Solid as a Rock

I went to L.A. hardly knowing anything about him and I came home three days later a big fan of him. No kidding.

I’m talking about The Rock, first seen as the dozen-legged villain Scorpion King in the Brendan Fraser starrer Mummy Returns and who is now topbilling his first-starring movie, The Scorpion King (no doubt inspired by his smash-hit movie-debut character), who met with more than 80 international TV-print entertainment writers at a suite in the posh Hollywood-friendly Four Seasons Hotel in Beverly Hills, together with the movie’s director Chuck Russell (Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Eraser and Jim Carrey’s The Mask, etc.), and co-stars Michael Clark Duncan (that big guy in The Green Mile) as Nubian Balthazar, the mortal foe who ends up as the Scorpion King’s friend and ally; Steven Brand who’s having his movie debut, as the evil warlord Memnon; and Amerasian beauty Kelly Hu (1985 Miss Teen USA who represented her native Hawaii in the Miss USA Pageant in 1986) as Cassandra.

Not being a fan of action films (give me the likes of A Beautiful Mind anytime), I was clueless about The Rock before I met him in the flesh in that L.A. Scorpion King press junket. A little research helped, though: The Rock is Dwayne Douglas Johnson, 30, who’s very popular (I would soon find out) among sports fans, young and old alike, who follow his feats in wrestling competitions. He’s the son of successful professional wrestler Rocky Johnson and the grandson of Samoan wrestling legend Peter Maivia. At 26, The Rock (short for his adopted name Rocky Maivia), became the youngest World Wrestling Federation champion and has since been a champion six times over.

The whole-day TV-print interviews Sunday (April 7) was preceded by a screening of the movie the night before. It’s a must that you watch the movie before the interviews; otherwise, you’ll show up at the interviews like a student taking his final exams without burning the midnight oil.

I like – and always look forward to – this part of the press junket. The press people are fetched by mini-buses at their respective hotels and brought to a nearby theater. Coupons for popcorn and drinks are distributed at the lobby. And then, you watch the movie the good old traditional American way – trying to finish your big bag of popcorn while gasping at the action on the big screen.

Still bugged by jet lag, I thought I would snore the night away, but I was wrong. I actually stayed alert throughout the screening, hardly blinking as the movie unreeled and, at one point, even holding my bladder since I didn’t want to miss even a single scene. For a movie to hold the attention of a non-action fan, it must be something.

Soon, I realized why The Rock commands such legions of fans (among them Ram and Robin, sons of Pops Fernandez and Martin Nievera) around the world. He has a magnetic screen presence, exuding a lovable vulnerability despite his frightening hugeness. In the movie (produced by Universal Pictures and released locally by United International Pictures), The Rock’s character starts life as Mathayus, the leader of a small band of swift warriors. His people are suddenly overtaken by Memnon who relies on the visions of Cassandra, a sexy sorceress, for guidance. Mathayus sets out to kill her but instead falls for her. They become allies, fighting the evil warrior side by side until he becomes the Scorpion King himself.

I was sure that everybody else in that packed-full theater off the Avenue of the Stars was an avid action fan because they collectively cheered and applauded every now and then, especially when The Rock was shown on top of a camel being chased by hostile forces, when The Rock subdued fellow giant Michael Clark Duncan in a mortal combat and when, toward the end, The Rock embraced the fragile-looking Kelly Hu (a black belt in karate) for their first gently-passionate kiss.

That’s how I became an instant fan of The Rock.

During our Conversation the next day, I was surprised to discover the gentle giant behind The Rock. His handshake was firm, all right, but it didn’t crash my small hand. He spoke softly, not with the thundering, ear-shattering voice of a giant (remember the one in Jack and the Beanstalk?). The four-letter word that best describes him? Well, I could only think of, yes, N-I-C-E! Very nice.

Why are you called The Rock?

"Why? ‘Cause it’s better than a pebble. If you know me the way my friends do, you’ll understand why I’m called The Rock." (Breaking into a naughty smile)

Oh, I see!

(Laughing) "It’s a joke!"

Did you consider any other monicker before you settled for The Rock?

(Thinks awhile) "No, I didn’t. The Rock is a nice one, isn’t it? Easy to say. It kind of fits my personality, as I was saying... It fits my constitution, my make-up and nobody has ever had that name. It just... fits!"

Yeah, hard as a rock!

"No, solid as a rock!"

Okay, some basic facts about you... Height...

"Six feet and five inches."

Weight.

"Let me see...245 pounds."

Waistline

"Thirty-six inches."

Biceps?

(Pauses a moment) "Twenty-one inches."

Size of shoes.

"Fourteen inches. That’s why they call me The Rock."

Size of shirt?

"Double X."

How do you keep your body, your figure?

"I try to work out every day. I try to go to the gym where I do free-weight exercises, ride a bike or a treadmill for cardio-vascular exercises. I work out for about an hour every day. If my schedule is light, I work out every day seven days a week. When my schedule is heavy, I can work out only once a week."

What about diet? What kind of breakfast do you take?

"Usually, I have some sort of protein in the form of eggs."

I could imagine... How many eggs do you consume at a time?

"Eight to 10."

Fried? Hard-boiled? Soft-boiled? Or poached?

"Scrambled... Just the egg white."

For lunch?

"Usually, I have chicken breast or fish, two big slices. I have vegetables, baked potato and pasta – or spaghetti!"

For dinner?

"Usually, I have some red meat... a steak... Or, again, chicken breast."

Downed maybe with wine... or tea... or what?

"First of all, I’m not big on wine. I have water, just water."

How many glasses of water do you take every day?

"Oh? Maybe... two gallons! A lot of water."

Do you take snacks?

"Oh, yes, I do. I’ve always said, ‘I’ll never cheat myself; I’ll always treat myself.’ If I feel like eating pizza, I eat pizza. If I feel like eating doughnuts, I eat doughnuts. Or cookies. Or pasta. Or spaghetti. I just try to do it in small amounts."

What’s your favorite food?

"Pizza. I love pizza!"

What about vitamins?

"I take multi-vitamins."

Food that you avoid.

"Fried foods and...just fried foods."

And sleep? How much sleep do you get every day?

"I need eight to 10 hours of sleep every day. But I get only four to five hours."

How do you feel when you lack sleep?

(Breaking into a wide, friendly smile) "Horrible! But I’ve become used to it now because of my schedule."

Aside from wrestling, what’s your favorite sport?

"Football. Basketball, sometimes."

How were you discovered for Mummy Returns?

"The director, Stephen Sommers, who was also the writer, wanted a villain that was meaner than the original mummy. Stephen and the producer, Kevin Misher, thought of The Rock to play the role. Universal Pictures people called me and the deal was done. I was just waiting for the right opportunity to break into films. We were reading a lot of scripts but we couldn’t find the right one..."

...until Mummy Returns came along. So you really wanted to be in the movies...

"Yeah. It’s a dream come true. So once I got the script for Mummy Returns, I took the role even if it was just a very small part. I shot my scenes in only two days."

I saw Mummy Returns and you were amazing as the Scorpion King. I was curious how you were able to move with all those legs, especially in your fight scene with Brendan Fraser. Didn’t those legs affect your performance, your movements?

"We wound up doing everything digitally. All they had to do was shoot me doing like this (Moving arms as if fighting with somebody or shielding himself from blows, etc.). I wasn’t moving my body, just my arms and hand. I was steady. After the shooting, I went home and the movie’s editor did the rest. You have to give credit to the computer geniuses who made that happen."

What about playing the title role that in The Scorpion King? How was it, compared to Mummy Returns?

"I shot Scorpion King for three months. That was the big difference. Two days’ work in Mummy Returns and three months’ work in Scorpion King."

Is it true that you prepared for the movie for four months, one month longer than the actual shooting?

"For about three to four months, I trained in sword-fighting every day. I also studied riding a camel. It’s a lot different from horseback-riding. It’s not as smooth as a horse. Big difference! With a horse, you can jump into it real quick. But with a camel, he has to get down for you. I also took archery lessons."

What was the hardest part of doing the movie?

"There were moments in the movie that I had to perform as an actor and I had to make sure that I acted well so that the audience would believe my performance. The action scenes were easy to do but the acting part was a bit hard."

I wonder, how did you get to be so big, so huge? Did you come from a family of giants?

"Yeah, we are a big family – literally. Everybody in my family is big, everybody is tall. Everybody seems to be into wrestling."

So you didn’t really have a choice but to be a wrestler?

"I guess so."

Didn’t you have any other ambition?

"I’ve always wanted to be an actor. I also wanted to work with the Secret Service."

Oh, I see. According to your bio-data, you took up Criminology in college.

"But I haven’t put into practice what I learned in college. Soon, I hope."

Is a big man like you afraid of anything?

"Oh, yeah. The Big Man Upstairs."

What’s your religion?

"I’m a Baptist."

What’s your concept of God?

"I have a special relationship with God."

How much of you is Samoan?

"Half. Fifty percent. The other half is American."

Do you have a role model, a hero?

"Martin Luther King. I admire him for having the intestinal force to stand up in the face of adversity. In the ’50s and the ’60s, doing that, marching on the streets for your rights, wasn’t an easy thing to do for Blacks. I admire his courage, for dying for a cause, for what he believed was right."

Any other (role model)?

"My Mom. She’s a very strong woman (Samoan)."

With your size, don’t you intimidate women in any way?

"I used to. But since I became The Rock, women have stopped being intimidated."

Did you scare your wife, Dany, into saying "yes" when you were courting her?

(Breaking into the same friendly smile) "I didn’t have to. Dany gave birth to our first child shortly after I shot Scorpion King. Our baby’s name is Simone."

Your fight scene with Michael Duncan was, well, terrific, a clash of giants!

"Michael and I trained side by side for months in preparation for our climactic fight scene. We used swords, lances and other fighting equipment. We did fisticuff training, too. It was actually Michael’s first choreographed fight scene." (Duncan’s character in Tim Burton’s Planet of the Apes was involved in several mass attacks. – RFL) "Michael and I are the best of friends. I’ve known him for years. When the producers mentioned Michael, I knew that we would have fantastic chemistry onscreen."

Besides strong men, what kind of roles do you want to play?

"Comedic roles, romantic-comedic roles. One day, I’d like to try doing dramatic roles."

They’re saying that you are the new action hero in Hollywood, the new Arnold Schwarzenegger. How do you feel about it?

"That’s nice, that’s nice! I’m very flattered! And the best thing I can say is that I never want to be Arnold Schwarzenegger because Arnold Schwarzenegger is Arnold Schwarzenegger and I’m The Rock. Arnold and I are very different from each other. I wanna do my own thing. And if I am half as successful as Arnold has been, then I’ll be very fortunate.

You’re such a gentle giant, I’m glad to find out. What makes the gentle side of The Rock come out?

(Breaking into giant smile) "Whiskey!"

How many shots!

"Three are good enough."

What are you like when you’re gentle and sweet?

"Very even keel, you know, very even-tempered. Very caring, you know. I love to play the guitar, singing. It has gentle sounds, doesn’t it?"

If you were not a wrestler today, what would you have been?

(Thinks hard) "I’m afraid to say I have no idea. I might be in trouble somewhere. I just feel fortunate to have gone down the road I’ve taken."

So you’re happy where and as you are...

"Very happy. And very lucky!"