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11-12-2015, 11:22 PM
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WWE legend turned Hollywood megastar Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson will be appearing on ‘Oprah’s Master Class’ this Sunday (11/15) on the Oprah Winfrey Network network. Oprah.com has released some quotes from the interview, providing fascinating insight on The Rock’s battle with depression and his decision to transition from pro wrestling to movies.
After playing football for the University of Miami and winning a national championship with them in 1991, The Rock failed to be drafted by an NFL team. He played in the Canadian Football League for a stretch, but was eventually let go by his team, the Calgary Stampeders. At 23, he found himself living in his parents small apartment and battling depression.
“I found that with depression one of the most important things you could realize is that you’re not alone. You’re not the first to go through it,” he says. “I wish I had someone at that time who could just pull me aside and [say], ‘Hey, it’s going to be okay.'”
About a month and a half later, he got a phone call from the head coach who had let him go from the Calgary Stampeders offering him a chance to rejoin the team. He declined because his gut told him he was done with football. He told his father Rocky Johnson that he wanted to follow in his footsteps and become a pro wrestler. His father told him it giving up on football was the biggest mistake of his life, but The Rock felt in his heart that he had to give wrestling a shot.
After a Hall of Fame worthy career and becoming an international superstar in WWE, The Rock walked away from wrestling in 2004 to embark on another new career.
“When I was at the height of my career, I felt for the very first time that I was close to accomplishing everything that I was close to accomplishing in wrestling. So, I quietly walked away,” he said.
“It kind of shook me a little bit because wrestling was all I knew at the time. I had dabbled in acting (The Mummy), but I also felt that I wanted to do more. I wanted to achieve more. I wanted to grow. I wanted to grow as a person. I wanted to reach as many people as people as possible. Not for the box office value of it, but the connection. I had come from a world where I was connecting with an audience every night. And, I wanted that connection.”
The Rock wasn’t looking to cash in on his fame from wrestling, make a few movies and move on. He planned to learn the film industry inside and out and has gone on to become one of the highest grossing action stars in history.
Oprah’s Masters Class airs on the OWN Network Sunday nights at 8pm EST.
WWE legend turned Hollywood megastar Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson will be appearing on ‘Oprah’s Master Class’ this Sunday (11/15) on the Oprah Winfrey Network network. Oprah.com has released some quotes from the interview, providing fascinating insight on The Rock’s battle with depression and his decision to transition from pro wrestling to movies.
After playing football for the University of Miami and winning a national championship with them in 1991, The Rock failed to be drafted by an NFL team. He played in the Canadian Football League for a stretch, but was eventually let go by his team, the Calgary Stampeders. At 23, he found himself living in his parents small apartment and battling depression.
“I found that with depression one of the most important things you could realize is that you’re not alone. You’re not the first to go through it,” he says. “I wish I had someone at that time who could just pull me aside and [say], ‘Hey, it’s going to be okay.'”
About a month and a half later, he got a phone call from the head coach who had let him go from the Calgary Stampeders offering him a chance to rejoin the team. He declined because his gut told him he was done with football. He told his father Rocky Johnson that he wanted to follow in his footsteps and become a pro wrestler. His father told him it giving up on football was the biggest mistake of his life, but The Rock felt in his heart that he had to give wrestling a shot.
After a Hall of Fame worthy career and becoming an international superstar in WWE, The Rock walked away from wrestling in 2004 to embark on another new career.
“When I was at the height of my career, I felt for the very first time that I was close to accomplishing everything that I was close to accomplishing in wrestling. So, I quietly walked away,” he said.
“It kind of shook me a little bit because wrestling was all I knew at the time. I had dabbled in acting (The Mummy), but I also felt that I wanted to do more. I wanted to achieve more. I wanted to grow. I wanted to grow as a person. I wanted to reach as many people as people as possible. Not for the box office value of it, but the connection. I had come from a world where I was connecting with an audience every night. And, I wanted that connection.”
The Rock wasn’t looking to cash in on his fame from wrestling, make a few movies and move on. He planned to learn the film industry inside and out and has gone on to become one of the highest grossing action stars in history.
Oprah’s Masters Class airs on the OWN Network Sunday nights at 8pm EST.