How do wrestlers like Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson become successful Hollywood stars?
It is said that the era of movie stars is over. At least that's what the box office trend tells you. Unlike in the past, Hollywood movie studios now consider well-known brands to be the focal point of movie popularity, rather than stars.
Almost all of the most internationally acclaimed films of the 2010s were either part of a franchise or a remake of an old film. This is in stark contrast to the 1990s when the ten most popular films of the decade were driven by new ideas or stars like Bruce Willis, Tom Hanks, and Will Smith. Gone are the days when you put a star on a movie poster and the profit was guaranteed.
But there is one person who goes against this trend. And that Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson.
After starting his career as a wrestler in the WWE, he entered the world of films around the year 2000. In 2002, he made his acting debut in The Scorpion King, for which he was paid 55 5.5 million, a record for his first major role for any actor.
The Rock has now become an authentic film star and his films have grossed over 10 10 billion worldwide.
Box office expert Charles Grant says "very few stars can be relied upon now and Dwayne Johnson tops the list of those few stars."
The latest blockbuster to rely on Dwayne Johnson is the Disney movie Jungle Cruise, which is set to release worldwide this week.
Inspired by a cradle of the same name at Disneyland, Johnson plays Frank Wolf, a stubborn but honest captain of a 20th-century steamboat, and a British scientist named him on the Amazon River. I have to go in search of a 'tree of life.
While Dwayne Johnson has broken a trend in Hollywood, he has also started another. He is currently not the only WWE star to be popular in Hollywood. In fact, at the moment, the three biggest stars of Hollywood have come from the colors of the boat.
Leading roles in two of the biggest films of the year are Dwayne Johnson's WWE rival John Cena, who plays One Diesel's brother in Fast & Furious. John Cena will also be seen playing a bloody anti-hero pacemaker in DC Comics' The Suicide Squad this week.
In addition, Dave Batista is the third wrestler to become a movie star. He recently appeared on Netflix's Army of the Dead and will soon be on screen in a new edition of Frank Herbert's popular film Devon.
So what's the point of WWE wrestling in 21st-century cinema?
Brian Alvarez, a wrestling journalist, and editor of Figure Four says that both John Cena and Dwayne Johnson had certain qualities that made them the best candidates for Hollywood from day one, and from day one they were people who Could have become a superstar.
The reason for Dwayne Johnson's success
Dwayne Johnson, formerly known as The Rock, followed in the footsteps of his father, Rocky Johnson. Rocky Johnson also became the first black champion of the WWE when he formed a tag team with Tony Atlas in 1983. His son started wrestling in 1996 and in 2004 he said goodbye to wrestling because his film career was growing.
But sometimes they would return to the arena. His last major match was against John Cena at WrestleMania 29, after which he retired from the game in 2019.
This was the arena of WWE from which Johnson's journey to become a world superstar began. In the beginning of his wrestling career, he had a hard time winning the hearts of the fans. Since then, he has always been a favorite of the people and there came a time when he emerged as the most popular player in the history of wrestling and in the most successful matches. Attended.
His phrases became very popular in the world of wrestling, his distinctive eyebrow-raising style, and his agility in such a large volume made him the most popular in the world of wrestling. At the height of his wrestling career in 2001, at the height of his wrestling career, his match at WrestleMania 17 was the most-watched paperweight match in history, and a few weeks later he played the first major role in his film career, Scorpion. King had started shooting.
Johnson was soon moving away from the WWE lights and becoming a star in front of Hollywood cameras. But he was not the first to do so.
Hulk Hogan, the most popular wrestler of the 1980s, appeared in the 1982 film Rocky Three. In addition, due to various scandals at the end of this decade and the decline in his wrestling career, he turned to the film world again. But Hulk Hogan's film career was not very memorable. His public image was that of a good man and that is why the character he was given was that of a positive person who would give you advice and tell you good things.
Hulk Hogan's first film in which he is playing the lead role was the 1989 Akin film No Holds Bard and it was probably his only serious attempt to enter the film world.
But it failed so badly that WWE boss Vince McMahon, who had invested in the film, later joked that Hulk Hogan had to pay him for the film's failure.
He then ventured into comedy and in 1991 played the role of Suburban Command, a space creature that lands on an American family, and in 1993 played the role of a rich man in Mr. Nanny. Play the role of children's bodyguard.
But the film was duller than Arnold Schwarzenegger's 1990 Kindergarten Coupe.
Other wrestlers who have tried to come to Hollywood include Jesse Ventura and Steve Austin. Fans of The Princess Bride in 1987 will also remember the small role of Andre the Giant, who works for an Italian mafia. Although he shone brightly, he was probably not destined to become a star.
He later starred in a Rob Rainer film but suffered severe knee pain for many years on the boat and died of a heart attack at the age of 46.
What makes the current three stars unique is that they have many abilities in addition to the power to show on the screen. They may look like bodybuilders like Arnold or Sylvester Stallone, but they are not only big men who play the role of thugs, but they are also good at comedy. What's special about Johnson is that you can call him Santa Claus with muscles.
John Cena is going to be the king of idiots in Hollywood and Batista uses his body in his characters in such a way that not only wrestling fans but everyone seems to like him.
Putting masculinity aside, you can say that the wrestling arena is a great place to gain fame in Hollywood. A place where you can perform to please the public, which can be both powerful and funny.
Wrestling arena, a place for artists
Aside from the masculinity, you can say that the wrestling arena is the perfect place to practice becoming a Hollywood star. This is the place where you can give performances to many kinds of fans.
"Basically, people are playing a role in wrestling," says Alvarez. Especially in the WWE where wrestlers are given scraps, which they have to speak in front of the cameras. They play roles that are often very different from their caste and they have to act in imaginary situations.
"Johnson took a special advantage of wrestling and developed a rare way to connect with the fans," he says. He learned to move his smile, his eyes, and his eyebrows. Every night he knew what was successful in the fans and what was not.
Batista, on the other hand, has turned his wrestling role upside down. He plays a very serious role in wrestling and is now a comedian.
And John Cena has become a favorite hero, like Captain America but wearing jeans shorts.
After the success of these three, can a talent pipeline be established from the world of wrestling to Hollywood? It seems that many can follow in their footsteps.