What Now? with Trevor Noah - Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson [VIDEO]

Episode Date: November 9, 2023

In the series premiere episode, Trevor is joined by Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson — "The People's Champion" in the wrestling world, one of the hardest working actors in Hollywood, and a bonafide Girl Dad. Trevor and Dwayne get real — discussing everything from Dwayne's troubled youth and his lifelong struggles with depression, to Dwayne listening, understanding and responding to public feedback surrounding the launch of his fund following the Maui fires and whether he'd ever consider running for President of the United States. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

I learned so much from my dad. Work ethic. Yeah. Discipline. But at the same time, I also know what it's like not to be hugged. Now I turn to my daughters and it's, oh, you want to paint my face? Get the paint. How many colors do you want to put on?

Do you want this? Do you want to do that? Do you want to hit me in the balls? Okay, great. I'm going to close my eyes. I know it's coming. He grabbed a shovel, a big shovel, my dad did, and drew a line in the dirt. Okay, great. I'm going to close my eyes. I know it's coming. He grabbed a shovel, a big shovel. My dad did and drew a line in the dirt and said, if you cross that line,

I'm going to kill you. The drunk asshole crossed the line. He knocked him out cold as a block of ice. Wow. 43 or 46% of the country would love the idea of Dwayne Johnson running for president. I mean, it either means you are the paragon of what people would hope a leader would be, or it means things have gotten so bad that they like, we need somebody who's going to come in here and lay the smack down on everybody. Do you know what I mean? I do. If there's one thing I've always loved, If there's one thing I've always loved, it's having a spirited conversation. I've always loved how the words coming out of another person's mouth can change how the mush in your brain processes or sees the world that it's seen a certain way for such a long time. It feels like these days, though, we might be losing that ability or it's become a

little bit harder. You know, a few days ago I was at an event and people were having really interesting and dynamic conversations. Conversations about really difficult topics men women young and old alike and every few minutes somebody would start their opinion with the phrase now i would never say this in public but or i would never say this if i was being recorded but and i found that fascinating so many of us have opinions and ideas about the world that we live in that we are either unable, unwilling, or too scared to share. And I thought to myself, if we cannot have conversations about difficult things, if the conversations themselves are now the difficult things,

then what hope do we have of fixing the difficult things. If the conversations themselves are now the difficult things, then what hope do we have of fixing the difficult things? You know, I almost think of it like a minefield. One of the most dangerous places you can ever walk into is a minefield, because you do not know where they are. You do not know when your last step may be. All you know is at any moment, something could blow up. But the danger comes when you step into the minefield. Imagine if discussing how to navigate the minefield was as dangerous as the minefield itself. That's what I feel like we're living in now.

And so in this podcast, on this episode, and with every single episode that follows, I hope to get into those conversations. Let's chat about the things that make us uncomfortable. Let's chat to the people who make us uncomfortable. Let's come to consensus. Let's walk away still fighting, but understanding each other a little bit more.

But most importantly, let's have the conversation. This is What Now? with Trevor Noah. This episode is brought to you by Peloton. Forget the pressure to be crushing your workout on day one. Just start moving with the Peloton Bike, Bike Plus, Tread, Row, Guide, or App. There are thousands of classes and over 50 Peloton instructors ready to support you from the beginning. Remember, doing something is everything. Rent the Peloton Bike or Bike Plus today at onepeloton.ca slash bike slash rentals.

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And you won't want to miss it. So make every Wednesday a Whopper Wednesday. Only at Burger King, where you rule. When talking about conversations, I can't help but think of all the people I have conversations with. You know, the team I'm working with on this podcast, the team I worked with at The Daily Show, you know, Christiana, when we were there. I remember, and I still have this with most of my friends, I remember a world where friends did not agree. I remember a world where married couples did not vote the same.

not agree. I remember a world where married couples did not vote the same. Like now it feels like people aren't allowed to be friends with somebody or won't allow themselves to be friends with somebody who doesn't agree on even one topic, just one topic, literally one thing that you might disagree on. And that's the end now. It's like, nope, we cannot be friends. Whereas before you would say we are friends, but oh God, I hope they don't bring up that thing because they know we're going to punch each other. Where I'd be like, I trust you and I love you, but your opinions on football, trash, absolute trash. You know nothing about the game. Don't speak. I'm going to fight with you. And we'd laugh about this, you know? Let me ask you this. And I mean, I know this because I argue with you and you have my friend, but in your just completely private, non-professional

connected life, do you have friends that you don't agree with? Oh, none of my friends agree with me. My husband doesn't even agree with me. But I haven't, because I'm an extremist. So, but that's like the position I like to occupy. But the people in my circle, I know at their core, they're good. And I think the issue that we have now is that people think a bad politic or a politic that is different from your own means that the other person is a bad person, which I don't think is true. Say more about that. What do you mean by that? Because I know people who on paper have great politics or what's considered acceptable progressive politics right now. But in praxis, in real life, they're like shitty people. Like I speak all the time, I used to to like these dinner parties in brooklyn and all of these like progressive men right vote in

the right way and are very feminist and there'd be women in the kitchen doing all the cooking bring these are white men by the way bring out the wine then when the cheese was done women bring out the cheese the women would cook and then when it was all done, it'd be women who would, like, clear up. And these men are like, we're feminist. Your body, your choice. One of my favorite interactions I ever had was when I first started on The Daily Show. I got, I mean, thousands and thousands of, like, hate tweets.

I mean, every single day. That's all Twitter was in my life, was just, you're trash, you're trash, you're trash, you shouldn't be on the show. And there was one guy in particular, like he was, it was interesting. He was like, he was mean, but he was funny. And I always appreciate funny. I don't care how mean you are. If you can be funny, I will separate the two and I go, you know what, that was funny. I can appreciate that. And this guy said something. And I DM'd him and I said, Hey, I'm really intrigued about why you hate me so much. You don't know me.

You don't seem to have ever watched anything I've created. Why do you hate me this much? And I will never forget his next tweet to me was, oh, hey, man. Oh, it's like literally. And he had exclamations. He wrote, oh, dude, I don't even really hate you like that. I just thought it was funny to pile on. And then he said something along the lines of, he said, look, and to be honest, I don't think you're going to make it. I think

you're going to crash the show. But good luck to you, man. I wish you the best. And I actually think you're pretty funny. And then I responded to him and I said, wait, wait, wait, wait. So you think I'm going to crash and burn? And he said, yes. And I said, okay, let's make a deal. I said, if I lost six months, promise me you'll watch the show for as long as I'm there. And he was like, oh, yeah, you're going to lose this deal, but it's a deal. And I promise you now from that day, like every few months, we would tweet each other and would be like a random DM and we'd say what's up. We'd talk to each other.

And I was fascinated by how different this person was when I had an actual direct connection with them versus when it was this theoretical throwing of a stone at like a moving vehicle as opposed to the, you know, that's what I always like with each other it's a lot harder to do that and to be that level of asshole when it's like your body you know there's this there's this cage that separates you from the other person you're like i will kill you i will destroy you and your entire family and i don't know if you've ever done this like like you'll pull up and somebody pulls up next to you and they're ready to kill you for everything you've done to them on the freeway they're ready to murder you and your entire lineage and you look them in the eye and you say sorry and their whole face and they're like it does it doesn't matter you see them go and you and i i wonder if i wonder if that's what stops us from having these conversations is that we're not actually having them with each other

we're having them with like a like a it's like a swarm of locusts where i'm sure each individual grasshopper isn't that bad. But when it's a swarm, it's pretty difficult to get a word in, you know? Which brings me to my first guest, The Rock. Dwayne The Rock Johnson. Here you have a human being who has, across the globe, been widely regarded as the friendliest finest you know most loving people he's always trying to make fans smile he's always trying to you know you've seen those videos of him he'll pull up to like a hollywood bus that's driving around the

stars homes and he'll he'll take selfies with everyone and he'll you know he's he's that guy he's that guy and yet even he put out a video recently talking about how negative the world has become in certain spaces and i thought man if this is getting to the rocks world if even he's experiencing this then surely there's something we need to figure out about what we're doing or how to have these conversations surely there's something we need to figure out about what we're doing or how to have these conversations surely there's something we need to fix in a way you know and i couldn't think of a better person to have that conversation with than an all-around nice guy who has only tried to make us smile fanduel casino's exclusive live dealer studio has your chance at the number one feeling, winning. Which beats even the 27th best feeling, saying I do.

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Please play responsibly. He's walking in now, people. The man, the myth, the legend, Christiana. I will catch up with you after this, but say what's up to The Rock. Hey, guys. Christiana. What's going on, sir? How are you, my brother? Thank you for being here. Good to see you. Thank you for having me's up to The Rock. Hey, guys. Christiana. What's going on, sir? How are you, my brother?

Thank you for being here. Good to see you. Thank you for having me. Please take a seat. Take a seat. All right. Welcome. Here we are.

Congratulations, man, on your first show. This is a big deal. Thank you. No, congratulations on getting The Rock. That's what you should congratulate me for. Congratulations on getting The Rock. You are... Everyone says to people, oh, you're the hardest working.

You're the hardest, you do so much. I will put money on it. You are the hardest working person that I know in the industry right now. You are doing everything. You are everywhere. You are, like, where did you come from right now? The gym. You see.

What time do you start? 5 a.m.? Are you one of those? Am I one of those? Yeah. I like to get up early. You see. What time do you start? 5 a.m.? Are you one of those? Am I one of those? Yeah. I like to get up early. I like to get up early, and that way, hopefully, I can get up before the babies get up.

Okay. And then I can get the workout part out of the way. I feel like I saw a video of you celebrating your mom's birthday. 75th. Congratulations to your mom. Thank you very much. I feel like your mom has always been your hero in many ways. I've read many of the things you've talked about her and many of the things you've said about her. It's so beautiful to see how you celebrate her.

And watching that video, there were two things I was particularly intrigued by. Number one, was there money flying from the sky? What was happening there? We were making it rain. Yeah, what was happening? Okay, so in our culture, I'm half black and half Samoan. Right. And on the Samoan side, in Polynesian culture, on the Samoan side in particular, there's a dance that we do at the end of events. Okay. And it's called the Tawalunga. And a woman will dance. And during this dance, people will come

up and they will throw money and they'll start to celebrate and dance around her. And the throwing of the money is a sign of reverence and respect. And that's what that was. So when I go out there to dance, I have a lot of money. I just throw it up in the air. I mean, maybe it was like 25 ones. That is so – I always talk to my friends, you know, I'm from South Africa. Yes.

And I'll always talk to my friends about how wildly crazy cultural norms can be when you move from one space to another. You know, when I travel the world, in some cultures, it is disrespectful to leave a plate empty after eating a meal. You leave a little bit to show that the person gave you enough. That's right. In some cultures, if you don't finish what's on the plate empty after eating a meal. You leave a little bit to show that the person gave you enough. That's right. In some cultures, if you don't finish what's on the plate, you've disrespected them. That's right. I can tell you now, in many cultures, if you threw ones at your mom.

Well, contextually. No, no. That's what I'm saying. I'm saying it's a beautiful thing to see where you're like huh wow the world is is really an interesting place i also loved man i loved seeing you dancing there you know so i because i grew up in south africa i grew up watching rugby because i grew up watching rugby i've always loved samoans i've always loved you know just like everyone from from that area you was like samoans in particular were always what I consider the pinnacle of like the Superman. You know?

And it was men who were wearing these, sometimes it was like a, I don't know what it's made out of, but it looks like a redress sometimes. It's called a lava lava. Lava lava. Yes. And you'd see, and you know,

forms of like the haka, you know? And I love seeing you doing that because I think of the history of how we have seen certain cultures and what we've defined as cool and what we've defined as acceptable. Have you always thought Samoan culture is cool? Or did you also have that period as a kid where you were like, ah, man, I can't believe I'm part of this. And then you found it again, as most people do. Yeah, that's a great question. And to be honest with you, brother, at a very early age, from my mom and my dad,

it was always, what you are is perfect. And what you are is cool. Black culture, Samoan culture. Yes, we come from a world of pro wrestling. And at that time, Trevor, if you think about it, pro wrestling was nowhere near

the global juggernaut that it is today. And it was a very small subculture. So be proud of everything that you are. So out of the gates, it was always be proud. Huh. I loved it, man. I loved watching it. I loved seeing you there. I loved you celebrating it.

No, because also, you know, when I travel and I'll do shows in and around the islands, you know, all the Pacific islands, it's so beautiful to see what you've inspired. You know, it's so beautiful to be the pinnacle or in many ways, the icon that people look to. They go, where am I from? Oh, I'll tell you where I'm from. You know where the rock is from? That's exactly where I'm from. That's what you do. It's a cool thing. And I got to tell you, as you go down the road of life a little bit more, you start to realize just how special culture is, how special all of our culture is. I've been lucky enough like you to go around the world and see and visit all these people from different cultures. But that moment when we're able to celebrate, say, for example, my mom on her birthday,

what's really cool about that is generally every year there are a handful of people who will come and who will visit and be part of her birthday who are new to the family or new to our circle. And when that moment happens, every single time you could turn around and the ones who are experiencing that for the first time, that Tawalunga, where it's my mom, she, and she's beautiful. She's just a beautiful dancer. Graceful. You see it in the video. Yeah. You really see it. You look at these

people who are experiencing that for the first time and they're all crying because they're so moved by that. And I love that about our culture. I love that about our Polynesian culture, Hawaiian, by that. And I love that about our culture. I love that about our Polynesian culture, Hawaiian, Samoan, Tongan, Fijian, Maori. It's a very powerful, like I use the word mana all the time. Yes, you do. And in that moment, you could feel that mana. You really could. I feel like you carry that with you. You know, you, I think one of the first times I met you in person, spoke for a little bit, was at the Time 100 event.

That was the first time in New York. Yeah. And I, there was a picture of us standing together and people asked me, they said, what is The Rock like? People always ask you when you meet someone, what is The Rock like? And I said, it is the craziest thing. That human being is exactly the way he is. craziest thing, that human being is exactly the way he is. He doesn't surprise you in how his smile, his voice, his charm, his vibe, you are exactly the way you are. What I wanted to find out. I appreciate that. No, for real. For real. What I wanted to find out about you is,

is what has made you into this human, what guides you as this human, you know, living your daily life. And the reason I think you're a particularly interesting person to speak to about this is because you have come to embody so much of the goodness that people want in their worlds,

you know, whether it's how they work out, whether it's how they see themselves with mixed identities, you know, as an American, but mixed identities you know as an american but proudly as a samoan but proudly as a black person as well you know you you're in this mixed world and it's like hey hey you can celebrate all of this yeah so let's let's talk a little bit about the formative years of the rock before the rock duane johnson you talk about being in this world of pro wrestling it seems like it was far from pro back then right right your dad didn't want you to get into the sport you you you had this this yearning to become

a part of this world what do you think that was the yearning part of it why did you want to be part of wrestling what was it about wrestling in particular well a few things I think because I grew up in it and not only did I grow up in it, but man, I loved it. I loved wrestling. I love the antics of it. I love the characters of it. And especially at that time, you know, when you, you grew up in the eighties wrestling back then late seventies, eighties was a whole different, I think, unique experience in that a lot of people bought into it and they felt like it was real. And they'd have these local stars every week and they'd be on their television sets, just their local TVs. And they would talk down the lens about what they're going to do to their opponent this Saturday night at whatever little arena

they're wrestling in. I loved all that. And I had a front row seat watching my dad and my grandfather and everybody in my family, um, live their passions. And it's what they, I believe we're all born to do. Wow. And so I think the yearning of it, it started to happen for me when to be honest when we were evicted out of hawaii so we were living in a little apartment we were evicted when i was 13 or 14 years old and i remember in that moment i never wanted to feel that again i was with my mom and we came home and there was a padlock or there was a notice so you have a week to get out and that was it and that was it and i remember just and I, and she was standing there. She was crying.

She didn't know what to do. And my dad was wrestling in Tennessee at that time. And I remember then thinking, I never want to experience this again. And what can I do to change it? What can I do? Like, what can I do with my own two hands? Now I'm 14. So I can't do shit.

That's a tough place to be in as a 14-year-old. As a 14-year-old, right. So I remember at that time thinking, well, all the heroes in my life are these guys. They're these guys who are, they're big, they're strong, they're pro wrestlers. I bet you if I built my body and if I went to the gym, then I could change this scenario.

So from that moment, I think that defining moment now, years later, I fell in love with the game of football. I love playing football. My goals shifted to, well, maybe I got a shot to go to the NFL. I was at University of Miami, great school. We were national champions, played for it on two other occasions. I mean, we were balling back then. UM, those hurricanes back then, dude. I think you were in Johannesburg at that time. Yeah, yeah. That's way back, yeah.

In the 90s. But we were really balling. So I shifted my goals. And then when that didn't happen with the NFL, I took it as a sign. And I remember thinking, I need to close this chapter in my life, really listen to my gut. And I want to turn my attention to something I think I'm going to be so passionate about, and I think I was born to do. One of the things I find fascinating about you as a person is how you engage, how you choose to engage with internal doubts and

external doubts, which I think as humans we face. I saw a video of yours on Instagram. You're in the gym and you're answering a question. And it was a great question. Someone saying to you, how do you deal with the criticism? And how do you filter the criticism that you receive in your life? That's right. And how do you filter the criticism that you receive in your life?

That's right. What I was intrigued by was who the criticism came to. And I'll tell you why. I'll tell you why. You are somebody who has, for a very long time, created content that aims to entertain, uplift, you know, in some way inspire you. You've done that. We've seen you, whether it's your music, whether it's, you know, it's like you like making people feel good.

You like bringing that light into the world. I really do. Yeah. Yeah. And I, over the past few weeks, have been thinking to myself, man, we're living in a world where it's become harder and harder for anyone to exist or to do anything, even with a good intention, and not find some sort of criticism at the end of that. And I feel like you're the paragon of that. Here you have Dwayne Johnson.

And it's funny. I was chatting to Oprah about this a few days ago. You know, the fires in Maui. Fires happen. Some of the most devastating fires in American history. Immediately, Dwayne Johnson, The Rock, and Oprah come together and say, hey, we're going to help. We're going to put our money into a fund, and we're asking everyone to join us.

Just do what we're doing in any way you can, and let's make a change. The greatest sense of empowerment is being able to have some control when everything seems so out of control, and we're calling it the people's fund of maui because every dollar that you send is going to go into an account that goes directly to the people oprah and the rock are giving 10 million dollars to get the fund started and they're calling for others to make donations and i mean you saw what happened overnight i thought i'd missed something i don't know if this i don't know what was it like from from your perspective because i thought And I mean, you saw what happened overnight. I thought I'd missed something.

I don't know if this, I don't know. What was it like from your perspective? Because I thought I'd missed something. I saw the initial call and I went, wow, okay, cool. We're all doing something. We're trying to do something. And then, you know, when you feel like you've missed a news cycle. Yeah.

Like, oh, the rock and Oprah under fire. I was like, but for what? And people were like, oh, you're the problem. And how dare you? And why would you? And I was like, man, our whole lives people have asked people to join into a worthy cause. When did this become a criticism or a fight? And I'd love to know how you process that.

Sure. Sure. I woke up the next morning wondering the same thing, thinking, what happened? Did I miss something? Wait, did I? Yeah. So it took me a couple of weeks to really process that. And I felt like that moment was a pivotal moment for me in my life for a few reasons. Number one, I want to go back to

the brass tacks of it. And the whole idea of creating this fund, the People's Fund of Maui, is to help people and help survivors. And Trev, these are my people. These are my Polynesian people, my Hawaiian kanaka, ohana, ainga. My grandparents, they're all buried in the islands. So it meant so much to me, and I know it meant so much to our people, that we were able to come together and create this fund. Over 8,000 survivors, by the way, that we're helping right now. It's really beautiful. But what's interesting is when all that started to happen and the backlash started to happen and

it started to come our way. So I always feel like in moments like that, it's important not to get caught up in it. It's important just to pause. Let's be prudent. Let's pause. Let me just wait and see. And I felt like my gut said, it's going to take a couple of weeks, but let me really take a look at it. I don't want to respond to it right now. Yeah. Let's stay focused on the mission. And the mission is to help the survivors right now who have nothing and they are devastated. And so let's continue to stand the fund up on its feet. But at the same time, I want to pay attention to this.

And I really, it really tested my ability to separate noise from criticism that was really worthy of my attention in this case. And this noise. And at first it was a wave of noise. Okay. How dare you ask us for money? And I thought the same thing you did. Well, we, whatever you can give, if you want to give a prayer, great, a buck, seven bucks, seven cents or nothing. Um, so there was the, the noise that started to feel like it was political noise. Then it started to feel like it was, um, uh, it just started to feel really noisy and i wanted to make

sure that we just paused and i was just waiting for well where's the criticism here that is worthy of my attention that really makes sense and then ah that's it this is what i feel i got it took me weeks before i figured this out and i had a uh i just had a moment one night and I think I was, as I usually do, I was having a drink. The drinks often help clear my mind and clear all this shit up in my head. And once all that left, I thought, ah, that's it. posted something and it was something to the effect of basically rock, don't pay attention to these guys. Uh, and all this other bullshit that they're saying, however, you're one of us. And when I read your one of us was the thing that made me go, ah, got it. Went back to when I was in Hawaii, when I got evicted, we had nothing. I was a troubled kid. I got arrested like you. I mean, you know, we're both troubled kids. Arrested multiple times.

I was always pissed that we were broke. There's a difference between being poor and then being broke. And I was pissed. I was always angry, getting in fights, getting in trouble. And the last thing I realized in that moment, the last thing that I wanted to hear was somebody asked me for money,

especially if the dude who I like is asking me for money and he already has money. And I get it. And a lot of times when you're in that situation, I've been there when you live in paycheck to paycheck. You're in it. Yeah. And you're not necessarily vibrating, you know, at a certain level and you're in it. So I came out of that and I went, that's right. I got it. Now I understand.

And you know what? Last thing you wanted was to hear people ask for money regardless of the situation. I admire how you think. I admire how you move through the world on multiple levels because you strike me as somebody who has witnessed and experienced a lot of conflict you also strike me as somebody who doesn't wish to be a perpetuator of any conflict you know i i see in you something you know as you say we got into trouble when we were young both of us raised for a large part of our lives by our moms you know and and and you you you see in somebody you go like man this this guy is is trying to move in

a certain way he's trying to do things in in a different way there was a there was a moment when you when you talked about politics and you've always stayed out of it you know which which i appreciate for people who do and and literally before you came on, I was talking to, you know, my team and I was saying, in South Africa when we grew up, we had a simple rule and that rule was your vote is your secret. And the reason we believed in that was mostly for people's safety. We said no one should know how anybody votes so that nobody gets intimidated to vote a certain way or not. And the other one was just for civil discourse. Vote. But let's talk as

humans. Don't start the conversation with, I voted like this, now here's the conversation. Just have the conversation. You'll be shocked at how many times we're blocked because we start with the label as opposed to just the conversation. And so I look at your life and here's a thing that always struck me was you live in a country that is so divided. You live in a country where people fight about everything. And then this poll came out and it said 43 or 46% of the country would love the idea of Dwayne Johnson running for president. And I remember seeing that and I was like, damn. I mean, it either means you are the paragon of what people would hope a leader would be,

or it means things have gotten so bad that they like, we need somebody who's going to come in here and lay the smack down on everybody. Do you know what I mean? I do. So let's talk through two things. The one is, your response was interesting. You said, if that was something that people wanted me to do, I would consider it or I would do it. Tell me why you said that, or what you would hope to achieve in that world. And then also tell me how you see politics. You have an interesting view, not political parties, but just like the way humans interact with each other. not political parties, but just like the way humans interact with each other. Sure. Well, a few things. I just want to go back for a second because you said something about, and at least this was my interpretation of what you said about, you know, we could screw up,

we fuck up at a time and that's just life. But we learn from it. And I try not to make those mistakes again. But I also do my best these days, Trev, and this has taken years, by the way, I also do my best these days, Trev, and this has taken years, by the way, to not let ego judgment or early anticipation shape my ability to receive what is happening. That's not easy. No, man. It's not easy. No, man, it's not easy. And so many times in the past, it has stifled either my growth or my ability to see something and go, you know what? I never looked at it like that. Thank you for bringing that up. It's going to help shape me as I walk forward. So, uh, and I just want to touch on that because I think it's important. And I know the majority of people out there, we want to be better.

I do. Yeah, I agree. Right. We want to be better. We want to be good. We want to be good. We want to learn from our mistakes. So that was an interesting poll that happened.

And I was really moved by that. And I was really blown away. And I was really honored. I was, I'll share this a little bit with you at the beginning of the year, uh, at the end of the year, rather in 2022, I got a visit from the parties asking me if I was going to run and if I could run. Wow. And it was a big deal and it came out of the blue. Wow. And it was one after the other. And they brought up that poll they also brought up their own deep dive uh research and data that would prove should i ever decide to go down that road

you would be a real contender yeah and it was it was all very surreal because that's never been my goal my goal has never been to be in politics as As a matter of fact, there's a lot about politics that I hate. Yeah, yeah, I know this about you, yeah. So I was moved by that, and the reason why I had given that response, if that's truly what the people want, then of course I would consider it. And after that response, that's when the parties came. But then I really had to double down on this idea. And this is the truth, which is, well, I got little ones.

And so I have three daughters. Right. Right. I have a lot of estrogen in my house. And I love it. But I have a 22-year-old daughter, and I have a seven, and I have a five. Yeah. And the 22-year-old daughter, Simone, we essentially, I like to say, man, we grew up together.

But I also know what it's like to be in a occupation that took me away. And I was, as a pro wrestler, full-time wrestling 230 dates a year for years as she came into the world. So I know what it's like to have that separation and not be there for the birthdays,

not be there for the pickups, the drop-offs, and everything else. And I didn't want that. I don't want that for my little ones now. Right. And so that was one of my primary discussions with the parties, who ultimately were like, yeah, but the other ones have done it like this. But so with the response, I responded in that way.

I thought it was important. And I do feel that way, by the way. If that's ultimately what the people would want, then of course I would consider it. Wow. The people's champ. I love the way your face lights up when you speak about your daughters. It happens every time. You can't control it.

If I was playing a game of poker with you, I'd try and put a picture of your daughters on the card because I would know which card you have when. I think what I appreciate most about it is that I think you have, in many major ways, changed the way people perceive what it means to be a dad. And I think it's beautiful. You know, for so long, a dad was considered a strong man, didn't cry and, you know, stiff upper lip. Come on, shut up, kids. Come on, keep it moving. Yeah.

And then here comes what many would consider, you know, the definition of manhood. And you have your little girls painting your face, painting your nails. You're wearing tutus, playing with them. You are fully in their world. You are a proud girl dad, and you are raising these girls into women, and you see it in your eyes. How do you think they've shaped your perception of masculinity? How do you think they've shaped how you want to be a man? And what are you consciously trying to think of for their perception of men as they grow up? Well, you just said it.

I mean, that's it. Let's start with the last thing you said, because it's the anchoring thing, it is, I am their model of what a man will be. I'm their first man in their life. So I take that with all the DNA that I got in my body. And I take that not only so serious, but I also, I want to be that example for them. Now, let me just take you back for a second. The man who raised me, who was my dad was my dad, Rocky Johnson, right? His dad died when he was 13. Those holiday, the holidays that came up after his dad's death, a new boyfriend was in picture. Boyfriend gets drunk, pisses on the turkey.

My dad's 13. He grabbed a shovel, a big shovel. My dad did and drew a line in the dirt and said, if you cross that line, I'm going to kill you. The drunk asshole crossed the line. He knocked him out cold as a block of ice. Your dad knocked him out. My dad knocked him out cold as a block of ice. Your dad knocked him out?

My dad knocked him out with a shovel and tried to kill him. Wow. 13. They're dirt poor. They live in Amherst at Nova Scotia. The cops come. And the cops say, well, he's still unconscious, but he's not dead. When he wakes up, one of two things is going to happen. He's going to kill your son or your son is going to kill him.

So the cop's recommendation to my dad's mom was one of them has to go. You know where I'm going with this now. Jeez. She looked at her son, my dad, his name was Wade, and said, you have to go. So at 13, he's out on the streets. Now, the reason why I tell you that story is that's my dad's capacity for love. 13. You're gone.

So that's the man that raised me. So that's the stiff upper lip. Come on. Work through it. You'll be good. Right. Get up. I'm getting up.

You're getting up. We're going to the gym. I'm five. I can't go to the gym. You're going to the gym. You sit in the corner. Get up. I'm getting up. You're getting up. We're going to the gym. I'm five. I can't go to the gym. You're going to the gym. You sit in the corner. You watch. And that's how I grew up.

You're coming with me to the wrestling matches. It was always rough. It was tough. But that's his version of love. Okay. So now years later, when I have the blessing to become a dad, and to these three beautiful daughters, man, I learned so much from my dad on work ethic, discipline, respect is given when it's earned. Be proud of who you are.

Be proud of your skin color and what makes you up, your DNA. But at the same time, I also know what it's like not to be hugged and not to be kissed on the cheek. And so in learning of that, now I turn to my daughters and it's, oh, you want to paint my face? Get the paint. How many colors do you want to put on? You want to paint my nails? You want this? You want to do that?

You want to hit me in the balls? Okay, great. I'm going to close my eyes. I know it's coming. It's that game. Close your eyes, daddy. Okay, here we go. Oh, man. So, Okay, great. I'm going to close my eyes. I know it's coming. It's that game. Close your eyes, daddy. Okay, here we go. Oh, man. So yeah, man. I mean, I love and appreciate my old man. We had a complicated relationship, but my daughters helped shape me being a man. My dad helped shape me being a man, but also being a

father on what to do and the stuff that i missed and that i want to give to my little girls i feel like for many young men out there you have become a guiding light that moves them in a certain direction you know there's no denying that many young men in the world right now feel lost, you know? And I think personally, I think it's because a lot of young men grew up in a world where they were just told the world would give them what it's supposed to give them. And it would be the way it's supposed to be. And now that it isn't, they don't know how to exist within that. You know, they go, are women replacing us or are we still allowed to be men? And it can be confusing with some of the messages that people get. It's noisy.

It's noisy. And I think somebody like you exists in a space where you inspire these young men in a really powerful and particular way. Because it's not just with your daughters. You're so open about challenges. One of those is depression. There was a time in the industry. There was a time in the world. A man couldn't come out and say, hey, man, I'm struggling with depression here.

And there's a moment in my life that was tough. You couldn't be an action star and say you had anything wrong in your world and still be the top grossing action star in the world. That I feel like is one of the best looking too as well. I mean, this is, of course. Forgive me. We'll edit that in. And of course, and the best looking. Let's make sure we throw that in. And the best looking.

But like you, that's probably one of my favorite villains you fought against and beaten is the stigma against speaking about the struggle that you may have in your mind. When you spoke about that, when you revealed that, was there a part of you that was afraid of revealing this? Didn't even think about it. I didn't even look at it that way. I didn't think, well, I don't know, maybe I shouldn't, maybe there's a reputation I should uphold. Big, strong men, strong men. It's that culture. big, strong men, strong men. It's that culture. How is it going to be received? I didn't really think about it.

I just remember, I don't remember exactly when, but I remember being in an interview or something and then just start, I started talking about it. And I realized as I was saying it, and I certainly realized it after the feedback I got, and this was probably years ago, of how much it helped. How much it helped guys, how much it helped men, how much it helped people. So, you know, I, but also Trevor, I went through bouts of depression not knowing what I was going through. Yeah. I didn't know what depression was.

20 years ago, there wasn't, oh, this is depression. It's mental health. People back then just thought you were perpetually sad. They thought you were sad. They thought maybe you were hungover. They thought a lot of things. They thought maybe you need to get on medication or not. But you know what they also, a lot of people thought, and people still think this today, is, yeah, but it's a choice. You'll get through it. Wake up. It's a choice to be happy. It's a choice to be sad. So come on, like buck up. You got this. Move on. When a lot of times you just wake up blue and you don't have that choice and it's not that easy. You just don't turn it on or turn it off. And I also realized

as I went down the road, once I started to realize what it was, why I felt I didn't want to do anything, why I was emotional about things. At first it happened at University of Miami when I was 18 years old. I came in, everything was great. I was on top I get injured complete reconstruction with my shoulder I was done I wasn't participating in team meetings practice I wasn't going to class the first time away from home you isolated brother and it all converged I went through my first bout of depression back then also back when I had seven bucks in my pocket and then when I got a divorce and so on and so on and so on. And then once I started to realize what it was, I started to not only, not only did it help

me realize it, realize what it was, but then realize the power of talking about it and how important that is. And now I can tell young men, young women, kids, students, older people, doesn't matter. Hey, it's your superpower. It's okay. Talk about it. Be open. If you're feeling blue, if you're feeling fucked up, if you don't have the answers, even if you don't know why. Because a lot of times, sure, there's a thing that this this thing happened therefore i'm depressed but a lot of times people just wake up and the skies are gray yep and you don't know what to do and one of the most

powerful things you can do is number one know you're not alone know that if you're experiencing it there's a lot of other people out there experiencing it too. And talk about it. I appreciate that. I really do. What do you do when that happens? I'm curious. So what I try and do is I track the when and the why. Are you open about talking about it? Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Were you always that way though?

No, no, no, because I didn't understand. So before I was diagnosed with ADHD, I didn't even know what was happening. I thought I struggled with depression i didn't i didn't know until i read about it and and really you know spend some time with some great people you know therapists and just experts in the field i didn't even know that depression was just a symptom it was a byproduct of adhd i actually don't suffer from depression i thought i did so i i speak about it all the time because i i one you get rid of the stigma but two you start to understand i think there's something cool about understanding things you know there's something really nice in knowing how it works and

so um for myself what i do now is i will just do a check-in of what's happening behind everything if i wake up feeling blue i i just ask myself simple questions how long did i sleep for what did i eat last night do i have something big coming up did i not finish a conversation yesterday i just try and check i don't get the answer i just ask questions and then i'll do it again i'll be like man i don't feel like doing anything today i'll be like okay well what are you doing do you even want are there days when you want to do it and if it's yes what's different today and i find if you just check in with yourself and almost you you like i know now as trevor if i haven't slept then my yeah my motivation isn't where it needs to be you know i if i eat late my sleep isn't good and that affects me as

well if i if i'm not around my people my community if i don't recharge that's something that's always going to affect me and so i i try and check in you i want to go back to what you said though about you know divorce again i would love to understand how you did this and what you can teach us about your experience. Many people will experience divorce. Again, it's something that's shrouded in shame. Nobody wants to happen. They stay in marriages forever, even when they can't or shouldn't. You got divorced, but your divorce is really unique in that your ex-wife is- My business partner. Your business partner. Yes.

Your ex-wife is the person who's helped you turn the rock from an individual into an idea that spans the globe Dwayne Johnson is everything from tequila to you know workout apparel with under armor to wrestling and movies and music and sexiest man alive sexiest man alive of of course. We'll throw more of these in. I apologize. Sexiest man alive. But I'd love to know on a relationship level, how are you able to be in a divorce with somebody? And I ask this for everyone who's in any relationship and then still find a way to love and respect them enough to move forward

because I'm sure the divorce was hard. What did you learn that enabled you to work with your ex-wife to achieve everything that you've done and still do today? I learned exactly that, what you just said, that we can still make it all happen. We just have to be unattached to how we get there. And let's also be unattached to what the original goal was. Now, the original goal wasn't divorce. And divorce was fucking hard, man. And especially at that age for me, I was getting a divorce. I transitioned out of wrestling. And when I left wrestling, I was on top. I was very lucky and fortunate. I was on top main event. And I thought if I, but I want to expand, I want to grow and I want to bring wrestling with me. Um, and then I thought, God, is this the biggest mistake I've ever made in my life?

Like, and so there was that and going through a divorce at the same time. Uh, our daughter at that time maybe was three, four years old. Who's going to be raising her along with me. There's another man. Eventually I'm sure she will meet another man. Like there was all that shit that was going on in my head. What I realized was with Danny, my ex-wife, who is now my business partner, we're great friends and is a force unto herself. She really is. She really is.

Extremely proud of everything that she's accomplished. We realized early, once we kind of got through the, okay, we're going to get a divorce. This is real. This is happening. It's not what we signed up for. You know, is there a version of this as we move forward where we started to build this business together? Can we continue to build this business together? Is that possible?

Are we fucking crazy? build this business together. Is that possible? Are we fucking crazy? And the thought was, well, let's look at the dynamic here. We have a beautiful daughter. We have an opportunity now to show her a way, uh, post something not working out, post a relationship and marriage not working out. Uh, but being an example for her of how you can work through something and resolve something. And on the other side of it, it may not be originally what you signed up for, but who knows? It could be better. And so we realized that, and then we went to work. And when I say we went to work, it is bringing in the experts. And I'm not talking about lawyers. We kept them off to the side. And we figured all that on our own. That's beautiful, man.

We figured it all out on our own. And then we went to them. But we brought in the experts, the relationship experts. Right. Who are going to help us through this thing. And we wound up doing it. It took a lot of work and a lot of grinding because you start to unpack a lot of stuff. Um, and a lot of grinding because you start to unpack a lot of stuff and you start to realize, uh, a lot of stuff about yourself, about your partner, about the relationship,

about how you see the world, how you see everything, how you see love, um, how you think you're pretty good at relationships, but actually you're not, you've got a lot to learn. So, um, so that's what we did and it wound up being, uh, a great decision. I'm, I'm, I'm so happy for you. I got a question for you though. Yeah. That's what we did. And it wound up being a great decision. I'm so happy for you. I got a question for you though. Yeah. So there's a moment I feel like it happens in all of our lives where it's that seminal defining moment where you go, this is why I was born.

This thing right now. Now I'm talking specifically about a passion and a thing. So tell me a little bit. I heard this story, but I want to confirm it with you because I think it's phenomenal. And I have something very similar, which bonds us here. So you went to a show, and I'm assuming you were in Joburg. Yeah. And you were there. One of your buddies got up, and he started performing. And it might have been open mic or something like that.

I don't know. And he didn't do that well. Right. He might still be your buddy, so I don't know. And he didn't do that well. Right. He might still be your buddy, so I don't want to say he sucks. Because he might be listening right now. But he didn't do that well. And another one of your buddies looked at you and was like, hey, man. Right.

You're funny. Why don't you get up there? And you got up there. So it was actually messier than that. But yeah, carry on. OK. And you got up there. I can't wait to hear the messy version then.

But you got up there and you moved the crowd. Okay. And you got up there. I can't wait to hear the messy version then. But you got up there and you moved the crowd. Yeah. And there was something about that moment that made you go, there could be something here. Right? Tapped into a light and a voice. Yeah. Behind your rib cage. Right.

Tell me about that. So what actually happened was stand-up comedy wasn't a thing in South Africa before democracy because free speech was illegal. So you start with that. So the only people who could do stand-up comedy were people who didn't say anything about the government and they were white. Anyone of any color couldn't do stand-up. So you have this burgeoning industry that pops off. This world that's never existed. In many ways, it was like the wrestling that your dad was a part of and what you started in. It's this ragtag affair of, you know, everyone knew

everyone. You just find a space, you make it happen. You try to get the locals to pop in and this is it. You don't know how it's going to go. You don't know what it's going to be. You're just begging anyone with a venue to allow you to put on this motley crew of ideas. Yes. But it's going to be real. Yeah. But I didn't know about standup comedy as a concept. That's how new it was in South Africa. I was living with my cousin and best friend at the time and they said to me one day hey we're gonna go to a stand-up comedy show i was like what what is that even they were like oh we're gonna go to the show come join us i was like all right we roll we go everywhere together yeah i get to this place it's actually a bar you know little corner spot in the middle of downtown johannesburg a place called newtown and we're sitting there and some guy climbs onto stage and it was so

ragtag that he had to climb through a window to get onto the stage it's like a little window on the side there's no like it's not a real stage climbs onto this little platform holds the mic starts speaking people start laughing he does his thing a comedian named great guy and he's on stage but the night was bad comedians have bad nights you know what it's like as a performer sure you know what it's like when there are people there i mean you were doing it to hundreds then thousands then you know what i mean tens of thousands of people you know you know what it's like when a line doesn't land you know what it's like when a moment doesn't connect it wasn't also know the

high yeah that first line hits yeah and you're off to the race so it wasn't working well for the comedians my cousin gets drunk uh he says from this he starts heckling and he goes he's like boo this is terrible because it's so small everybody knows each other the guy from stage goes he's like Lou shut up man what you know how hard we're working he's like you guys suck so he says why don't you come on stage and try it and my cousin goes well i don't know if i could do that but trevor can't i'm sober now i'm like i've just been thrust into this mix i go hey i know nothing about this i have no beef with anybody i don't want to they the comedian turns to me and he goes oh you think you you're so big why don't you come on stage i said i've said nothing i've said nothing. I've said nothing. And then he, and then he, and he like coaxed me. Now it's pride.

Now I'm like, all right, let's do it. Cause of the friends I go, I get on stage. And, and I remember I didn't, I literally didn't know what to do. And I turned to my friends. I was like, what am I going to, what am I going to say? And he said, just tell them that story about the Nigerian guy fixing your VCR machine. Just tell them that story. I was like, okay.

And I got on stage and I told that story and people were howling. People were crying, laughing. And it connected me to something that has taken me more than a decade to understand. And it's that I grew up in a household and in a country and in a society with so much violence and so much pain

that I have loved and yearned and enjoyed for nothing more than to make people feel good. Do you know what I'm saying? Amen. Like when people come to a show and you've seen what it's like, man, people will tell you stories. My dad had cancer and the only thing we connected around was this show. My family was going through this tough time and we loved this show. You know, there's a powerful thing that you can do in giving to another the joy that you may not even have in that moment. And so that's something that I've always found for myself.

And that's what I, I mean, we were doing your moves in the gym at school. We had detention. We had detention and we had this like giant room where you would would just get locked in it was like that's your detention it was like a gym really but it was a massive gym and we would put out all these mats and we'd be like all right we're practicing the rocks moves let's go and everyone would get in there and i'm talking like almost two stories high oh yeah and we'd climb up on the railing this is our cage match and you'd grab someone you get you know what i mean you get under underneath them you're right there the rock bottom baby and you're getting right underneath and then you jump down and we'd slam each other

but that's what i mean think about think about that collection think about how far that was think about how far you were from me in south africa think about how far i was from you in the united states and yet in that moment, we were connected. And so I think that's what I love. That's why I'm having this conversation with you. That's why I want to talk about things in the world is because we've forgotten that the same thing that connects us into the worst of each other

can be used to connect us into the best of each other. That's right. We can reach consensus. We can discover new ideas. We can learn. Yes, yes. You don't agree with your friends on everything, but they're still your friends, your family. family you fight with them but you still love them

yes you know and so that's that's literally like you know we can we can learn we could find resolve and i don't know anybody who does it better than you genuinely you you you have a you have a way of stringing it all together you never left the wrestling fans behind they still love you they still respect you you've never turned your back on it you know you you've always the wrestling fans behind. They still love you. They still respect you. You've never turned your back on it. No. You know, you've always loved the fans of your movies and the things that you do. You sport the same thing, the love that you show,

you know, whether it's XFL, whether it's NFL, you show that love and that passion. You have that. And that's, you know. Trev, I appreciate that. Look, I got to thank you for telling me that story, by the way. I love that story.

And you're the best looking man on the planet. The sexiest man alive. I mean, this is, this is, come on. This is, this is something we have to acknowledge. We always have to acknowledge. I make my family acknowledge it. Every time they're up, everybody line up and tell me right now. But I got to say that.

Thank you for telling me that story. I heard that story. I heard a version of that story. This version is even better, but it actually goes deeper than what I expected to hear because this idea that we have this passion. And I always like to say one of our anchoring tenants in just any business that I do or anything that I do, I want to send people home happy. I want to make them happy. And it's just that simple. And I feel like if we're lucky enough to be in this position where we can influence a person or two like me and like you,

but this idea that, Hey, come to us and I'm going to do all I can to make you feel good and send you home happy. What a blessing that is. It truly is. Yeah. So before I let you go, I have one question that I'm going to ask all my guests. All right. Because you meet people at a moment in time. You know, had I met you a few decades ago, you would be stepping into wrestling. Had I met you at another time, you'd be stepping into the world of Hollywood. A world people said you would never break into because they're like, who would watch a guy named Dwayne? And yet here you are, you know, the most popular and sexiest Dwayne on the planet. You know? You didn't have to putane on the planet you know you didn't

have to put mustard on but it's true but it's true no no no no but i'm saying it's it's i love it because it's part of your success it's the hero's journey it is the hero's journey yes so what now you know you are now in a place in your life where you are still able to be an athlete in wrestling. And, you know, you went back now with the strike. You know, you also are somebody who is powerful in Hollywood and in the industry. You know, you show that with your donations to the writers. I mean, it's a screen actors guild. You know, you see your efforts in philanthropy. You're a powerhouse in, I mean, making drinks.

You know, it's like here you are um but but what now what's what is the thing that you are looking for not just on a professional level but in your life like you know where does duane johnson go all right this this is this is the next step that i'm trying to get to oh this is the next thing that i'm trying to achieve in myself as a human being yes the next thing is this uh let me preface myself as a human being. Yes. The next thing is this. Let me preface with, man, I'm lucky. And I feel like along the way, I got lucky. And you hear, well, the harder you work, the luckier you get.

And that could be true. But I do feel that by the grace of God, man, there's just had just these angels. I feel like along the way, who just help guide and shape and shift me and take care of me at the darkest and lowest and those angels by the way are still in my life I could count them on one hand have fingers left over I like to say

but so I want to preface it with how grateful I am and I'm a lucky guy to be in this position. And I'm lucky to have climbed a mountain and breathing a certain air that I'm well aware that at times it's a rare air too as well. And the thing I want to do now is not stay here in this place on this mountain, but I want to build more mountain. I want to build more mountain professionally, but more importantly than professionally,

I want to build more mountain spiritually, emotionally. Humanity is so important to me. And not only build more mountain, but then bring everyone with me so we can all build new mountain. Right. So it's all about building new mountain for me. And, and in that, that is the, and again, we could distill this down into a lot of different places, but I know what you mean. You know what I'm saying? It's build new mountain. It's growing. It's being open. And especially now when there is so much noise, there's so much toxicity. But I know what you mean. but man, there's also so much good stuff out there too as well. So build new mountain.

I love that. Build new mountain. And bring everyone with you so we're all building new mountain together. I love it. Well, Dwayne, the Rock Johnson, sexiest man alive. Thank you for your time. Thank you. You know what's great?

You will always have been my first guest. You know what I love about the full circle of things? I'll leave you with this. Tell me. The first guest I had on The Daily Show was Kevin Hart. Wow. And the reason I always appreciate the firsts is because the firsts have to do something that most people are afraid to do, and that is trust in what they don't know. You come here, you don't know how this could go, you don't know how this would.

And honestly, I appreciate that from you as a human being. I remember what happened with Kevin on The Daily Show. No one would be my first guest. People were terrified. They're like, who is this guy? We don't know what he is. We don't know what he stands for. South Africa, what is that even?

Where is that? What part of Africa? The South, we put in the name for a reason, but people did not care. They were like, we can't come. And I said, let's ask Kevin Hart. And they're like, oh, but Kevin Hart's a superstar. I said, let's just ask him.

Kevin responded instantly. He said, I'm in. He said, I'm in. And I remember asking him. I said, why? And Kevin said, because I remember what it was like to be the person that nobody wanted to give a shot. I remember what it was like to be at the bottom of this ladder. And he said, and if I can, it's funny you say that and I see why you guys get along so much. He said, if I can be a part of building your ladder,

sign me up. And so I'm glad that I now have what I consider one of the best pairings as both of my firsts. Thank you so much, brother. Well, thank you, brother, for having me on. And congratulations on not only an incredible career, but also a groundbreaking one too. I appreciate that. Thank you so much. Thank you, brother. Let's get you to the next billion dollars. I cost you some money here. Oh, you seven. What Now with Trevor Noah

is produced by Spotify Studios in partnership with Day Zero Productions, Fullwell 73, and Odyssey's Pineapple Street Studios. The show is executive produced by Trevor Noah, Ben Winston, Jenna Weiss-Berman, and Barry Finkel. Produced by Emmanuel Hapsis, Janelle Anderson,

and Marina Henke. Music, mixing, and mastering by Hannes Braun. Thank you so much for taking the time and tuning in. Thank you for listening. I hope you enjoyed the conversation. I hope we left you with something. And hopefully we'll see you again next week. Same time, which is whenever you listen. Same place, which is wherever you listened. Next Thursday, all new episode. What now?