How Dwayne Johnson got his groove back

Look around and suddenly it seems like Dwayne Johnson is everywhere.Back on TV in Ballers. Starring in a newcomedy with Kevin Hart. Every month there's anotherannouncement concerningHollywood's favouritepost-millennialaction hero.

Oh, and have youdownloaded hisalarm clock yet?

But flash back a few years,and it was Johnson's career that needed a wake-up call.He'd gone from being the wrestler known as The Rockto abig man in a series of smaller and smaller roles. Remember Doom? Race to Witch Mountain?Get Smart?

But today Johnson couldn't be bigger.Literally (come on, the guy's like 260 poundsnow).His expanded role as Hobbs in theFast and Furiousfranchise is racing ahead and that'sjust part of Johnson's rapidly expanding empire.

Johnson in demand

Later this year Johnson will channelhis South Pacific heritage into the Disney animatedmovie Moanaas a demigod. Then there'sthe adaptationof the arcade game Rampagein the workswith Canadian director Brad Peyton. Next year willbringthebig-screen version ofBaywatch, followed by the comic-book inspired Shazamand Doc SavagefromShane Black,directorof The Nice Guys.

So how did Johnson go from has-been to Hollywood's favourite strongman?

It's all thanks to Tooth Fairy.

Six years ago the low-concept comedy was the nadir of Johnson's career. In the film he appears as as Derek, a hockey goon who dons a tutu and tights to win back the trust of a child.

Compared to Johnson'scurrent size, his 2010versionlooked practically waif-like.Squished into the cuddly family-man role, Johnson came off as a generic Guy Smiley.Tooth Fairy was his agency's strategyto remove his wrestling characterThe Rockfrom the equation, putting somedistance betweenJohnson and his former career.

Instead, itled to what Johnson calls his "moment of clarity."

Johnson decided to stop shrinkingto fit into Hollywood's mould.He wanted one more shot atbeing himself. He changed publicists and agents, joining forces with WME's Ari Emanuel, the superagent who inspired Jeremy Piven's character on Entourage.

Soon afterward, Johnson was recruited into the cast of Fast and Furious and began finding projects to fit his larger-than-life persona.

Social media muscle

The Rock has a way of supercharging franchises.With his 55million followers on Instagram, plus Facebook, Snapchat and more, he's a Hulk-sized hype machine.Dany Garcia,Johnson's ex-wife,now works as his producing partner.She suggested toFortunethatJohnson's social media skills add over $15 million in marketing value for each project.

While Johnson'sfilms wax and wane in quality, his global audience of fans respond tohis authenticity.Johnson may not be the smoothest customer in the room. He doesn't have Brad Pitt's dashing looks or Ryan Gosling's laid-back hipster charm.

He's a 6-5" bald,black Samoan who looks like a walking He-Man figure. Johnson not only knows it, he revels in it.

Watch any of his cuss-filled Instagram posts and you 'll see the brand of a man ready to laugh at himself.

CFL washout

Part of that humility comes from his experience in Canada in 1995, where he washed out of the CFL's Calgary Stampeders after only twomonths. Released from his contract, he found himself in Miami with only $7 in his pocket. (hence the name of his company Seven Bucks Productions).

Battling depression and self-doubt, Johnson called his father, Rocky,who came from a long line of wresters. Broke and out of options, Dwayne Johnson decided to follow in Rocky's footsteps.

In 2014 I had a chance to speak to Dwayne Johnson just as the avalanche of The Rock was beginning, as part of a press junket for Hercules.In person Johnson looms over you, but he has the good manners of Mary Poppins.As we sat down to chat he complimented me on my watch, a bit of buttering up you see from the best-trained actors.

Dwayne Johnson, star of Hercules, on going from darkness into light

10 years ago

Duration 3:02

Hercules star Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson admits that overcoming depression helped inspire his desire to become an actor

In the interview I wanted to get to the root of this actor who's shown remarkable range in movies such asBe Cool and Pain &Gain,yet seems fixated on his physique.He's talked of Jimmy Stewart's It's a Wonderful Lifeasof one of his favourite films, but would Hollywood hire Johnson as the next George Bailey with biceps the size of cantaloupes?

His answer hinted at things to come. He said the way he was perceived was changing. While Hollywood played catch-up, hisproduction company was busy tailoring projectsto his super-sized ambitions.

Decency and desire

Today The Rock stands in the pantheonalongside the movie strongmen who inspired him:Arnold Schwarzenegger,Sylvester Stallone.They were the icons that drove him into the weight roomwith a desire to transform himself.

What sets Johnson apartis thatunder deltoids you could park a truck onlies a layer ofvulnerability. The heroes he plays are oftenlacking something.

Look at Spencer, the ex-NFL player from Ballerswho realizes his brawncan only take him so far.OrRaymond, the divorced dad from San Andreaswho is still pining for his wife. Even Bob, the bully-smashing CIA agent from Central Intelligence,still feels like the chubby wallflower on the inside.

Underthe intimidatingmuscles and inkis a basic level of decency and a desire to be liked.While 2017 is setting up to be the year of The Rock, we're still waiting for a director who will challenge Johnson as an actor the wayhe pushes himself in the gym.