Actor hoping ‘Baywatch’ leads to movie franchise
LOS ANGELES — In 2000, as Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson was trying to break into Hollywood, he started off OK.
The pro wrestler already had a following, a role in “The Mummy Returns” and highwattage charm. He also had no acting experience, no idea how Hollywood worked and — besides idols in Clint Eastwood, Harrison Ford and Arnold Schwarzenegger — no blueprint for success.
“I couldn’t say, ‘Oh, let me just follow the half-black and halfSamoan actor who was also a wrestler.’ “Johnson said recently. “That wasn’t an option. So I was forced to create my own.”
And he did, becoming a huge movie star in the process, with a booming production company, 84.4 million followers on Instagram, 11.2 million on Twitter and a reported $64.5 million salary in 2016.
“Alone among his generation, Dwayne Johnson has aimed for middle-ofthebroad, appealing, leadingman status,” said Richard Rushfield, who runs the Hollywood newsletter the Ankler.
“While his peers have carved out more edgy, cool, of-the-moment profiles, Johnson has assiduously whittled down the rough edges of his early ‘The Rock’ wrestling persona.”
Simply, Johnson, 44, has built an entertainment machine. He has proved himself to be a summer draw with leading roles in “San Andreas” in 2015 and “Central Intelligence” last year.
And the upcoming “Baywatch” could yield a new film franchise.
“I love being able to create big movies or TV shows that entertain people, that make them happy,” the actor said.
Johnson, who heads the production company Seven Bucks with ex-wife Dany Garcia, might be the purest expression of a global entertainer there is, aside from Tom Cruise or Will Smith.
His big, global thinking is what led him to the “Baywatch” movie.
Johnson, a teenager when the show peaked in pouplarity, appreciated its “sexiness” but considered it cheesy.
Then, five years ago, he learned that it was the most successful TV show of all time — and that settled it.
The film does have the red suits, the babes, the bodies and some of the same names (Johnson plays Mitch Buchannon, the role originated by David Hasselhoff), but he thinks it is funnier, raunchier, more actionpacked and, well, more self-aware.
The cast also includes Priyanka Chopra, Alexandra Daddario and Zac Efron.
“I always say (that) I have one boss — not the movie studios ... the audience,” Johnson said. “They’ll dictate if there’s another one. I think we have a good shot.”