Dwayne Johnson Discusses His Battles With Depression
Dwayne Johnson attends the 95th Annual Academy Awards on March 12, 2023 in Hollywood, California.
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is opening up about facing depression throughout his life. The Red Notice star, 50, recently recalled being “sent in a tailspin” when a shoulder injury ended his college football career at the University of Miami.
“My first battle with depression was down there in Miami,” Johnson said. “I didn’t want to go to school, I was ready to leave.” He left school and didn’t know at the time what mental health or depression was. All he knew was, “I didn’t wanna be there.” The actor added that he wasn’t participating in anything, from team meetings to working out. For athletes, “any kind of sweat and getting it in will get that s— out of you,” Johnson said. “I couldn’t do it because of my shoulder.”
Years later, Johnson went through depression again when he got divorced from his first wife, Dany Garcia. The pair were married from 1997 to 2008 and share 21-year-old daughter Ava Raine. Again, Johnson didn’t know what this feeling was. It wasn’t until around 2017 that the former professional wrestler experienced depression again that he knew what it was. “Luckily, I had some friends that I could lean on and say, ‘Hey, I’m feeling a little wobbly now. I got a little struggle happening, seeing a little grey and not the blue.'”
Johnson explained that the “saving grace” for his mental health has been his daughters (he also shares Tiana, 5, and Jasmine, 7, with his wife Lauren Hashian) and being a “girl dad.”
Mental Health Care For Men
Taking to social media over the weekend, the actor sent an important message about seeking mental health care to his followers, specifically men. “I’ve worked hard over the years to gain the emotional tools to work through any mental pain that may come to test me. But years ago, I didn’t know what mental health struggle was,” he wrote on Instagram. “As men, we didn’t talk about it. We just kept our head down and worked through it. Not healthy but it’s all we knew.”
“If you’re going through your own version of mental wellness turning into mental hell-ness, the most important thing you can do is talk to somebody,” Johnson added. “It can’t be fixed if you keep that pain inside. Having the courage to talk to someone is your superpower. I lost two friends to suicide. Talk to someone. Despite how you may feel, you’re never alone.”
Watch the interview below:
Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson: What Are His 10 Best Movies
Dwayne “The Rock” started off his professional career as a wrestler for WWF in 1996, but he has since become one of the world’s highest-grossing and highest-paid actors. After his retirement from wrestling, Johnson made a few appearances in television and movies. He even starred in Wyclef Jean’s “It Doesn’t Matter” music video in 2000. In his first television acting debut, he played his own father in an episode of That ’70s Show in 1999 called “That Wrestling Show.” Johnson’s motion picture debut was as The Scorpion King in The Mummy Returns, with the movie’s success leading to his first leading role in the spin-off The Scorpion King (2002).
Johnson really hit it big at the box office when he played Luke Hobbs in Fast Five in 2011, reprising the role four more times in the later Fast & Furious 6 (2013), Furious 7 (2015), The Fate of the Furious (2017) and Hobbs & Shaw (2019). “The Rock” starred in a number of franchises besides the Fast and the Furious, like the Jumanji reboot, Jungle Cruise and San Andreas (sequels have been greenlit for the latter two).
Most recently, Johnson has entered the DC Extended Universe, starring as anti-hero Black Adam. In theaters on October 21, Hawkman (Aldis Hodge), Doctor Fate (Pierce Brosnan), Cyclone (Quintessa Swindell) and Atom Smasher (Noah Centineo) also make their DCEU film debuts. Black Adam is a spin-off from Shazam! (2019) the 11th film in the DCEU. Johnson was attached to Shazam! early in development and confirmed to portray Black Adam back in 2014, but the producers later decided to give the character his own film. With an initially planned release date of December 2021, the timeline was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
With Johnson being one of the most popular actors of today, we compiled a list our ten favorite Rock films. Time will tell if we’ll have to update this to include Black Adam. Check them out below:
Laila Abuelhawa is the Top 40 and Hip-Hop pop culture writer for Beasley Media Group. Being with the company for over three years, Laila's fierce and fabulous red-carpet rankings have earned her a feature on 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert!' Her favorite stories are those surrounding the latest in celebrity fashion, television and film rankings, and how the world reacts to major celebrity news. With a background in journalism, Laila's stories ensure accuracy and offer background information on stars that you wouldn't have otherwise known. She prides herself in covering stories that inform the public about what is currently happening and what is to come in the ever-changing, ever-evolving media landscape.
