Dwayne Johnson attributes “changing his life” to Brendan Fraser. The former wrestler, now an actor, stated that he will always be grateful to the Oscar winner for approving his casting in The Mummy Returns, which was The Rock’s theatrical debut in 2001.
“You and I first connected on The Mummy Returns,” Johnson stated in an interview with Fraser for Variety’s Actors on Actors series. “That was one of the biggest franchises in the world at that time. I was ready to make my transition into Hollywood.”
He added, “And there was a moment where you could have said, ‘This guy, Dwayne Johnson, he’s never acted before, he’s in pro wrestling.’ The word I got back was, ‘Brendan loves the idea. He’s welcomed you with open arms. It meant something to me because you took a risk on me, and years later, you and I are sitting here. I want to thank you for really changing my life.”
Brendan described how he believed Dwayne would be “inspired casting” for The Scorpion King, the adversary. “You were always the right guy for the job,” Fraser, portraying Rick O’Connell in the fantasy movie, said to the WWE legend. “You were always the right guy for the job. When I was told that you were a possibility for it, forgive me, but I didn’t know you from the wrestling world. And when I was shown, I said, ‘That is inspired casting. We’d be lucky to get the guy.’”
Moreover, he said, “You need a stadium persona to play a villain you love to hate. It’s going to take a lot of confidence and belief. In the wrestling world, you were painting with a 10-inch brush – you need to have big energy. And your paintings are getting better all the time. I’ve seen The Smashing Machine.”
Fraser’s performance in the 2022 film earned him the Best Actor Oscar. The Whale and Johnson have described his feelings upon witnessing the praise for his friend’s psychological thriller at the Venice film festival. The actor from Black Adam stated, “That moment rocked me, and it moved me. I had not experienced Venice until The Smashing Machine. I’ve watched it from afar. And then I see this long applause for you. You’re emotional; I’m emotional watching you get emotional. But I felt such joy for you because I felt like that’s what you work for.”
