Topics: Celebrity, US News, Dwayne Johnson, Tom Cruise, Film and TV
It’s hard to imagine a time when Dwayne Johnson wasn’t an A-List movie star.
The former WWE wrestler has appeared in an incredible amount of franchises, including Fast and The Furious, Jumanji and even DC’s cinematic universe.
At the start of his career though, the 51-year-old missed out on an iconic role which ultimately went to Hollywood legend Tom Cruise instead. The Rock explains all below:
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During a Facebook Q&A with fans, the Black Adam star explained how during the pandemic, he’d missed out on a potentially life-changing role.
The actor revealed that he’d wanted to play super sniper Jack Reacher, as he was a huge fan of the franchise.
The Rock also shared a number of physical attributes with the character, such as height and build, meaning he should have been the obvious choice to play him on the big screen.
He told fans: “In Hollywood, actors are kind of like in a box... There are actors that can vie for a particular role because it allows for them to have a certain look, skin color, size, etc.”
“Fortunately, for me, there aren’t a lot of guys at all who look like me. So, all of my roles, from the beginning of my career, I’ve been a lucky son of a b***h that they’ve been created and designed for me — except Jack Reacher.”
Of course, the role ultimately went to veteran action hero Tom Cruise – who went on to play the titular action hero for two films.
Though Johnson was pretty devastated about missing out on the role, he admitted that it actually allowed him to further his career as he could focus on other projects.
As luck would have it, the former WWE wrestler would get a phone call from Universal Studios not long after with execs asking him to star in the Fast and Furious franchise.
Though the Fast 5 part didn’t come with a Hollywood salary, the role did give Johnson the chance to create the character of Hobbs – virtually from scratch.
It was enough for the actor to agree to the part, with the new character becoming a recurring role for the A-Lister and his Hollywood career took off.
Years later, Johnson would admit that not getting Jack Reacher has been a blessing in disguise.
He told fans: “I’m positive that the role of Jack Reacher, because it was an established character, an IP that was well known and beloved around the world, that I wouldn’t have had the creative space to do what I wanted with the character.”
The Rock then added: “I look back in gratitude that I didn’t get Jack Reacher.”
Whilst we glad we got to see The Rock in Fast 5, we’ll always wonder what he would have been like as the super sniper.
