by Paul Fischer
by
Paul Fischer
You would think The Rock had been
meeting the press all his life. Charming, unpretentious and 
seemingly
oblivious to the level of stardom the ex-Dwayne Johnson has attained, The
Rock now adds another role to his broadening repertoire: Father. His daughter,
Simone Alexandra Johnson was born last August 14 to his wife of five years, Dany
Garcia, a financial planner. "Being a parent makes you selfless, in a way,"
he says. "You start to base your decisions in terms of how it will affect
your baby." Those decisions include the kinds of movie offers he looks to.
"I'm working on a new movie with Universal at the moment and, in reading
the script, I want to ensure that all the elements are responsible and not something
that I'm going to be embarrassed about so that six years from now when she's able
to watch a movie, there won't be gratuitous love scenes."
The Rock's parenting duties are far more hazardous than any wrestling foe, he quips. "My, friend, I can change diapers with the best of them, be it poop diapers or pee diapers," he laughs. One would imagine that trying to balance his busy schedule as wrestler, actor and now father, is also challenging. "I'm just trying to be a responsible parent, and trying to balance two careers and being a good dad gets difficult. But I have some good family support and good people around me to help me and make it all easier both for me and my wife."
The Rock has been a part of the public consciousness since he began professional wrestling in 1996. Three years later the wrestler began to act, showing a strong comedic side as well as a penchant for drama. It is more the former that is on full display in The Scorpion King, a rousing comic book adventure yarn set in Ancient Egypt and based on the character seen in The Mummy Returns.
Dressed in leather, ancient-looking garb, his thick, black hair loose near his shoulders, the muscular athlete-turned-movie star walks through this dusty set, surrounded by an array of goats and other animals. "I kinda feel like Noah minus the flood", Johnson laughingly. There is no sign of the wrestling bravado that was once his trademark. Quiet, intelligent and having the time of his life. "It's all make believe", he says, referring to the wrestling he has put on hold to firm up a promising new career on film. The action in The Scorpion King takes place a decade before the prologue sequence for last year's summer blockbuster, The Mummy Returns, which featured The Rock as a warrior leading his doomed army under the name the Scorpion King.
Set in the notorious city of Gomorrah, an evil ruler is determined to lay waste to all the nomadic peoples of the desert. The few remaining tribes, never natural allies, have to unite or perish. Knowing their enemy relies on the visions of a sorcerer, they hire a skilled assassin, Mathayus (The Rock), to eliminate the sorcerer. After infiltrating the enemy camp, Mathayus discovers that bad guy is, in fact, a beautiful woman (Kelly Hu). Rather than eliminate her, he takes her deep into the desert badlands, knowing that the ruler's henchmen will stop at nothing to rescue her and bring her back. Seriously wounded in the ensuing battle, Mathayus must find the strength to lead his scrappy band of allies back to Gomorrah for a final confrontation.
While clearly winking at the audience throughout the film, it is clear that The Rock had a great time making this starrer. "I'm really excited about this. It's a wonderful story about vengeance and discovery; about a man's rise from being an assassin with a heart of ice to a leader of thousands of men, a man with a heart of gold. And it's about love. " Johnson also loves his character's fallibility. "I've always been a huge fan of any hero who was able to show vulnerability," Johnson further explains. Cinematic heroes such as Rocky or Indiana Jones come to mind. "When I was younger, I didn't know how to describe it, but there was just something appealing to me when the guy is so big and so strong and he kicks so much butt and yet he can get his butt kicked." Johnson has no illusions about "being the next Jimmy Stewart" but maybe the Arnold Schwarzenegger? Now that is another matter entirely. "I could be the next Arnold -- only better looking," he laughs "I get the Arnold comparison, often, and that is fantastic. His shoes are a little big to fill. I prefer just to make my own path and do my own thing, because we're completely two separate guys, not just by age." There is no rivalry between the two superstars, who remain close friends. "We and Sylvester Stallone have been friends now for some time. Both of them have been really supportive of me, which they didn't have to be, you know what I mean?"
Johnson is having the time of his life, yet is not allowing his would-be movie stardom to get in the way of his passions. Like so many other movie actors, he is fulfilling a childhood fantasy. "I've always been a big fan of film. I always wanted to act one day but never knew how I was going to get involved in it. I never imagined that I would transcend from wrestling into acting. I just thought: Oh, I want to be an actor one day." Wrestling fans may be wondering whether Dwayne Johnson will discard The Rock in favor of full time Hollywood glory. Not even the man himself is prepared to say at this point. "The physical aspects are very demanding, so I don't know how long I'll be able to keep that up. But one way or another, The Rock will always be a part of the WWF, because that's where he was created. There will always be those ties, much like Arnold always has his ties to body building. I think as a performer, and as a person, you look to grow and so I'd like to continue to grow, progress, turn the pages and start new chapters." The Rock is still juggling his WWF commitments to his new found film career, and is currently working on a new film. "It's a contemporary 2002 today action comedy set in South America. The working title as of now is called Helldorado and I think will be a lot of fun."
Now that he has succeeded in both arenas, The Rock has learned how to cope with superstardom, admitting that "anonymity suddenly goes out the window, especially for me. I try to wear hats, but it doesn't help," he quips. Seriously, he hates the whole idea of superstardom as a label. "I just hate the self-serving: You know, I'm a superstar, thing and I don't get it when you actually think of yourself as a superstar or any kind of star. It's so ridiculous." So The Rock keeps his life real and in check, "by going to Dunkin' Donuts every week which I've got to have, not to mention my pizza."