NBC’s “Young Rock” has found its Young Rock — and also two slightly older (but still young) Rocks. The series about the upbringing of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has also cast the roles of dad Rocky Johnson, mom Ata Johnson and grandmother/wrestling promoter Lia Maivia.
Adrian Groulx will play 10-year-old Dwayne (Dewey, back then), Bradley Constant will play high school Dwayne and Uli Latukefu will play college Dwayne, NBC said on Wednesday.
In college, Dwayne Johnson won the NCAA National Championship in football at the University of Miami. Though his pro football career never really took off, Dwayne followed in his family footsteps to pursue a career in professional wrestling and, eventually, conquered Hollywood.
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Joseph Lee Anderson has been cast as second generation pro-wrestler Rocky Johnson, Stacey Leilua will play Ata Johnson and Ana Tuisila will play Lia Maivia.
Dwayne Johnson is considered an honorary member of the famous Anoa’i wrestling family. The American Samoan family includes Jimmy and Jay Uso, Nia Jax, Roman Reigns, Rikishi, Yokozuna, Umaga, Tamina Snuka, and The Wild Samoans.
Below are NBC’s character descriptions for the main cast.
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Adrian Groulx as Dwayne Johnson (AKA Dewey), Age 10: Honest, headstrong, impressionable and bold.
Bradley Constant as Dwayne Johnson, Age 15: Doing his best to fit in as a normal teenager but puberty has other ideas. His size and full mustache have his classmates convinced he’s an undercover cop.
Uli Latukefu as Dwayne Johnson, Age 18-20: Has just been recruited to play football on a full scholarship at powerhouse University of Miami. Though a super-star talent, a devastating injury his freshman year puts his life at a crossroads.
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Stacey Leilua as Ata Johnson, Dwayne’s mother: Grew up in a first generation pro wrestling family. A strong woman, both by nature and necessity, she’s a hopeful positive force in young Dwayne’s life.
Joseph Lee Anderson as Rocky Johnson, Dwayne’s father: Charismatic and charming, the pro wrestling champion juggles the ups and downs of his career with being a well-intentioned, but unorthodox, husband and father.
Ana Tuisila as Lia Maivia, Ata’s mother and Dwayne’s grandmother: The first female pro-wrestling promoter in the country. A sweet loving grandmother and when need be, a cutthroat, ruthless businesswoman.
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“Young Rock” hails from The Rock and “Fresh Off the Boat” creator Nahnatchka Khan. Written by Khan and Jeff Chiang, the single-camera comedy will chronicle Johnson’s early years. The actor and former WWF and WWE superstar is also set to appear in all 11 episodes.
Executive producers on the series include Khan, Johnson, Chiang, Dany Garcia of Johnson’s Seven Bucks Productions, Hiram Garcia, Brian Gewirtz and Jennifer Carreras. The show will be produced by Universal Television, Seven Bucks and Khan’s Fierce Baby Productions.
“Young Rock” extends NBC’s relationship with Johnson, who also hosts the game show “The Titan Games” for the network.
