Professional wrestling is the world that made Dwayne Johnson famous, under his ring name The Rock, before he transitioned into acting. The discipline of performing for live crowds shaped his charisma and work ethic, and his athletic past informed later roles such as MMA fighter Mark Kerr in The Smashing Machine. Even in 2026, filming Lizard Music as the frail, elderly Chicken Man, Johnson’s wrestling-honed physical storytelling remains a foundation of his unlikely second act as a character actor.
(Eva Rinaldi / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0))
Mentioned in: Grey Hair, Age Spots and a Pizza Slice: The Story Behind Dwayne Johnson’s ‘Lizard Music’ Look