Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson shared an emotional video on his Instagram Friday in which he’s delivering the eulogy during his late father Rocky Johnson’s funeral.
“I wish I had one more shot just to say goodbye, to say I love you, to say thank you, to say I respect you but I have a feeling he’s watching, he’s listening,” Johnson said in the Instagram video. “I know my dad would be saying Kay Fabe the tears… You know you try and you think about ‘well, what am I gonna write?’ You know, you don’t know what to write for a eulogy, it’s your dad. You don’t expect it. As you guys know he went very quick.”
Johnson’s father, who was a member of the WWE Hall of Fame, died last month at the age of 75.
Rocky Johnson won multiple regional National Wrestling Alliance titles, but his greatest success came from his work as a tag-team specialist with famed Samoan wrestler “High Chief” Peter Maivia. Rocky retired from wrestling in 1991 and trained Dwayne despite initial misgivings. Upon his WWF debut in 1996, Dwayne Johnson took the ring name Rocky Maivia in honor of his wrestling roots before reimagining himself as the Attitude Era heel known as The Rock.
Johnson continued his eulogy, explaining how the news of his father’s death was told to him as he was pulling into work on the first day of production of Netflix’s “Red Notice” with Ryan Reynolds and Gal Gadot.
“It all got really foggy and it seemed like it was a big dream… You know how you have those moments where you try to shake yourself out of it, and you’re like ‘No, it’s not a dream, uh, my dad’s gone,'” Johnson continued. “And in that moment I just thought ‘What do I need to do? What’s the next thing that I need to do?’ And I heard a voice say ‘Well, hey the show must go on,’ and that was my dad that was my old man who told me that.”
Johnson went on to remember his father as a trailblazer.
“The phrase of trailblazer is connected to my dad’s name it means when you do things that have never been done,” he said. “When somebody is a trailblazer that means that they actually, they have the ability to change behavior and audience’s behavior, people’s behavior.
“For my dad, when he broke into the business in the mid ’60s and throughout the late ’60s and into the ’70s in the United States where racial tension and divide was very strong and in the ’60s and the ’70s you have a black man coming in, it’s an all-white audience and all these small little towns that eventually I would go on to wrestle in — but at that time he changed the audience’s behavior and actually had them cheer for this black man.”
The Ultimate Guide to Dwayne Johnson's Upcoming Movie and TV Projects (Photos)
The Rock has gone from being one of the biggest names in WWE to one of the hardest working men in Hollywood. As he continues to announce new projects via social media, TheWrap lists Dwayne Johnson's insane schedule for the upcoming years. Disclaimer: Some of these projects are in script phase or have just been announced, so are subject to changes.
"Jumanji: The Next Level"
After the success of 2017's "Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle," which grossed almost a billion dollars, Sony has set its sequel, also starring Nick Jonas, Jack Black, Karen Gillan and Kevin Hart, for December 13.
Sony
"Jungle Cruise"
Johnson will star in Disney’s live-action “Jungle Cruise,” which is based on its popular theme-park ride. “Jungle Cruise” will also star Emily Blunt, Jack Whitehall and Jesse Plemons, and Jaume Collet-Serra is directing. It is set to hit theaters July 24, 2020.
Disney
"Black Adam" In 2016, it was announced Johnson would star in a "Black Adam" spinoff movie. Johnson has been attached to play the character since 2008. Most recently, Jaume Collet-Serra was being eyed to direct the film for New Line Cinema. Adam Sztykiel (“Rampage”) is writing the screenplay. Johnson recently announced the film's release date: December 22, 2021.
DC Comics/Getty Images
"Red Notice"
Johnson will star alongside Gal Gadot and Ryan Reynolds in the international heist thriller "Red Notice," written and directed by Rawson Marshall Thurber ("Skyscraper"). Initially, the project had been set up at Universal, but in July, it moved to Netflix. It is set to begin production in 2020.
Getty Images
"The King"
In 2018, it was announced Johnson would star as Hawaiian king Kamehameha I in Robert Zemeckis’ “The King.” Warner Bros. and New Line picked up the package. “King” is based on a spec script written by Randall Wallace (“Braveheart”). Johnson will produce alongside his Seven Bucks Productions partners Dany Garcia and Hiram Garcia, as well as FlynnPictureCo’s Beau Flynn, Zemeckis and Wallace.
Getty Images
"Journey 3: From the Earth to the Moon" In 2012, it was reported that Johnson would reprise his role as Hank from "Journey 2: The Mysterious Island" in a third installation. He replaced Brendan Fraser, who starred as Trevor Anderson, in the 2008 "Journey to the Center of the Earth." However, there has been no recent movement on the project.
New Line Cinema
"Big Trouble in Little China" In 2015, The Rock was in negotiations to star and produce the remake of John Carpenter's cult classic "Big Trouble in Little China," written by "X-Men: First Class" scribes Ashley Miller and Zach Stentz.
Getty Images
"The Janson Directive" This film is optioned, with Johnson set to take on the role of Navy SEAL Paul Janson. Universal foresees the project as potentially launching a franchise akin to its successful “Jason Bourne” series, also based on the late Robert Ludlum's best-selling novels.
Getty Images
"Alpha Squad Seven" DreamWorks won the rights to the sci-fi pic "Alpha Squad Seven" in May 2015, to which Johnson is attached to star. The film is still in script phase.
YouTube
Film about The Smashing Machine
In November, The Rock announced that he would star in and produce a film about MMA fighter Mark Kerr, also known as The Smashing Machine.
Getty Images
1 of 11
From ”Jumanji: The Next Level,“ which opens Dec. 13, to ”Jungle Cruise“ and ”John Henry and the Statesmen“ — The Rock sure has some busy years ahead of him
The Rock has gone from being one of the biggest names in WWE to one of the hardest working men in Hollywood. As he continues to announce new projects via social media, TheWrap lists Dwayne Johnson's insane schedule for the upcoming years. Disclaimer: Some of these projects are in script phase or have just been announced, so are subject to changes.