• December 25, 2000
• Vol. 54
• No. 27

The Rock

Wrestling's Self-Proclaimed People's Champion Packs a Wallop Both in and Out of the Ring

Frank McCourt writes a bestselling memoir; so does The Rock (title: The Rock Says...).Colin Powell wows the Republican National Convention; so does The Rock. Ben Affleck hosts Saturday Night Live; so does The Rock. Russell Crowe inks a multimillion-dollar movie deal. Ho hum! So does The Rock. But The Rock, champion and crown jewel of the World Wrestling Federation, accomplished all these things just this year—while also showing up for work in packed arenas, looking alarmingly virile in spandex. And the others haven't enriched the language with words like "jabroni," his pet pejorative (it basically means loser), or such put-down phrases as "Why don't you drink a big, tall glass of shut-up juice!" This 28-year-old Renaissance man (real name Dwayne Johnson), who stands 6'4" and weighs a very buff 270, is a former defensive tackle—and criminology major—at the University of Miami whose earnings this year are expected to top $15 million. "It's not about how big and burly he is," says Stephen Sommers, who directed The Rock in his big-screen debut in The Mummy Returns, due next May, and has already signed him to star in The Scorpion King, which begins filming in January. "It's much more evolved."

The son of a Samoan homemaker and an African-American pro wrestler, The Rock, who was born in California and raised mostly in Hawaii, is apparently quite evolved, especially for a guy whose primary job description still involves pounding the pretend heck out of his fellow WWF behemoths. "The Rock has one focus; it is to entertain the fans," he says. "The character of The Rock is as loud as he can be, as charismatic as he can be—but he's still very vulnerable. He loses, he gets his butt kicked." In real life The Rock is a softie. Married since 1997 to a Merrill Lynch vice president, Dany Garcia, 32, he says, "We've spoken every day for the last 10 years, since we officially started dating. Dubai, South Africa, Europe. Wherever I am, I call." Back at the couple's lake-front house in Davie, Fla., the stuff that plays in the WWF doesn't cut it. "He wouldn't assume an attitude and tell me, 'The Rock wants a drink of water,' " Garcia says. In their home office there's a poster of Elvis Presley, a sideburned idol from another era. "Elvis had it," The Rock reflects, cocking his eyebrow thoughtfully, "that intangible magnetism." So will The Rock add rock and roll to his résume? "I can sing a tune or two," he says, "but otherwise I suck." At last! Something The Rock can't do!