DO YOU SMELL WHAT THE ROCK IS COOKIN'?
With the Upcoming "Walking Tall," A Bone Fide Movie Career, Jabroni
By Annlee Ellingson
Feb 7, 2004
The Rock is a hard guy to pin down -- and not just because he's a seven-time champion in World Wrestling Entertainment (nee Federation). In the span of as many days, he jets among Hawaii, Los Angeles and Mexico City -- in that order -- for a photo shoot, a television appearance and the Latin American junket for "The Rundown" before finally getting on the line with BOXOFFICE via a questionable cell-phone reception during a lunch break. "If I lose you [as I'm] going through these mountains in Mexico, I'll call you back," he says. And does.
"I wanted to take on this role that allowed me to play someone who was an amazing man who stood up for what was right," says the Rock, an avid movie buff who cites the films of Bruce Willis and Russell Crowe as exhibiting the range he would like to emulate. "Here's a movie that I had seen and had been a big fan of for a long, long time, ever since I first saw the movie when I was a kid. But the thing that attracted me most as a kid wasn't necessarily the fact that he decided to stand up for what was right and take responsibility. It was just the fact that he kicked a lot of ass with a big stick."
The appeal of "Walking Tall's" signature two-by-four is perhaps more akin to the Rock's star-making launching pad of professional wrestling than of the intimate experience of performing on a movie set. But, although the Rock admits he has had to tone down his acting -- particularly his facial expressions -- for the camera, in both endeavors he aims to keep it simple.
"What has always attracted me to my favorite movies and my favorite performances was simplicity, whether it's a simplistic story or whether it's a simplistic scene that's really moving," says the Rock, who's never been shy about seeking help from actors, directors and acting coaches to achieve the subtlety needed for film. "In wrestling, a lot of guys get caught up in being the biggest, the strongest, the loudest, the most colorful, the craziest, where I typically relied on simplistic innuendo, whether it be -- we laugh about it -- but whether it be raising an eyebrow or whether it be being silent and not saying anything for what seems to be an uneasy period of time, which will eventually lead to people just going crazy and chanting my name."
It's this allure that Hollywood hopes to tap into and has so far successfully -- perhaps best exhibited in his blend of baby-face good looks and bad-ass physicality in "The Rundown" -- without resorting to the eyebrow hoist that would reduce the Rock's act to a novelty. Hulk Hogan in "Mr. Nanny," anyone? On the big screen, as in the ring, the Rock has the moves to be the People's Champion.
DO YOU SMELL WHAT THE ROCK IS COOKIN'?
"What has always attracted me to my favorite movies and my favorite performances was simplicity, whether it's a simplistic story or whether it's a simplistic scene that's really moving," says the Rock, who's never been shy about seeking help from actors, directors and acting coaches to achieve the subtlety needed for film. "In wrestling, a lot of guys get caught up in being the biggest, the strongest, the loudest, the most colorful, the craziest, where I typically relied on simplistic innuendo, whether it be -- we laugh about it -- but whether it be raising an eyebrow or whether it be being silent and not saying anything for what seems to be an uneasy period of time, which will eventually lead to people just going crazy and chanting my name."