Getting old is a gift... sometimes we forget that
Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart reunite on screen for Jumanji: The Next Level. The pair sit down with LAURA HARDING to discuss friendship, ageing and why their fans will always come first
DWAYNE JOHNSON and Kevin Hart are squabbling – but what else is new? Squabbling has long been a cornerstone of the high-profile friendship between the former wrestler and the stand-up comedian, with the pair constantly exchanging verbal jabs in person and trading affectionate swipes on social media.
Today is no exception as they sit side by side in a London hotel and debate who looks older.
“You’re looking at two guys who just embraced our youth, because we are so young,” Dwayne, 47, jokes as he towers over 40-year old Kevin.
At 5ft 4in, Kevin appears to be about a third of the size of hulking superstar Dwayne, but the comedy juggernaut simply can’t let this slide.
“I don’t think you should say ‘youth’,” he tells Dwayne sternly. “Because when people look at you, they know you’re not young. I can embrace my youth, but for you, you’re on the other side.”
And we are off to the races as the pair trade friendly insults.
“They don’t know my actual age, nobody knows,” jokes Kevin. “I’ve been pulling the old birth certificate swap for some years now.”
“You’ve been running that gimmick for a long time, you’ve been in your 30s for a long time,” Dwayne replies.
While this kind of jovial jostling is the trademark feature of their relationship, their friendship did take on a more serious tone earlier this year when Kevin was involved in a serious car accident that left him badly injured.
He was a passenger in a vintage muscle car when the driver lost control, sped down an embankment and slammed into a tree near Malibu in September.
He suffered major back injuries and had to have intensive physical therapy.
“We were all worried about Kevin,” Dwayne says earnestly, “but, the truth is, the moment I heard that he had breath left in his body I knew he was resilient and a fighter and that he was going to come back.”
And come back indeed he did, leaving Kevin thankful simply to be alive.
“You have got to fall in love with life in general,” he says.
“We all understand that life is a constant progression, it doesn’t stop, it’s going to continue to go forward, so it’s up to you to embrace the obstacles that may be presented to you and just try to become better on a day to day basis.
“Getting older is something that should be celebrated.” The subject of getting older is something that is unexpectedly addressed in the duo’s new film Jumanji: The Next Level, a sequel to the 2017 box office hit Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle, which was itself a sequel of the 1995 film starring Robin Williams.
While the first film saw the duo play the avatars of teenagers who end up in the game – along with Jack Black and Karen Gillen – this time they embody people later in life, namely characters portrayed by Danny DeVito and Danny Glover.
On this outing, their characters marvel at their limber hips and strength.
“Getting old is a gift,” Dwayne says philosophically.
“Sometimes we forget that. But time just goes on and it’s not going to stop so I think you can either embrace it or not embrace it.”
And embrace it they do. The pair’s mutual sense of fun has made them a huge hit with a global audience. They have appeared in a string of films together, including the Central Intelligence and Jumanji movies, while Kevin even makes an uncredited appearance in Dwayne’s Fast & Furious spin-off Hobbs & Shaw.
For all their physical differences, it is their commitment to making films that are enjoyed by audiences, rather than hustling for
Oscars, that they have in common.
“That is what we do it for,” Kevin says. “You’re looking at two entertainers that really understands the importance and value in having a fan.
“With both of our backgrounds, wrestling for DJ (as he calls Dwayne) and stand-up comedy for me, we have dealt with live entertainment for so long and we have always had that personal connection to our fanbase.
“Now we are finding ways to maintain that personal connection through the box office side of entertainment.
“But if we ever lose sight of that, I think we lose sight of where we have come from and what gives us the opportunity to do what we do at the highest level.”
Dwayne enthusiastically nods, saying: “We do truly feel that audiences come first.
“When you look at the stuff that we do, whether it’s in TV or film, if you strip it all away, it always comes down to the audience, it comes down to the fans, the consumers, the customers, and we do want to make sure that we are creating a great experience for them.
“With Kevin and I, you won’t find content or films where people go, ‘Aah, you did that for you, that one was for you. The other five were for us, but that one was for you.’
“No, that is our therapy time, we will go see our therapist, we will work on our s*** on our own, that is not for the audience.
“So anything that we do is always audience first.”
For all their squabbling, both men feel like they have grown because of the other.
“You have got to get better, you can’t get worse,” Kevin says. “Everything gets better within time and I think I’m definitely learning a lot and learning how to be more polished and more professional.
“My business acumen is growing and of course that is from the big guy, the good leader he is.”
They look at each other.
“We learn from each other,” Dwayne adds, “We truly do, we learn from each other.”
And with that, the squabbling begins again.
Dwayne and Kevin in comedy movie Central Intelligence
Jumanji: The Next Level is out now in UK cinemas.