Dwayne Johnson Reflects on His Complicated Relationship with His Late Father

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson recently opened up about his difficult relationship with his late father, Rocky Johnson. In an intimate conversation, the 53-year-old actor shared how they clashed over Rocky’s memoir, which he believed misrepresented their connection.

Johnson noted that the book featured a quote attributing his success to his father, a claim he expressed painful ambivalence about. “It hurts,” he said in an interview with The New York Times Magazine. He described feeling blindsided by the contents of the memoir, published shortly before his father’s passing.

During their complex relationship, there was a significant fallout about 25 years ago when Johnson first wanted to follow in his father’s wrestling footsteps. Rocky Johnson had questioned what Dwayne could possibly offer in that realm, reflecting their strained dynamic.

Johnson recalled the turbulence of his childhood, including frequent moves and the instability of his parents’ relationship. His father was often absent due to his wrestling career, which made their connection fraught. “You know, it just completely crossed the line,” Johnson mentioned, referring to the emotions that arose from the memoir.

He shared a poignant memory from when he was 15, recounting the time he and his mother were evicted from their home in Hawaii. Johnson recalled the heartbreak he felt watching his mother’s response to the situation. “It hurt my heart,” he said about witnessing her reaction to the eviction notice.

When Johnson arrived in Tennessee expecting to stay with his father, he found himself in a motel with unfamiliar faces instead. The emotional weight of that moment still resonates with him. He reflected on the pain of realizing that his father’s life was far removed from what he had understood.

Johnson described the moment as a collapse rather than an explosion; a sudden realization of the complexities of adult relationships. He mentioned feeling a responsibility toward his mother during that trying time, saying he pulled her through a potential tragedy.

The memories of that chapter linger, especially the expression on his mother’s face, which still troubles him. “Thinking about that hurts my heart,” he recalled.

Reflecting on his father’s memoirs, Johnson stated there was a lot of fiction intertwined with reality. “If the truth is blue, the story is red,” he explained, illustrating the discrepancies he perceived.

After pulling the memoir from shelves, he faced a painful moment when he learned of his father’s passing in 2020, coinciding with his work on a film project. Initially, he felt the urge to return home to family but opted to honor his father’s memory through work.

At Rocky Johnson’s funeral, Dwayne realized his father was a friend to many but struggled in their familial bond. “Complicated husband. Complicated dad. However, great friends for everyone else,” he reflected.

Johnson questioned if he was more of a friend to his father than a son and emphasized the friendship he shared with his mother instead. Today, Johnson is a father himself to three children, a daughter named Simone and two younger daughters, Jasmine and Tiana, and he seems focused on creating a different experience for them.