Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson gave a poignant response when exploring the concept of having "fun," which was something lacking in his jam-packed daily schedule.
Twice named one of the world's "most influential people" by Time magazine, Johnson has been juggling fatherhood along with numerous Hollywood projects, philanthropic endeavors, and various engagements, including appearances at film premieres like Moana 2 and Red One in the past month alone.
Never one to complain about the demands of having a successful career, the humble actor and WWE champ handles being a celebrity with aplomb.
While Johnson was speaking to Complex about his career and pitfalls in life, podcast host Speedy Morman pointed out that The Rock didn't "seem to have a lot of fun," these days, or so it seemed after Morman did some pre-interview research.
Morman continued:
"Like, when I watch your stuff, it seems like of the 365 days, we, on Instagram or any social media, have not seen a single day off, we've not seen a missed workout, we've not seen a parking ticket even."
"The image is beautifully clean…you're always working."
He then asked the 52-year-old A-lister, "Is that image as accurate as we feel it is? Do you have fun? Do you enjoy this?"
Johnson replied:
"Man, I love this question. I have fun. You just don't see it a lot."
"You know…everybody curates their social media to fit whatever the thing is that they want the people to see them as."
"For someone who was averse to social media years ago, I never got it, I didn't understand it, I didn't want to do it."
After struggling to come up with content ideas, Johnson decided to use his platform to connect with people more. It was a realization that came to him via a suggestion by Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) CEO Dana White.
Johnson also mentioned that while the "fun" content gets favorable responses, he noticed that the work-related content generates more interest from fans.
Morman continued to ask:
"Like, what do you do for fun? Like, I've seen you fish twice, maybe, and it's at your cribs. Like, you don't even leave."
Johnson nervously chuckled about the unfamiliar concept and said:
"No. Yeah, that's the thing. I gotta think about that."
You can watch the segment here.
- YouTubeyoutu.be
After the interview, Morman seemed to have inspired The Rock in his quest for chill time.
Johnson acknowledged that he needed to enjoy time for himself to relax, and he posted an Instagram video of him laying out in the sun at his vacation home on O'ahu island in Hawaii and listening to the ocean waves and nearby palms swaying in the breeze.
He captioned the video with:
"Puttin’ my 👣 up. I’m learning how to stop and do this more."
"You know, we all work hard, and we should enjoy and put our feet up," he said, adding:
"I need to do a better job of it. I need to do a much better job of stopping and enjoying the hard work, so I'm on my way. Step one. I'm doing it now."
Morman was happy to see it. He commented on the thread with, "Finally. Happy for u bro, stay awhile."
@therock/Instagram
Johnson responded with gratitude, writing, "You were the one who motivated me to do this, brother," followed by a fist-bump emoji.
@therock/Instagram
Morman later shared his exchange with the Rock in a TikTok video and talked about how he inspired Johnson to occasionally stop and smell the flowers.
Some fans found it a little sad that Johnson is too busy to have time for himself.
@speedymorman/TikTok
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@therock/Instagram
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@therock/Instagram
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People were impressed by Morman's skills in persuading the Rock to pause his fast & furious life for a bit.
@speedymorman/TikTok
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Thanks for all the wonderful work you do, Dwayne.
But it's okay to take time for yourself every now and then. You deserve it.
