Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson is one of the greatest heroes of modern Hollywood and his latest film is Hercules.
Recently I caught up with Johnson to find out more about the film and how he has used social media to please his fans and become the most successful wrestler-turned-actor ever.
Watch the full video interview or read the transcribe below.
The scene where Hercules breaks the chains that bind him, that's iconic and is a big part of your film. Tell me about what it was like shooting that scene.
It was a great scene to shoot and that particular scene was the scene I looked forward to the most, because it's the iconic scene. It's the scene that, if anybody out there is familiar with the Hercules and the mythology of Hercules, when he finally accepts… his fate and his faith by the way being the son of Zeus, well he becomes more powerful. The way that happens, I think it's an extension of what happens to all of us in life. I think, once we finally feel comfortable with who we are and who we were born to be, so to speak… then it becomes a very powerful place.
That particular scene with me breaking the chains was one that I prepped for, for a long time in terms of physical peak, and I wanted to hit for that week of shooting and in my mind it was the most important scene in the movie. So [the] chains were real, I didn't want anything that was fake or felt fake. And [I was] pulling it all my might… what I realised is, when you work yourself up so much, you get all your adrenaline going and you have no place to put it. So it's not like if it's a football game, the guys are on the field or whatever it is, or you know, whatever the sport it, you have a place to put your adrenaline. In this case you're like 'I am Hercules' and you have no place to put it and your also screaming at the top of your lung… ah.. you pass out.
That's what I realised happens and I passed out. I pass out the first time, which was a surprise, I came to and everyone was around my like 'are you okay?' and I'm like 'yeah, I'm okay, wow'. You kinda just black out and I thought 'well, I didn't die… so, Lets do it again'. So I kept doing it and I probably passed out around six or seven times, but it was good. But every time I pass out we had kinda mats on the floor, so, you know, at least my shock points weren't getting hurt."
We spoke last year before GI Joe: Retaliation and I put it to you that you're the new Arnold Schwarzenegger. Now your playing Hercules, a role Arnie has played before too. How is your Hercules different?
Well the one he made, which I'd seen by the way, Hercules in New York, I think it was his first movie. I thought it was great, you know, I can appreciate it today for what it was. But between Arnold, Steve Reeves, Lou Ferrigno, there's been a lot of Hercules played in the past. So I wanted to make sure - we wanted to make sure that this Hercules, was a defining Hercules. His look, his body looked experienced, raw and survived. That's the type of Hercules we wanted to make. I didn't want one that felt very polished, there's no polish, there is no room for polish.
If your characters Roadblock from GI Joe: Retaliation and Agent Hobbs from the Fast & Furious movies joined forces and fought Hercules, who would win?
What a hell of a question, wow. Hercules would always win. The Demi-God always takes the cake buddy. Don't make Hercules mad, you don't want him coming after you!
I find the way you use social media inspiring and similar to how Vin Diesel uses it, which is quite different to other celebrities. How do you think the way you guys use media is different?
I spent a lot of time with Vin [Diesel] obviously on set with Fast and Furious, watching how Vin operates in social media, it's a very special place, especially with him on Facebook. He has long been, in the world of Hollywood, the King of Facebook. He utilises it to spread a positive message to his fans.
What I wanted to do when I got into social media, which was about three years ago, I wanted to find a special way to connect with fans, to share insight and reveal a how things are on set. I always look at my social media like a buffet, so whatever you're looking for you can stop on by and I think you can get it, whether it's inspiration, motivation, physical fitness, little bit of insight, little bit of experience, here's what my life experience has been like, here's what the movie I'm shooting is like, here's a behind-the-scene look, here's a dirty joke, here's my favourite tequila, haha, here's a lot of different things.
It has wound up being one of the best decisions I have ever made, was getting involved with social media. The growth has been phenomenal, almost 50 million people across three platforms, and [I have] very, very engaging fans, which I love.
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Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson is in New Zealand cinemas now in Hercules.
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source: newshub archive
