Dwayne Johnson Says He'll Never be Like Johnny Depp, Will Smith

Dwayne Johnson isn’t play around.

Dwayne The Rock Johnson got his start in the full-length feature film The Mummy Returns (2001) and the subsequent spinoff The Scorpion King (2002) after a successful career as a professional wrestler in the WWE.

Since that point, The Rock has become a household name and has starred in many blockbusters including films like Disney’s Jungle Cruise (2021), Moana (2016), the Jumanji franchise, Central Intelligence (2016), the Fast & Furious franchise, Netflix’s Red Notice (2021), and many others. The NBC sitcom Young Rock has also been a popular offering for fans wanting to know more about his life prior to wrestling and acting, including his relationship with his father Rocky Johnson..

Most recently, The Rock has been working in the DC Universe with two films: DC League of Super Pets alongside friend Kevin Hart, and the blockbuster Black Adam (2022), which just hit theaters last week.

In a recent interview, Dwayne Johnson talked about how he identified “so much” with the character, noting that during his 20-year career, he never wanted to join the form of Hollywood that he was pressured into becoming.

“You can’t call yourself the Rock. You can’t talk about pro wrestling. You can’t be this big. You can’t work out as much. Change your diet. Lose weight. If you want to be like Will Smith, Johnny Depp, George Clooney, who were the stars at that time, this is how you have to be,” Johnson said.

Instead, Dwayne Johnson forged his own path.

“Well, I tried that on for a few years, and then finally I said, ‘Man, f— this. I can’t be like that,” Johnson said. “I’m not those guys. I could never be those guys. I’m not in a box. Don’t tell me how to be. I’m going to be myself.”

Johnson’s film Black Adam has already grossed more than $151.6 million in the United States and Canada, and $201 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $352.6 million.

As far as Disney is concerned, there have been rumors that Johnson could be replacing Johnny Depp for a lead role in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, but this has not been confirmed and nothing has come to fruition yet. In addition, there have been many insiders who indicated that The Rock will take over Will Smith’s role as Genie in the next Aladdin 2 project.

What do you think of these remarks from Dwayne Johnson and his desire to be different? Let us know in the comments!