Dwayne Douglas Johnson (born May 2, 1972), also known by his ring name The Rock,[3]

is an American actor and former professional wrestler. Widely regarded as one of

the greatest professional wrestlers of all time,[6][7] he was integral to the
development and success of the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) during the
Attitude Era, an industry boom period in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Johnson
wrestled for the WWF for eight years prior to pursuing an acting career. His films
have grossed over $3.5 billion in North America and over $10.5 billion worldwide,
[8] making him one of the world's highest-grossing and highest-paid actors.[9][10]
[11]

Prior to his emergence as a top-grossing actor beginning in the 2010s, Johnson was
an athlete. At Freedom High School in Bethlehem Township, Pennsylvania in the
Lehigh Valley, he ultimately emerged as a standout athlete on both the school's
football and wrestling teams. His football capabilities at Freedom High School led
him to be ranked as one of the top ten defensive tackle high-school prospects in
the nation, drawing the attention of several NCAA Division I college football
programs.

Johnson accepted an athletic scholarship to play at the University of Miami, one of

the country's top college football programs. As a college freshman, he was a member
of the University of Miami's 1991 national championship team, but largely spent his
four college football years at the University of Miami in backup roles behind elite
players, including future NFL star and Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee Warren
Sapp.[12] Johnson aspired to play professional football but went undrafted in the
1995 NFL Draft. Following his graduation from the University of Miami that year, he
signed with the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League; however, he was
cut from the team in his first season.[13]

In 1996, Johnson's father Rocky, a longtime professional wrestler, assisted in

helping him secure a contract with the WWF.[2] Johnson quickly rose to global
prominence, aided by a gimmick he employed as a charismatic trash talker. Johnson
left WWE in 2004 and returned in 2011 as a part-time performer until 2013, making
sporadic appearances until retiring in 2019.[14] A 10-time world champion,
including the promotion's first of African-American descent,[15] he is also a two-
time Intercontinental Champion, a five-time Tag Team Champion, the 2000 Royal
Rumble winner, and WWE's sixth Triple Crown champion. Johnson headlined the most-
bought professional wrestling pay-per-view (WrestleMania XXVIII) and was featured
among the most watched episodes of WWE's flagship television series (Raw and
SmackDown).[16][17]

Johnson's first film appearance was in The Mummy Returns (2001). The following year
he played his first leading role as the titular character in the sword and sorcery
action fantasy film The Scorpion King (2002). He has since starred in family films
The Game Plan (2007), Race to Witch Mountain (2009), Tooth Fairy (2010), and Jungle
Cruise (2021), as well as the action adventure films Journey 2: The Mysterious
Island (2012), G.I. Joe: Retaliation (2013), Hercules (2014), Skyscraper (2018),
San Andreas (2015) and Rampage (2018). He also starred in the action comedy films
Get Smart (2008), Central Intelligence (2016), Baywatch (2017), and Red Notice
(2021). In 2016 he voiced Maui in the Disney animated film Moana (2016). His role
as Luke Hobbs in the Fast & Furious films, beginning with Fast Five (2011), helped
the franchise become one of the highest-grossing in film. He subsequently starred
in the spin-off Hobbs & Shaw (2019).[18] Johnson also stars in the Jumanji films,
appearing in Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (2017) and Jumanji: The Next Level
(2019), and voices Bark Kent / Krypto / Superdog, Anubis, and Teth-Adam / Black
Adam in the animated film DC League of Super-Pets (2022), before starring as the
latter in the live-action superhero film Black Adam (2022).

Johnson produced and starred in the HBO comedy-drama series Ballers (2015–2019),
[19] and the autobiographical sitcom Young Rock (2021). In 2000, Johnson released
his autobiography, The Rock Says, which was a New York Times bestseller.[20][21] In
2012, he co-founded the entertainment production company Seven Bucks Productions,
[22] and is co-owner of the XFL, a professional American football league.[23][24]
In 2016 and 2019, Time named Johnson one of the world's most influential