Sure, Dwayne Johnson might be on top of the Hollywood stratosphere nowadays, however, when he made the transition, things were very different.
He left the land of pro wrestling at the very top and suddenly, he was basically at the bottom, appearing in films like "Tooth Fairy." Now to be fair, it was a great experience for DJ, though, in truth, it just didn't conform with his ultimate vision and who he wanted to be.
We'll take a look at the struggles that took place along the way. His rise wasn't an easy one and in truth, DJ needed to bet on himself in order to get somewhere. Those that were on his team wanted him to change his ways and basically give up on the things that he loved.
Once DJ finally refused this path, his career started to shift for the better. Nowadays, he's on top of the mountain, while being able to be his authentic self.
Working Out Is Everything For Dwayne
Let's just imagine the scenario of an employer telling you to drop what you love, that one thing a day that grounds you, gives you peace of mind, is a stress reliever, helps the mind, body, and soul... surely, given all of that, DJ was none too pleased when Hollywood basically told him to slim down and stop working out.
These days, as the biggest star in Hollywood, Dwayne does the exact opposite of that. Heck, the guy brings his entire gym on the set of his films and prior to shooting during the early hours of the AM, he's hitting the gym and giving everything that he's got.
Dwayne was introduced to weight-lifting at a young age thanks to his father and since, it has been the anchor in his life, which keeps him disciplined and grounded.
As one might expect, the A-lister was none too pleased when he was told otherwise by the powers at the time... thankfully, DJ decided to do things his way.
Hollywood Wanted Him To Change His Image
When accepting the MTV Generation Award back in 2019, DJ opened up about his struggle in making it in the industry. As he revealed during his acceptance speech, the struggle was a real one, to the point that he was basically asked to change his entire identity.
"The most powerful thing that we can be is ourselves...When I first got to Hollywood, Hollywood, they didn’t know what the hell to do with me. I mean, I was half-black, half-Samoan, 6 foot 4, 275-pound pro wrestler. I was told at that time, 'Well, you gotta be a certain way. You gotta drop some weight. You gotta be somebody different. You gotta stop working out. You gotta stop calling yourself The Rock."
Making these changes, Dwayne was none too pleased. The roles weren't going his way and in truth, he just wasn't himself. When he decided to do otherwise, the magic started to take shape.
"I made a choice, and the choice was, I wasn’t gonna conform to Hollywood. Hollywood was gonna conform to me. there’s another side to being your authentic self, your true self, and that’s the side that the magic is on. That’s the side that’s gold. And yes it's important to be yourself but you gotta recognize the joy and the responsibility of bringing everybody with you."
The magic formula worked and Dwayne would later be cast in some of Hollywood's biggest blockbusters such as 'Fast & Furious' along with a slew of other box office blockbusters.
DJ Fired His Team And Did Things On His Own Terms
Appearing in films like the 'Tooth Fairy' along with being told to lose weight wasn't exactly what DJ had in mind when making the jump from sports entertainment to the world of film-making. He was the biggest star in wrestling but suddenly, he was sprung to the bottom in Hollywood.
Johnson wasn't in the best place behind the scenes and he knew changes needed to take place. One of his first moves was letting go of the team that did not share the same vision as he did.
“You know what happens when you have a vision, and you want it executed in a certain way, you need people around you who are going to believe in that too."
“And at that time, there were some things that were happening… and I knew I had to make a change.”
Whoever was a part of that team... those people might be kicking themselves today seeing what a huge star he would become, without making irrational changes.
DJ's story is one we can all appreciate and implicate in our lives. Be your best original self.