Sunday Sitdown with Willie Geist - Dwayne Johnson

Episode Date: May 2, 2021

Growing up, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson bounced around the country as the son of barnstorming professional wrestler Rocky Johnson. He eventually got into the family business and became the biggest star in wrestling, before transitioning to Hollywood where he is now the highest-paid actor in the business. In this week’s “Sunday Sitdown,” Willie Geist gets together with Johnson to talk about that career move, the latest calls for him to run for president and his successful new tequila brand, Teremana.  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Hey guys, Willie Geist here with another episode of the Sunday Sit Down podcast. My thanks as always for clicking and listening along. I got a big one for you today. And I do mean big. In fact, I think it gets no bigger in Hollywood. Dwayne the Rock Johnson is my guest. You know and love the man from all his films. Maybe you know and love him from his wrestling career with the people's eyebrow.

Can you smell what the rock is cooking? All the rest of it? Man, what a career, what a life this guy has had. just know him as the fully formed Hollywood star that he's become, but he's had an incredible, incredible life, lived in 13 states before he ever even got to high school. He's the son of a professional wrestler himself, so they're always bouncing around. He became a star football player in high school, went to the University of Miami to their juggernaut of a program in the 90s where he won a national championship. His professional career didn't work out, so he followed his father

into the ring and became a professional wrestler. Really interesting conversation with Dwayne about his early life, but also that move from, okay, who am I now? Football didn't work out. Am I a wrestler? Okay, now who am I? Oh, maybe I'm a movie star? And the road was a little rocky between wrestling and the movies. There's so much in here. We start off talking about his fast-selling tequila brand called Teramana. You should know that the date this airs on Sunday today, Sunday May 2nd, is Dwayne Johnson's birthday. The day after this airs, May 3rd, the Monday, is my birthday. So we toasted each other.

We toasted the success of his tequila brand, had a great time talking with him, was supposed to be relatively quick. But we just went on and on and on and really had a great conversation, including about these calls for him to run for president. Yes, president of the United States. What does he think about that? Would he do it? You might be surprised by the answer. There was a new poll out recently that showed four. 46% of Americans would consider voting for him.

He's listening a little bit to his credit. I think he's not crazy about the idea of just flat out celebrities being present in the United States. But listen and see what you think. It's a great conversation. It's right now on the Sunday Sit Down podcast with Dwayne the Rock Johnson. Dwayne, it's great to see you, man. Great to see you too, Willie. Long time buddy right here.

How you doing? I'm doing great, especially since I get to do you. do a little tequila drink in the middle of the day with Dwayne Johnson. It's not every day that this is your job. I think we're stealing some money today, but I'll do it. Well, not only that, but today I'm spending at least a good portion of my birthday with you. I'm honored. I'm honored. Should we pour a little of the Blanco of the Taramana Blanco and have a toast? We shall, my brother. Let's do it. All right. So tell me as we pour this, Dwayne, the story behind this. What gave you the idea? Because I understand it's been a long time coming.

It has been a long time coming. I've always been very passionate about tequila. I've also been passionate about whiskey. Passion about spirits, I should say, too, as well. But this idea of creating a tequila brand was something that I had thought about almost 10 years ago. But like usually with a lot of things that I do, I like to take my time. I don't like to rush things, especially if it's something that I really feel passionate about. And I feel like there's an opportunity here to create something for who I like to call my number one boss, the consumer. Now, I always have to follow that, comment up with, besides my wife and my daughters. As you know, you have two kids and a wife, too, as well.

So when it comes to creating something, I think, that they will enjoy. I just want to take my time. So it was about 10 years ago. And then about five years ago, I started to put the team together. And as you know, and many of your audience knows here that, you know, in order to do something really well, in my opinion, you want to surround yourself with the best possible people. And so I started that process and then years later, here we are on my birthday. But I will say before we raise this glass, tomorrow is your birthday, May 3rd.

So this is going to be a good toast, brother, a good happy birthday toast to both of us. Well, I appreciate it. And a happy birthday to you, not only on the birthdays, but on the one-year anniversary of TeraMana. So cheers to you and cheers to TeraMana. Thank you, brother. I appreciate it. And happy birthday to us and to Tremana as well.

Three birthdays. Here we go. Happy birthday. Happy birthday. Cheers. Ooh, that's nice. That's nice. So what am I tasting there?

What are the ingredients that go into it? What make it what it is? Because I know you've really been hands on in terms of the flavor and the taste and getting this exactly to where you wanted it. Sure. We actually went through 113 distillations to get to the taste. You just tasted now. I'll get into that in a second. But what you just tasted with Tremont de Blanco and what consumers have really been really excited about in terms of the tastes. So that Tremontal Blanco is unaged. And what you taste is a little bit of the citrusy note. And the finish is extremely smooth. Yeah. And again, it took 113 distillations to get to this point. Everything is

handcrafted, handmade, copper pot stills, brick ovens. We don't use autoclaves. And in this business of spirits, autoclaves, it just, and there's nothing wrong with that. It just heightens and quickens your production. But I really wanted to do things the right way. I wanted to take my time. and that's the taste and the finish that you enjoyed right now. I think there are a lot. It's very smooth. I think there are a lot of people who hear, okay, a celebrity brand of some kind or a celebrity line of spirits.

And they go, all right, that person sticks their name on it. It sends it out the door. Somebody else handles it. But it seems to me, like, as you just said, you were down in Mexico, you're down going through 113 distillations, that you wanted to be sure this was right if your name was going to be on it. I did. I wanted to do it the respectful way. So you want to approach, I wanted to approach this process because it was new for me. And it, and this was a, this was a, it was a new space in the space of spirits. Now, of course, Taramano was known, still is now as a celebrity brand. And that's okay. But I also knew that if there was a, if there was an opportunity for us to have longevity, if there was an opportunity for the brand to have a legacy quality to it, You got to get in the game and you got to go down and you got to understand.

I needed, I personally needed to. I can't speak for other celebrities, but I personally needed to understand the craft of tequila, how it was made. I did my research. I did all my reading. And I'm not a great reader to begin with. So that in itself. I should get in that was more.

But then, so then I decided getting the game. I got to go down to Mexico. I spent time down there with our Mexican partners, a wonderful Mexican family who creates tequila. I'll tell you something that's really interesting too, Willie. and I think your viewers will find this interesting. So in the world of spirits, rarely does a tequila have its own distillery where only that particular tequila is made.

Right. So with Taramana, we built our distillery next door to the distillery of our Mexican family, who we partnered with. So only Taramana is made there. I want to tell you one more thing, I think your viewers will find pretty cool. So on every bottle of tequila that's sold is what's called an NOM number. Now you'll see right there to the left of the label, it says NOM 1613. Every bottle of tequila, any brand that you have around the world, every single one has an NOM.

That stands for, it stands for, I think, numera officio Mexicana, I believe. I'll go with it. I'm going to confirm that. We'll double check for you. Now, it's a four-digit number, and that is where the tequila is made. So only Taramana has their own NOM. So as you know, and as you can imagine, like for us, that was a big deal, that only our tequila was made in this particular distillery, because even the bigger brands and the really

popular brands, they're made in distilleries that produce many, many, many different kinds of tequila. So a lot of times, the other tastes of tequila will just get absorbed with each other. But in this case, it's only terra mana. So by the way, so when you do taste it and you go, wow, that is really smooth and unique. That's one of the reasons why. Oh, that's so, it's a great backstory to, I was saying to you earlier, I always thought that a smooth Toothed tequila had to be expensive. Like that was the really nice top shelf stuff.

But what you've proven here is that this is smooth as I'm sipping it, but people can go out to the liquor store and buy it and not have to, you know, give up a paycheck for it. Well, you know, they're not handing out awards for overpaying for sure. And, you know, with with Taramana, we are an ultra-premium tequila, made, handcrafted in an ultra-premium way. So, you know, a tequila like this is $40-50 plus easy. So I wanted to come in.

I felt like there was a nice white space of $29, $30 for people. But it was also important to, I think, you know, not only going to this process with respect and humility, respect to the trade and the industry, spirits industry, to understand it, but also a real respect for the consumer. Money doesn't fall out of trees. and you know, it's not easy. So I also wanted to create what's called the tequila of the people. And if we're going to call Tehrmana the Tequila of the people, well, then the people should be able to afford it. Yeah, it's amazing how well it's done, Dwayne.

I mean, like we were talking about earlier, whether you're making a movie or a TV show or putting out a line of tequila, even if you're Dwayne Johnson, you don't know exactly how it's going to go. And this has become one of, if not the fastest selling spirit in the history of spirits. Were you shocked when you saw those numbers start to come in?

I was. And I truly was shocked. I mean, it sat me down, really. Like, I need to pour myself in actual Taramana. So Taramana, and I gratefully say this, Teremana has become the fastest growing spirit in all of spirits ever, across the board, vodka, whiskey, rum, gin, you name it. And I think it's a testament to a real passion that the consumers have for the brand.

But we launched TeraMana last March when we all got knocked down on our butts around the world with the pandemic. And at that time, the marching orders that I felt were the most appropriate. I think for the brand was let's not try and create any kind of advertising that had a polish to it or a production to it. But rather, let's shelve those ideas that we have in terms of marketing. And let me just open it up and have conversations, much like you do on Sunday with this show. Let me just have conversations with the people. Let me break out my taramana and maybe they'll have theirs. and I opened it up and I just turned the iPhone around and we had conversations on

Taramana Tuesdays and while we were locked down and shared stories and anecdotes and and how we're trying to find our silver linings as we were locked down in pandemic. So, Willie, I did that for months and, you know, we would have our bi-weekly meetings, but still I wasn't too interested at that time. to understand, to know what the sales were. I just felt like, let's just keep our head down. We're all trying to get through the pandemic. Let me continue to have this one-on-one or one-on millions with the people.

I had a great conversation, Willie, it was probably, it was around Thanksgiving this past Thanksgiving. I was on the phone to one of my partners, Ken Austin, and I said, can you update me a little bit on the numbers and how we're doing? And he paused. He said, what do you mean? And I said, well, I mean, how have we done over the past, I don't know, six, seven months? And he said, you don't know? I said, no, I haven't connected.

I said, let me know. He kind of laughed. He said, DJ, we are the fastest growing spirit in the history of all spirits and what we're doing. And then he gave me the math and the numbers. And I said, well, can you contextualize that a little bit for me? He said, I can. He said, George Clooney sold Casamigos and they were selling 150 to 160,000 cases. And he goes, we have sold 300,000 cases already.

I said, oh, so thank you for that context. Great. So after I got knocked down with those numbers, I just immediately went into a place of gratitude. And let's just keep our head down. Let's continue to produce Taramana and make it the best we possibly can. We have an an anjejo that's continuing to be aged, which will come out in the third quarter of this year.

and some other ideas down the line to expand our brand in the category too. I'm so curious as I look, Dwayne, at all the things you have going on in your life. For most people, this is one job. This is a huge job to help run a company like this. Meanwhile, you're making movies and TV shows and executive producing and doing all the other things you do. How do you sort of look at your portfolio and focus on the right thing at the right time and be so successful at all of them?

Oh, thank you for saying that. You know, hard work, a little bit of luck always helps. Passion. I've reached a point now in my career where, you know, investment opportunities are always around the corner. And I appreciate that. But the truth is, in terms of a consumer product or a movie or television show or whatever it is, I've got to be passionate. about it. I really got to feel it. I got to feel that I love, I will love to create and produce this and I will love to deliver it to people. And I think we have a shot to create something that would make people eat, feel good, make their life better in some little way, or enjoy, or all of them. So it really comes down to that. And then once I realize, and once I can identify, then really, okay, this is the thing that that's going to make, I always say, I always ask myself and I ask the team, is this going to make my blood boil? Is it going to make my blood pump?

Like, I'm going to feel real good about this. And if the answer is yes, then the next step will be the team and surrounding myself with the right and brightest people. And, you know, for a long time when I first started my career, many, many moons ago, back when I used to throw around 300-pound men for a living. in a squared circle, we call it. And as I started to transition from that world of pro wrestling into the world of Hollywood, I was a real micromanager. And I didn't do a great job, you know, truthfully of checking my ego at the door at times when I should have.

So a lot of times, as we all know, that ego is the success inhibitor. So these days, you know, I know what I don't know. And in a lot of these ventures, it could be, I may not know a lot of things, but I do know I need to surround myself with the right people. So I surround myself with the right people, the brightest people, the hungriest people, and we go to work. So, Dwayne, the name, Taramana. What does it mean and what does it mean to you? Absolutely. So Taramana means spirit of the earth. And as we were trying to figure out, you know, when you launch a brand, the name is everything, you know, the, I always say that the most important thing, other than the brand itself, is the story behind it. So it's

terra mana. It means spirit of the earth. So in my Polynesian culture, I'm half black and half Samoan. And my Polynesian side, we have a word called mana. And mana is spirit, its power, it comes from in here. We all have it. And we were trying to figure out a way to infuse this idea of mana and spirit and authenticity to the earth out of Mexico. And out of respect to Mexico. So the Taramana team, my partners, Ken Austin and Jenna Fagnan came up with this idea. Well, what have we combined these two words of Tara and Mana together, Taramana? I said, I love it. You know, when you hear something, I love it, let's go for it. And I can tell a great story, and it's very enriching. I'll share one thing with you and the viewers that I think everyone

will enjoy this. So there's a little Easter egg, Willie, on the bottle. So if you would, If you turn the bottle upside down at the bottom of the bottom there, there is a word that is Tijasi, and that is T-I-J-A-S-I. And it's kind of formulated in a way that kind of looks weird and funky, and you kind of, you got to turn the bottle to actually see the letters. So no one knows it's there until millions of people now watch this. But this word to Jossi is the first two letters of the three names of my. daughters so Tiana Jasmine and Simone Tijasi so it gives you an idea and it gives the

viewers and the consumer idea an idea that that this is a legacy brand for me and you know yes there's a lot of celebrity brands out there and they are created and started and they get involved for whatever reason they do but Tremana is the first one our first expression in the world of spirit so it's a special one and Tijasi is on the bottom of the barrel so there's a that personal, deep, emotional meaning. I love it. I love the tribute to the girls.

That's so cool. You also, Duane, have a program called Gwok on the Rock. I've heard about coming up. So we're toasting our birthdays. We're toasting the one-year anniversary of Taramana. We're also toasting Cinco to Mayo coming up. How is this going to work for people? Wack on the Rock.

First of all, let's talk about what a cool name, Gwack on the Rock is. It's you and I going to college campuses, creating guacamole for students. With Taramana in our other hand. With Taramana in our hand. We're almost close to flunking out like I would. Gwak on the Rock is a pretty cool idea that our Taramana team came up with celebrating my birthday. But we do it in a way, I think that's unique, and I think that's also important. So what it is is we, from May 1st through May 5th, people out there can go to their local restaurants.

And when they go to their local restaurants, they order. a drink of taramana, monorita, or whatever they want to put their taramana in. And their guacamole is all on me. So the guac is on the rock, free guacamole for everybody in their local restaurants. And when they go to guac on the rock.com, we will show you, make it easy for you, all the restaurants who have partnered with our program, all their local restaurants who have partnered with their program. All the restaurants are so excited for the program.

And not because of my birthday. Who cares? I'm a dinosaur. I'm 396 years old. Doesn't matter. Those days celebrating my birthday are long gone. But what is cool about this is, you know, our restaurant industry and our bar industry, as we all know, really took a kick in the gut. So this motivates people to get back out there and get back into their local restaurants, order their drinks, have fun as safe as possible, and order their guacamole. It's all on me. I'll take care of everything for you guys. And again, I'll take care of everything for you guys. and again, hopefully in our little way, we can start to help grow and get local restaurants and local business owners back on their feet.

That's a very cool idea, but you know what's going to happen. People are just going to roll into every restaurant and said, Dwayne Johnson said he was picking it up for me tonight. Waiters are going to be like, for months on end. He said it was on him. He said May through 5th. No, he said forever. Now give me the guac.

That's very cool. Good for you for doing that. So we're talking about this amazing portfolio. Also, right in front of you right now is the show Young Rock here on NBC, which has done really well. I was looking through some of the numbers. And it looks to me like there's a lot of sort of parents and kids watching it together and getting into it. And it's the story of your life. Is it how accurate is it?

How close is it to what your young life was? Willie, it is accurate to the T. Now, you know, some stories that happen, say, for example, in Nashville, Tennessee, we move that story to take place in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, something that may have happened to Bethlehem, may have now, may have shifted to Hawaii, but everything is derived from the truth. And I have had just a, what I used to call and still do a Forrest Gumpian childhood growing up, where the intersection of my life, and you know, we've talked about this in the past. My childhood was wild in that. I grew up in the world of professional wrestling.

when wrestling in the 80s and in the 70s was way different than it is today. They were all based on local territories and local promotions. And a lot of the times, including my father, the wrestlers would live paycheck to paycheck. But they also lived this really interesting life. And what I mean by interesting is there's a term that we have in the wrestling industry. It's called Working the Gimmick. And working the gimmick is when wrestlers have to be on, their character, 24-7. So when you went out and you and I were kids and we went out in the public and we saw,

for example, Sergeant Slaughter. Well, he was always Sergeant Slaughter. We saw, you know, the Iron Sheek. He was always the Iron Sheik. And all these wrestlers, they were always who they were. Now, what's interesting is they had to drive Cadillac or Lincoln. They had to look apart, diamonds, you name it. They had to look being a star. But yet the B-side and the revelation is, once I got back in the car, they drove back to their little apartment. And they were still living paycheck to paycheck. And they were still doing their best to survive. So it was this unique upbringing that I had that converged and intersected

with all these amazing heroes of mine in the world of pro wrestling. But then, you know, there's a lot of life lessons that I didn't know I was being taught back then that you realized many years later that I had been, that had helped shape and groom who I am today. So I'll share this quick story with you. I was, this idea came from, I went back into the world at the WWE and I had a return for my one final run in 2011, 2012. And as I was on the road with our president of the production, who I've known since I was 18 years old, his name is Hiram Garcia, as well as our VP of seven bucks. His name is Brian Gawertz.

He was a head writer for WWE for many years. We would travel together to all these towns when I went back to WWE. And every town I went back to, we would land and we would be driving to the arena and I would stop at a stoplight. And I would say, hey, you see that gas station over there? And they say, yeah. Well, you know, my car broke down there and it wasn't actually my car. And here's what happened. I went to, and this thing happened, all of a sudden there's a fire in the dumpster and I got arrested.

Okay, go to the arena. You know, and then so there were stories like that in every place we went to. And they finally said, you know, we should really think about this. There could be something really interesting, a cool show that showcased your just wild childhood. And I was open to it. And we met with NBC. They immediately snatched it off the table. It was one of those things, Willie, which you'll appreciate being at NBC.

They heard the pitch all for 90 seconds. And they said, we're in. We don't want to hear anymore. We're in. Take it off the table. So you never know how these things are going to go. You're in the world of TV, too. You never know if a show is going to hit, if the audience is going to like it,

if they're going to engage with you. And luckily, knock on wood, you know, they did. And we made a pretty good show in Young Rock. No question. I don't think everyone, even some of your fans fully appreciate what your childhood was like. So a lot of them are seeing it. I mean, there's California and New Zealand and Pennsylvania and Nashville, and I'm sure I'm going to leave a bunch of places out.

But I think you lived in like 13 or 14 places by the time you were into high. school and then I love the way you talk about arriving in Nashville from Hawaii. You've already got your driver's license. You're a big dude. I think you might have had a mustache at that point. And these kids in Nashville was like, who is this guy? I did. So we were evicted off the island in Hawaii. Couldn't pay the rent. Again, paycheck to paycheck. And that's just the way the ball bounces sometimes. So we were booted off the island, sent to Nashville. I was sent there to live with my dad. And my mom had the task of trying to get the car, one car we had over to California, and she was going to drive it from California to Nashville, all by herself. She just wanted me

safely with her dad, with my dad. I get to Nashville and I already have a driver's license because in Hawaii, you could get your driver's license when you're 14. So I'm 15. I go to high school. And at that time, there was a TV show, um, jump, 21 jumps. Oh, yeah. Right? So of undercover high school. Johnny Depp, yeah. Johnny Depp. And they were all convinced, Willie, and this is not hyperbole that I was an undercover cop. At 15, I was already 6'4, 220. I had a full mustache. I was, you know, I was, I was jacking the weights every day back then, too, as well. So I was, you know, I was, I had some muscle to me. And I was driving. So to them, every, and I look different. And to every, to every, to every. everybody, they were thinking, well, this doesn't make sense. He's already got a car. The guy looks like he's 78 years old. There's something wrong.

They thought I was an undercover cop. The teachers thought I was an undercover cop, principals, and the students, too, as well. I had no friends, no play with the ladies whatsoever. Really? You had the car, though, Dwayne. The car didn't help? The car helped a little bit. But, you know, the, I hung out with a few girls.

Those were the ones who were just, I think they were more interested in the fact that maybe I was an undercar, cop. But it was, again, we're just wild, wild, wild. And from there, we were forced to leave Nashville and wound up in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Same thing all over again. There was that process, oh, you an undercover cop. But then once we settled and we got some roots in Bethlehem, things changed. Yeah, I mean, you laugh about it now, but you watch Young Rock in the show.

That had to be tough on a young kid to just put some roots down and feel like, okay, I'm getting started at this new school and now we're up and moving to a different town. That must have been a difficult childhood. It was, but you don't know it at that time. You know, really, it's just, I was an only child and it's just what I knew. And there was no, there really was no anchoring in. So, we never lived in a house. It was always apartments and, and mobile homes. So there was really no, again, there was really no anchoring in. And we would move about every year, year and a half. But it just my life at that time and I didn't know any different. So I would adjust. But now looking back, yes, it was challenging. However, it did force me as a kid to adjust and to be and to be flexible

and shows a little bit of agility on my feet, you know, to try and make new friends. And on top of all that, by the age of, I would say between the ages of seven and 11, people thought that I was a little girl. because I was so... Why? Because I had really soft features and I had really soft afro hair so everywhere I would go, thank you for laughing, really.

I appreciate it. I need to... It still hurts, doesn't it? Things have worked out okay for me. I was going to say you did all right. Man, I used to get on the bus, and I'll tell the story, and the audience will appreciate this.

I got on the bus, fifth grade first first day of school i get on the bus i've never ridden the bus in my life i'm terrified to get on a bus to begin with my mom just pushes me on the bus i'm halfway crying i sit down next to a kid and within 60 seconds he goes can i ask you something i said yeah he goes are you a boy or a girl i went uh fifth grade oh that'll say yeah you'll still talk about that'll say anything so after he recovered because i knocked him out he was dumb It's the tequila talking, really. That was your first win in a fight, huh?

What a childhood. What a childhood. And here we are with Young Rock. I'm so happy and grateful that people are enjoying it. And you talk about the generations. I didn't know this, but NBC had shared this with us. I guess where NBC's, I guess when you look at the numbers, the most watched show between people 50 plus and kids together in one living room.

So it's a cool thing of NBC is, if Young Rock is bringing the entire family together for a show. Yeah, it is. If you look at those numbers, that's exactly what's happening. Families are watching together. I'm curious how, Dwayne, after, given everything you've said about your life and growing up, the son of a professional wrestler, how once you got through Miami and played football and you tried to play in the CFL and that didn't quite work out, and you mentioned, and seven bucks promotion.

You fly back to Miami, excuse me, seven bucks productions, you fly back to Miami, open your wallet, I have seven dollars left, which is where that name comes from. What drove you then,

knowing the life that could await you as a wrestler, what drove you to that life to get into the ring? Passion. It was passion. Again, I grew up, I loved, I loved pro wrestling.

I loved it, willie. Me too. These guys were my heroes, especially at that unique time in the 80s, in the early 80s, pro wrestling was just such a unique industry because when wrestlers would talk in their interviews, yes, they were over the top and wild,

and some talked very soft and some talk really loud and some posed and got crazy and some were very serious. What was interesting about that is there was such a deliverable of authenticity because back then, if you could not deliver a great interview, you were not going to survive in the world of pro wrestling. So these guys, it was all they could do to try and connect down the lens. And then, of course, everything, the match, they would have the match, and hopefully the match was great.

But I love pro wrestling. And I love the interview parts of that. And I love these great characters. So I always had a passion for wrestling. So when I was cut from the CFL and I was sent home and I had seven bucks in my pocket. And it wasn't all paper either. It was like five or one in chain. At least I rounded up.

So I was optimistic. Optimistic in my economics that I at least I had seven bucks. Maybe the production company should be like $6.78. Something like that. Six, 78 production. Doesn't have the same same white ring. But I was passionate about it. And I wanted to, and I felt in my gut,

Willie, that I had something to offer in the world of pro wrestling. I didn't know what it was. I had no idea. And the fight I got in with my dad was, it was extraordinary. My dad was a pro wrestler, and he came up at a different time. And his, his thought was, I love you as my son. And look around. We're in a little apartment that I can bear.

pay for and I've given my life to pro wrestling. Not blaming anyone, but it was my life and this is what I have. I want more for you. And the reason why we got in a fight, I had just gotten a call from the coach, my coach, at the CFL, his name was Wally Blono. He's a legend in the CFL and a mentor of mine. And he just offered me a spot to come back and try out for the team next season. And I said, I appreciate it.

Coach, thank you very much, but I'm going to close this chapter of my life. hung up the phone. My dad said, who was that? And I told him how the call went. And he goes, now, what are you going to do? I said, well, I want to try and get in the business. He goes to what business? I said, in wrestling.

We had the biggest fight, Willie, the biggest fight. But eventually he agreed to train me. And the rest was, as they say, through a lot of hard work and a little bit of blood and a lot of sweat, rest was history. And it wasn't like flip on the switch and you're at WrestleMania. It was car dealerships, right, in the parking lot, county fairs, all that kind of stuff to build to where you ultimately arrived. Correct, because in no way was I ready for the big leagues of the WWE, you've got to cut your teeth somewhere. Now, as we were talking about earlier, luckily, when I started, when I broke into pro wrestling, it was in 1996.

So at that time, there were still a few small wrestling territories. And one of the territories that was still around was the what's considered the men's, Memphis territory, the USWA, where every star eventually came through. You starved down there because you were making 40 bucks a match. That was my guarantee was 40 bucks per match, literally 40 bucks per match. No more than that, just 40, no more, no less. And there is where I cut my teeth and I made my bones and I learned how to wrestle and I learned the wrestling industry.

And that was in used car dealerships. It was in sometimes barns, high school gyms, flea markets every week. We would wrestle in a flea market every week, every Monday night. And then every Saturday night was the state fair in Nashville. Flea market was in Memphis. And I lived at the Waffle House. That was my jam really. Smothered, covered, all of it.

Yeah. What's that? You had the smothered, the covered, the hash browns. Mothered covered, the hash browns, the whole deal. Five cents, I think, was for the jukebox. and we just sit there, I think it was. But yeah, those were times, though, when I look back, I'm so grateful for those times.

I didn't have any money back then. Nobody really does when you start out. But, man, what a learning lesson that was. Because today, I'll tell you, whether it's whatever it is that's in my life, those times I keep in the forefront of my mind. I truly do. And they give me perspective that I'll never forget. And that just helped me appreciate all these little things,

including you, us on our birthday here, you know, talking. I don't take any of this for granted because things could have been much different for me. And sometimes I look back on some of those stories and I go, I don't know how they weren't, I don't know how sometimes this happened, you know, truly. Yeah, well, I mean, that's humility. And I mean, that we all have these twists of fate and these lucky turns that come our way. But I think for someone like you that you talked about passion, but also drive, I suspect whatever, you were going to find a way to get where you are one way or another.

Of course, you've got some breaks. But were there ever moments where you were at a county fair or at the flea market, we said, man, I don't know if this is going to work out. Maybe I should have listened to Dad or maybe I should try to do something else. Never. Never. Honestly. Now, not at that time, because at that time, I was doing what I love.

Now, I love playing football. I love playing football. I loved it. I had a passion for it. I felt like that football was my ticket to buy my parents their first house, for me to buy my first house, buy my mom, you know, we have these dreams, buy my mom her first car. And football was my ticket.

Football was my ticket for my education. We couldn't afford college. So I got a full scholarship at University of Miami, played with great players. But in football, I always knew every time I stepped on the field that I was, that I was always trying to catch up because I didn't have the football experience. a lot of the guys had. I only had two years of high school football. And when I got to University of Miami, I got injured my freshman year. So again, I was playing catch up and I was behind. So it's everything that you can, you know, and that's a fast moving game and players at especially

University of Miami at that time, Ray Lewis, Warren Sapp, Gino Toretta, Heisman Trophy, winner, you name it. We're the best team in the country. And so the players, we all pushed each other, but it was a very consistent, I got to get better. I got to get better. I got to better i got to play catch up i'm playing catch up here behind the eight ball um and still trying to find the shifting click moment you know how in life when we do something we have we do something into shift and click and you know i'm here this is what i was born to do when i stepped into a wrestling ring i never had that it was this feels at home and i feel like this is what i was born to do so yes it was at a county fair yes it was at a flea market in front of 150 people

Half of them going, you suck, that's okay. That's wrestling. Somebody's got to be telling you you suck, right? That's wrestling, but I never had that moment in wrestling. No. Now, when I left wrestling and transitioned to Hollywood, there was a time there where I wondered if I had made the right decision because the movies, I was, you know, to use a baseball analogy,

maybe there were, I was hitting singles, you know, maybe, maybe a double if I got lucky. but they weren't in no way. They weren't commensurate, I think, to the success I thought I was going to have. So it's certainly not the success I already had in wrestling because I had left wrestling. I quietly walked away from wrestling because I felt like I really needed to commit myself to movies and commit myself to that career. And if I was going to have a shot at film in Hollywood or any kind of career that had longevity in Hollywood, I got to commit to it.

So when I quietly walked away, there was a time where I felt like, I don't know this was the right decision. You know, it's funny, Duane, as we sit here toasting all these anniversaries, it was 20 years ago on May the 4th that the Mummy Returns came out, which is the first prominent role you had in a movie. So 20 years since you really did make that transition over, can you believe from that moment and all those doubts you had about it, where you've ended up now as by a lot of, of measures the biggest star in hollywood no i can't believe it no that wasn't was never my goal willy the goal is not to become the biggest this or the biggest that or most this it was just to have a career that was good and quality was important to me because also i came from a world that while very successful um and and consistently did good business what we'll call in the world of pro wrestling i was looked down upon when i came to hollywood and it because it was wrestling and it was

It's pro wrestling and there's a space for it. And yes, the ratings are pretty good, but it's still wrestling. Yeah. So I had that mark and I thought, okay, well, I'm still proud of where I came from. I'm so proud of the name that I built as a pro wrestler and I love pro wrestling. But I got my work cut out for me. And I think in order for me to overcome these doubts, then I want to have to have a career that had a foundation of quality to it. So back then, the mummy returns.

I had no idea. That's pretty cool. That's cool history. I felt like that was an opportunity. It was with Universal. It was with a great director, Stephen Summers, and already an established brand of the mummy. And I remember at that time,

someone in my life at that time had said, someone in terms of executive at that time, said, are you sure this is the way to go? There's no lines in the movie. You have one line and it's not even English. Acumachente is the only thought. I would never forget it. It was my one line.

And no one really knew what it meant at all. I said, I do. I believe this is the right step and the right, the right transition, the right role. Because I don't know what I'm doing. I love this idea of movies, but I've never been on a movie set. So here we go.

Let me be a sponge. Let me learn. And let me say acumachente, like I know what I'm talking about. And let's see what happens. Well, you nailed that line because then they gave you another movie out of that. They gave me more words to say, yeah. Hey guys, thanks for listening to the Sunday Sit Down podcast.

Stick around to hear more from Dwayne Johnson right after the break. Welcome back to the Sunday Sit Down podcast. Now more of my conversation with Dwayne Johnson. I want to ask you as we sip our tequila here, there's a part of Young Rock where you sit with a reporter and do a mock interview, as if you're running for president in 2032. A lot of people are reading a lot of things into that. because you have been mentioned before. And the truth is, in our dividing country, there aren't that many people we all agree on anymore.

And I think you're one of them and Dolly Parton, and there's a handful of them. So is that something that still interests you, Dwayne? Well, let me take another drink of Taramana before I answer that one. It always helps with the answer. I have a goal and an interest and an ambition to unite our country. Now, right now we're a divided country and that's okay. We're going to work through it and we're going to get better.

And now I'll start off, I preface my answer with that is that, you know, the idea of this and also let me give a little bit of context to people who are watching now, what Young Rock, we thought the our show's creator and Anachka Khan, she's a brilliant writer. I believe she's one of the best in Hollywood. She said, we're having a little challenge of keeping you in the episode and we want to keep laced throughout the episode. We're trying to figure out a creative way to do it. I said, I'm down. Let's try to figure it out. But I do want to make sure that the highlight is on the show itself, the story. She said, sure. She came back with the idea of running president 2032. I said,

I don't think that's a good idea at all. I think that it's going to spark a lot of conversation and maybe it's not the conversation we want during this time. And she went back. She kicked the tires creatively. She came back and said, I have to be honest with you. I think that it's a, she goes, I think it's creative. She said, but I also think there's a few people who may want to see it happen. So give it a think. So I thought about it and I said, okay, let's have fun. Let's do it.

So we did it. And here we are to answer your question. See how I skated around just a little bit? Yeah, I'm ready. But you're waiting patiently. So I do have that goal to unite our country. And I also feel that if this is what the people want, then I will do that.

So, and again, I have to contextualize it because a lot of times the comments like this are taken out of context is I always, and this goes back to me wrestling in flea markets and use car dealerships. And even in that as small and as intimate and as rowdy as those crowds were, really, I still had my finger on the pulse of the people and I always wanted to send them home happy. and I always got an idea of what they wanted in that moment. So I say that to say like that, that philosophy I still apply. So as I continue to go down the line and do the business that I'm doing and do things that I'm doing and creating things and delivering them to people, at the time comes where there is a good amount of people who want to see that happen, then I'm going to consider it.

And then I'm going to be passionate about that too. But I am passionate about making sure that our country is united, whether it's, whether that is through what we just talked about or through another way, I think that's really important because a united country as we know is is its strongest. And I want to see that for our country. So the people telling you they would want that would mean what the you put it out there and see what people think about it or that there's polling or how will you know if the people are asking you to take that step? I think you would do deep dives of polling and things like that. I think you would really have to make sure that I had the right people in place who know that world in terms of politics.

And then we would get a real sense of, we would get a real sense of what the people wanted. So in no way, if I were to ever run for president, would I think, okay, I'm going full borehead, pedal to the metal, surround myself with great people and not know if this is what the people want. what the people want will lead and inform that decision. And if it is, in fact, what they want, then I'm going to take another drink of my taramana, and I'm going to say, okay, let's do it. Well, I think your campaign promises a bottle of Taramana

in every liquor cabinet. For everyone. Got my vote with that. Duane, thanks. So it all comes down to the people. Thanks so much for your time. Congratulations, man, on this huge success of Taramana. Happy birthday to you and continued success.

Cheers. Thank you, my friend. I always appreciate it. I always have a great time sitting down with you and happy birthday to you too. We'll do it again. Happy birthday. Next time we'll do only 80s hip hop,

you and me. Only 80s. I can't wait. My big thanks to Dwayne for a great conversation. Yeah, the last time he and I were together, we talked almost exclusively about 1980s hip hop. So we'll have to do that on our next podcast together. You can catch his show Young Rock

every Tuesday night on NBC. and pick up a bottle of his tequila, Taramana, wherever fine liquor is sold. My thanks to all of you for tuning in again this week. If you want to hear more of the conversations with my guests every week, be sure to click subscribe so you never miss an episode. And, of course, don't forget to tune in to Sunday today every weekend on NBC. I'm Willie Geist.

We'll see you right back here next week on the Sunday Sit Down podcast.