The Rock Discusses Doing Things His Way In Hollywood After WWE Departure

It's been a busy few weeks for Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson in the wrestling world. At the end of January, it was announced that the wrestler-turned-actor had joined the board at TKO, WWE's parent company. After that, "The Great One" cemented his place in WWE's main storyline heading into WrestleMania 40. 

During his appearance on "The Pat McAfee Show," Johnson was asked about his transition from pro wrestling to the silver screen.

"I felt it was at an inflective time in my life," Johnson said. "And I thought, 'Okay. I can either stay in this or I can have ambitions to go and start a film career. And if I'm good, if I'm decent, I could have some longevity, then maybe I could bring WWE and wrestling with me.' So it was a little challenging at first because I left when I was on top."

Johnson explained that no other wrestlers were attempting to make it in Hollywood when he began to focus on his movie career. He said the biggest film stars in the world at the time were Johnny Depp, George Clooney, and Will Smith, and the former WWE Champion was told that he needed to be like them if he wanted to be a leading actor. Johnson was ultimately told to drop "The Rock" name, lose weight, and not talk about wrestling when he was talking to the media.

He said he followed that advice for a year or two and eventually decided that he wanted to do things his way. Things ended up working out for Johnson, of course, as he is now one of the most successful actors in Hollywood.

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "The Pat McAfee Show" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.