Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson has come a long way from asking if you can smell what he's
cooking. These days, he's obviously a bona fide movie star.
Despite his international fame, he also remains humble. In his new TV show Young Rock, he
looks back on his life before becoming a globally known A-lister. The show's premise is that
Johnson's giving a far-ranging "get-to-know-you" interview to WandaVision's Randall Park as
a part of his presidential run. See, very humble.
Johnson's childhood does make for good TV. His childhood was surrounded by a who's who
of wrestling superstars, including Andre the Giant.
It's no surprise that Johnson went on to become a wrestler himself. Wrestling is in his genes,
and the Johnsons built a sort of wrestling dynasty. Johnson's father, Rocky, was a pro
wrestler himself and was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2008.
Johnson's maternal grandfather is also a wrestling legend. "High Chief" Peter Maivia is another
WWE Hall of Famer. Johnson even made his debut in the WWE under the name Rocky Maivia in
a simultaneous tribute to both his father and grandfather.
Being steeped in such a long and storied wrestling history, it only made sense that Johnson would
meet other personalities. His grandfather introduced Johnson to Andre the Giant, who
had a big impact on his life and is portrayed in Young Rock by actor Matthew Willig.
Andre the Giant, whose real name is Andre Roussimoff, grew up in France. He was diagnosed
with a form of gigantism called acromegaly, which caused an excess of growth hormones.
At 12 years old, Roussimoff stood at 6 feet 3 inches and weighed 300 pounds. This caused
his family issues as the young boy was deemed too tall and big to ride the school bus.
Samuel Beckett, Nobel Prize winner for Literature most known for Waiting for Godot, lived near
the Roussimoffs and used to drive the young Andre to school. It was an unlikely relationship,
much like the one Andre would later form with young Dwayne Johnson.
Roussimoff, of course, became a massive wrestling star. He cultivated a rivalry with another
superstar, Hulk Hogan, and saw a streak of winning matches from the 1970s until the early
1980s.
Roussimoff is also one of the first professional wrestlers to become a crossover success, moving
beyond the ring. Most non-wrestling fans know Andre the Giant from the movie The Princess
Bride, where he played the lovable giant Fezzik. It's no surprise that his protégé Johnson
followed in his footsteps.
Andre the Giant often hung out with Peter Maivia in Hawaii, where he ran a wrestling
training center. Young Rock features several moments of Andre the Giant instilling life
lessons to a young Dwayne Johnson.
In one scene, young Dwayne -- known as "Dewey" in the TV show -- begs his parents to take
him to see a screening of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, but both are too busy. Instead, he ends up
getting taken to a night at the movies with Andre the Giant, forcing everyone else in
the audience to crane their necks trying to see past the 7-foot-tall wrestler.
It's made clear on Young Rock that Andre the Giant meant a lot to Johnson growing up. Andre
the Giant and Johnson's grandfather were reportedly the best of friends. Johnson has said Roussimoff
was often at their house for meals or just to hang out. He'd drink with Johnson's father
and grandfather and play cards. He said Roussimoff was very close to the whole Johnson family.
Johnson often posts photos of the two on his social media accounts. He talked about watching
both men wrestle every night and, in his words, live life to the fullest. Johnson said his
uncle Andre taught him several lessons on respect and, to reach the young boy, would
often pick him up so they could be eye to eye, a scene often repeated on Young Rock.
"What are you looking at?"
Johnson probably got a lot of advice about Hollywood from Andre, too. And now that he's
a world-renowned movie star and has a TV show about his early life, The Rock probably wishes
his uncle Andre was here to watch it with him.
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