In the early 2010s, Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson was just starting to establish himself as a proper movie star in Hollywood. He had already been through two prior careers at that point in his life. First, he had seen his dream of a career in the NFL die before he became one of the most successful professional wrestlers in the world.
His first foray into acting came just before the turn of the millennium, when he played Rocky Johnson - his actual father - in an episode of the Fox sitcom, That '70s Show.
He went on to make a few more cameos on television before he eventually made his big screen debut, as 'The Scorpion King' in the 2001 Stephen Sommers film, The Mummy Returns.
Made A Seamless Transition To Hollywood
In the decade that followed, Johnson made an impressively seamless transition from pro wrestling into Hollywood. He featured in major pictures, including Get Smart and The Game Plan. As his career continued to advance, Paramount Pictures cast him to play the mythological character Hercules in their 2014 fantasy action of the same name.
The synopsis for Hercules on Rotten Tomatoes reads in part, "Though he is famous across the ancient world for his larger-than-life exploits, Hercules, the son of Zeus and a human woman, is haunted by his tragic past."
"Now, he fights only for gold as a traveling mercenary, accompanied by a band of loyal followers. However, when the benevolent ruler of Thrace and his daughter seek his help in defeating a savage warlord, Hercules must find the true hero within himself once again."
Johnson went to some serious lengths in order to get himself in shape for the role. He revealed details of this process on his Instagram before the film premiered. "I trained and worked harder than ever for eight months for this role," he said. "[I] lived alone and locked myself away in Budapest for six months while filming. [The] goal was to completely transform into this character. Disappear in the role."
Iconic Moment In The Movie
Hercules' success in the story hinges upon his openness to acknowledge that he is indeed the son of a god. This happens in a standout scene, where he is captured and chained, while Ergenia, the daughter of the king of Thrace is about to be beheaded. Just as the ax is about to be swung, Hercules has his moment of epiphany and manages to break out of his chains.
As dramatic and powerful as the scene is on screen, it was quite a different story on set during its filming. Johnson brought the same passion and dedication that he had in preparation for the role to this particular scene. However, things did not end too well this time.
"You know, in Greek mythology, when Hercules finally accepts his fate of being the son of Zeus, that's when he gets all of his powers as a demigod," Johnson explained to an audience during taping for an episode of Conan. "It's an iconic moment in the mythology, iconic moment in the movie, and I wanted to put everything I had in it. So I had the prop department make sure that the chains were real and the steel was real and I couldn't break it."
Experienced A Rush Of Adrenaline
Johnson went on to recall how he experienced a rush of adrenaline as he executed the scene, which culminated in him blacking out in between takes. "[This was] the moment of the movie," the Rock continued. "So with everything I could possibly do, I just let it all out: 'I am Hercules!'"
"What happens, you know, if you're in an athletic event or anything like that, if you have all this adrenaline, you can actually let it go. As you're fighting, or if you're playing football or whatever. But in this case I had no place for it to go, so I was like 'I am Hercules!' And then... I blacked out!"
Thankfully for the actor, the fact that he was literally chained up meant he didn't fall nor injure himself as a consequence. The rest of the filming also took place without a hitch, and the movie made its debut in theaters nationwide on July 25, 2014. From a budget of about $100 million, Hercules managed to hit a gross return of $245 million at the box office.
Seasoned critic Roger Ebert gave a less than glowing review of the film on his website, but had a bit more positive words for Johnson's performance: "Like Arnold Schwarzenegger before him, Dwayne Johnson was born to play Hercules. Like Ah-nuld, he’s muscular and not without an onscreen chemistry that’s at times perfectly mythological. And Johnson is a welcome change from the Nordic ideal mythical movies usually employ."