When it came to putting together the NBC half-hour series Young Rock, making it real and correct, with warts and everything, was the key to Dwayne Johnson and the actors who portray the younger version of the wrestler-action star and his family.
Young Rock focuses on different chapters of Johnson’s life. From growing up in a strong, resilient family to being surrounded by the crazy characters from his professional wrestling family, playing football at the University of Miami, the show explores the crazy roller coaster that made Johnson the guy he is today and the biggest characters that the life he met along the way.
Johnson said today on the NBC winter press tour: “When I first sat down with (EPs) Nahnatchka (Khan) and also with Jeff (Chiang), it was to really understand why – what is the real reason why do it? How can we create something for the audience that, hopefully, entertains them, but also lets them take it a little later? After we identified it and felt good and comfortable with it, we moved on. We are not going to take the easy path. We use the terms ‘wild’ and ‘crazy’ – these are incredible words that we use when we promote this product. But it was incredibly complicated and incredibly difficult to grow, specifically with these timelines in my 10-year, 15, and 18-year life. in the middle. “
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“The relationship I had with my father was incredibly complicated and fueled by difficult love. My father was kicked out of the house when he was 13 and was a homeless person, so it shaped the man who then raised me. And in this complication an extraordinary life, full of travels, emerged. I lived in 13 different states when I was 13. I also lived in New Zealand. I had a lot of breadth in this life, ”said Johnson.
It was essential for Johnson to work with the EPs of Young Rock to “open up a few things, and vulnerability was one of those factors. The series allowed me to appreciate those difficult times much more. “
“We are going to reveal things, but also talk about the good things, because there were so many good things when I look back, in this wild world with these characters that were bigger than life,” said Johnson referring to his grandmother, Lia Maivia , (the first female professional wrestling promoter) and other wrestling personalities portrayed on the show, such as Andre the Giant, The Iron Sheik, etc.
“All of these men were so successful at what they did, but they played that role 24 hours a day,” reflected Johnson.
When asked by a reporter what were the most difficult moments of his life, Johnson took a deep breath and replied: “There are some layers to that answer … At 13, I went off the rails to do things I shouldn’t be doing. I was arrested at age 13 in Hawaii, ”said the actor. Johnson fought with his parents at the time. He didn’t want to move from Hawaii. In retrospect, his family was forced to film, and it was meant to be, as Johnson ultimately prospered.
Another bad patch that Johnson remembered was when he was passed over to the NFL.
“It was a huge loss; when you finish your college career, it’s over. There was no NFL for me, ”said Hobbs and Shaw and Fast and furious actor. Over time, Johnson soon reached the “seven dollar” phase of his life; this sublime tipping point when it broke after its release from the Canadian Football League in 1995 and before signing with the World Wrestling Federation, where it exploded in the phenomenon we know.
Johnson, Joseph Lee Anderson, Stacey Leilua, Adrian Groulx, Bradley Constant, Uli Latukefu, Ana Tuisila, Fasitua Amosa and John Tui star Young Rock. Khan, Johnson, Chiang, Dany Garcia, Hiram Garcia, Brian Gewirtz and Jennifer Carreras are EPs in the series. Young Rock is produced by Universal Television, a division of Universal Studio Group, Seven Bucks Productions and Fierce Baby Productions.
Young Rock will open at 8 pm on Tuesday, February 16. Check out the trailer that fell today: