All-around Hollywood good guy Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson made a young boy's day when he interacted with him at a red carpet event in London.
The Rock currently stars in the Christmas fantasy adventure film Red One, along with a big star lineup including Chris Evans, Lucy Liu, Kiernan Shipka, Bonnie Hunt, and J. K. Simmons.
During a press tour over the weekend, Johnson met Ricky, a 13-year-old aspiring actor who broke down in tears after interacting with the A-lister.
"It's good to meet you, man," Johnson told the young fan, who enthusiastically replied, "Thank you. I'm an actor too. I'm a professional actor."
"You are? Really?" said Johnson, and he told Ricky that one day they could work together.
Johnson added:
"Then you can just get all the money."
Ricky laughed, his face damp with tears of joy, and shared his agency information and prompted the Hollywood star to, "Call me."
"I'll call you? You sure? Let's work together one day," Johnson said, indulging Ricky in his dreams of making it to the big leagues.
Johnson hugged Ricky and encouraged him to "Keep up the good work, okay?"
Ricky's star-struck moment didn't end with Johnson.
The Rock brought over his Red One co-star J. K. Simmons to meet Ricky, who told Simmons through tears, "I'm an actor and I really love you."
Ricky also proved his admiration for Simmons by praising his work in the Spider-Man trilogy and Whiplash.
After receiving autographs, Ricky waved off the kind-hearted celebs and wiped his tears as he was comforted by a parent who was filming the encounter.
There's no doubt Ricky will remember this moment forever.
Johnson was moved by the sweet encounter and shared a video capturing the moment on X (formerly Twitter).
In the caption, the former WWE celeb touched on the stigma of boys showing emotion, writing:
"I’m always really moved when young boys cry in front of me. Stops me in my tracks because, us boys never want to be emotional in front of people, let alone cry in front of grown men we look up to."
"It’s in our DNA to hide emotions, so I’m proud of this kid — keeping his composure, keeping his sense of humor, keeping his manners - all while fighting back his tears."
"Very cool to meet you, Ricky and keep working hard young man. See you at the top one day."
Johnson also gave a big shout-out to Simmons–his "big brother"–for helping to make Ricky's day.
"You’re a legend," he said of Simmons, adding:
"One day, we’ll all be working for Ricky in Hollywood."
Fans were reminded of why they love The Rock so much.
His comments validating Ricky wearing his heart on his sleeve also resonated with social media users.
Red One is directed by Jake Kasdan and written by Chris Morgan from an original story by Hiram Garcia.
Produced by Amazon MGM Studios, it is the first film for a projected holiday franchise.
Red One hits U.S. theaters this Friday.
Best of luck to you on your path to Hollywood, Ricky. We hope to see a reunion with you and your new friends on the big screen someday.
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