Nowadays, it is hard to find a big star than Dwayne Johnson. However, once upon a time, Hollywood laughed at his aspirations. The actor wanted to be bigger than Will Smith and for some in the business, that was an irrational dream.
Turns out, Hollywood didn't exactly know how to handle DJ, they had requested he stop working out and even drop some weight, thankfully, he would not conform to the standard and success would follow.
However, at the start, he was just trying to fit in. His career did not follow the same trajectory as others, DJ was thrust into the Hollywood spotlight instantly thanks to his fame in sports entertainment. In fact, for his first starring role, DJ broke a 'Guinness World Record' for his salary.
We'll look back at how much he made for the role and other things that went on behind the scenes.
'Mummy Returns' Almost Didn't Get Made
They took a huge risk giving Dwayne Johnson the lead role in a film, especially given that at the time, he was still very much new to the world of acting.
Turns out, he was a box office sensation from the start, as the film was a huge financial success at the box office, bringing in $435 million.
Despite its success, the film almost wasn't made, to begin with. The film's director Stephen Sommers was not a fan of sequels and in addition, star Brendan Fraser stated the original script for the film wasn't very good, ''The original script was a bit reckless. The characters related to one another a bit awkwardly. And the dialogue needed to be pared down. But it really was okay in the end."
Dwayne turned out to be the major factor as to why the sequel got made, given his stardom and talent.
In truth, he was paid accordingly given the film's success, so much so that he broke a 'Guinness World Record'.
Dwayne Johnson Made $5.5 Million In His Debut Film
This really doesn't happen all too often in the world of Hollywood. A new actor getting a starring role and making a premium salary for it.
He was an established name in the world of sports entertainment, however, as we've seen in the past, that usually doesn't mean much.
DJ broke the bank for 'Mummy Returns', making a salary of $5.5 million. He entered the 'Guinness Book of World Records' with the salary, becoming the highest salary for any untested actor in a starring role.
The decision proved to be the right one, as the film dominated at the box office. From then on, DJ was paid at a premium, making $20 million per film on average, which is elite-level kind of money.
Although it was a big moment in his career, the experience behind the scenes had a fair share of its struggles. During a certain portion of the filming, DJ fell extremely ill.
Dwayne Johnson Had Some Health Struggles While Shooting
Alongside EW, Stephen Sommers recalled a certain situation, which took place in Morocco during the shooting of the film. The Rock turned up for the shoot, but let's just say he wasn't in his finest form. Despite his condition, he pushed through and still put forward one heck of an effort.
"He flew into Morocco on Wednesday. On Thursday, he had hair and makeup and wardrobe. And I shot him on Friday. I only shot him for one day. I had one day with him, because, on Saturday morning, he had to fly from the Sahara desert to Detroit for a big wrestling deal. He arrives on the set Friday morning and Dwayne had really bad food poisoning and heat stroke."
''It was probably 110, 112 degrees, and everybody’s in shorts and tank tops, and he would be covered in blankets, just shivering. And he is such a trooper. I will always love him, because I’m like, ‘Dwayne, we’ve only got one day! I can’t put it off! We can’t wait for you to get well!’ He goes, just get the camera rolling, and as soon as I hear ‘Background’ I’ll jump up.’ And that’s what he did. We did, ‘…and background!’ All the extras start going and I go, ‘Action!’ and Dwayne, he threw off the blankets and charged forward. And we just went all day. That guy gutted it out, because he was just a mess.”
Yet another reason as to why Dwayne was worth every penny, even back then when he wasn't as established.
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