Dwayne Johnson Biography

Fast Facts

• Began learning basic wrestling moves from his father, professional wrestler Rocky Johnson, at age 6
• Started out as a football player in college, playing defensive tackle for the University of Miami
• Briefly played for the Calgary Stampeders in the Canadian Football League in 1995
• Returned home to Miami after his football stint ended and, with the help of his father, worked to get his start in professional wrestling
• Although his early good-guy wrestling persona, Rocky Maivia, was a flop, he eventually became known as The Rock and grew to become one of the most popular wrestlers of all time
• Appeared as his father in a 1999 wrestling-themed episode of That '70s Show
• Received $5
• 5 million for his film debut in 2002's The Scorpion King, an exceptionally high salary for an actor's first movie role
• Was crowned a high chief in Samoa during a 2004 visit to his mother's homeland
• Founded the Dwayne Johnson Rock Foundation, a charity that works with at-risk and terminally ill children, in 2006
• Named People Magazine's Sexiest Man Alive in 2016