Dwayne Johnson, perhaps still better known as “The Rock”, has had an impressively smooth transition from the world of Sports entertainment in Vince McMahon‘s WWE, to highly bankable Hollywood star.
I think it’s fair to say that many folks outside of wrestling fandom had no expectation that Dwayne’s first feature film gig, 2001’s The Mummy Returns, would be a launchpad into an increasingly high profile action career. Ignoring a few genre detours (The Game Plan, and Tooth Fairy chief amongst them), johnson has steadily pushed his way onto the ballot for future action star hall of famer.
Earning that status would put him in big time company.
Schwarzenegger, Lundgren, Stallone, Norris, Van Damme, Chan, and just a small handful more. It’s an elite group, and so far as I’m concerned, Dwayne Johnson is just a few short years from joining it. Below are my top 5 reasons why he’s our next big action legend.
1. THE LOOK
Say what you will about wrestling, but the WWE is the house that built Dwayne. Yeah, johnson was already a defensive tackle for the University of Miami, and was a hair away from an opportunity at the NFL, but the big man physique was honed in the squared circle. He might not be as jacked as Schwarzenegger in his prime, but he’s got a good five feet on Arnie at 6’5”. His The Fast and the Furious 6 co-star ,Vin Diesel, barely scrapes 6’0” tall. His only size and mass equal is Jason Momoa, who moves fluidly from pretty solid acting, to being the thespian equivalent of a piece of wood. This brings me to number 2…
2. ACTING ABILITY
Johnson’s portrayal of Elliot Wilhelm, the homosexual bodyguard and aspiring actor inF. Gary Gray‘s excellent Be Cool, could have been a one-dimensional caricature of a real person. Johnson showed comedic timing in The Rundown, but it was mostly slapstick; here, he took a character that could have potentially been over the top and silly, and gave him plenty of heart, a depth of personality, and showed substantial comic finesse.
Dwayne doesn’t just do comedy, however. In 2007’s critically divisive Southland Tales, Johnson not only plays up his action chops, but nails an emotional performance as amnesiac action star (seriously), Boxer Santaros. It was a complicated role in what was a complicated film, and while his counterparts weren’t exactly Hollywood dynamos, he stood out head-and-shoulders above them.
3. FRANCHISE STAPLE
Have a film that already has a strong following, but want to kick things up a notch? Bring in The Rock. How about a sequel that might not have as much buzz as you’d like? Johnson is your man. Fast Five and the upcoming G.I. Joe 2: Retaliation are both films where the power of Dwayne Johnson’s presence were and are being utilized to make something good even better. His role as Luke Hobbs is the immovable object to the unstoppable force that is Vin’s Dominic Toretto. Who else but Johnson would be believable as a one-on-one threat to Dom? With Channing Tatum‘s Duke exiting stage left in the G.I. Joe sequel, who better to seal the deal as a new franchise lead than The Rock? He’s the perfect addition to action flicks that need a shot in the arm. Johnson is highly popular with fans, which makes him exceptionally bankable with studios.
4. THE GUY CAN LEAD
The Scorpion King was fine, but Johnson really established himself as a leading man that kicks a lot of ass, even if said ass was often Seann William Scott, in The Rundown.Christopher Walken never phones it in, even in parts where you’d expect him to simply collect a paycheck. When you’re the counterbalance to one of the greatest living actors today, and you can still hang in only your second leading role, that says something. Even in mostly forgettable fare like Doom, it’s easy to walk away going, “Well, hey, at least The Rock was friggin’ cool.” Every action star has that awful movie in their filmography (hello, Tango & Cash, Red Heat, and Double Impact); the measure of their long-term marketability is whether or not they’re still fun to watch in spite of the terrible vehicle. Dwayne Johnson, from my perspective, has managed to rise above some of his worst titles and shine.
5. LONGEVITY
Dwayne is 40. He’s around the same age Schwarzenegger and Stallone were when they really hit their stride , give or take five years. With his range, physicality, and marketability across demographics (you’ll be hard pressed to find a housewife that doesn’t like him as much as her fifteen year old son, different reasons aside), the guy has a big future in the business of putting boots to asses in major studio features. If he stays healthy, picks solid projects, and continues to grow as an actor, there’s no reason to think he won’t be around to punch all of the faces a decade from now. Consider him a lock for the cast of The Expendables 6.
That’s my list. Don’t agree? Totally agree? You know what to do in the comment section below.
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