In 2003, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson faced criticism for his attempts at a Hollywood career, creating his “Hollywood Rock” persona. However, despite the success on the silver screen, the criticism never fully subsided. According to Cody Rhodes in an interview “Insight with Chris Van Vliet” It annoys Johnson when wrestlers look down on acting.
“The Rock once told me that he doesn’t like it when wrestlers say, “Oh, I don’t want to be an actor. I always want to be a wrestler.” And he had good reasons. he said “Of course you like wrestling.” … But wrestling also tells stories. And that’s what he said. “I wish people would say they just want to grow as storytellers.”
Rhodes later applied Johnson’s logic to a general meeting with studio executives in Los Angeles, repeating Johnson’s advice verbatim. “The lesson for me was as follows. I want to grow as a storyteller. It is what it is and I think coming from wrestling is perfect because that’s what we do.”
Not long ago, Rhodes commented his complicated relationship with Johnson during their heated rivalry leading up to WWE WrestleMania 42. As for himself, Rhodes recently took a deeper step into Hollywood, appearing as Gul in the Street Fighter movie adaptation.
If you use any quotes from this article, please credit “INSIGHT with Chris Van Vliet” and credit ah/t Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
