set ambitious goals for himself. In an interview, he admitted that he was oriented toward Arnold Schwarzenegger and Silvester Stallone, dreaming of one day moving from sports to movies. And indeed, after his first trial roles, including a part in "The Scorpion King," Johnson began actively filming. But the early projects were a failure.

In this difficult period, he was looking for new reference points. He was most impressed by Will Smith and George Clooney. "I saw them as a model of success and thought: if you walk next to such people, you can achieve something similar, and maybe even more," - recalls the actor.

The turning point was the movie "Fast and Furious 5", where Johnson found his role in spectacular action movies. Since then, he has become one of the highest-grossing actors of our time, continuing to follow the path laid out by his idols.

Today, as Johnson contemplates a new phase of his career and even possible Oscar-level honors, he openly admits that without the influence of Schwarzenegger, Stallone, Smith and Clooney, his story might have turned out differently.