Young Rock is a sitcom based on Dwayne Johnson’s life before he was The Rock. NBC imagined what he really looked like back then, and he was solid, solid as a rock.
Tonight at 8p on NBC, Dwayne Johnson is getting his story told in the biositcom Young Rock. The show will focus on life at the age of 10, 15, and 18. Before the show started filming, DJ sat down with each of the actors and explained to them why each three of those years are significant to him.
Adrian Groulx is the first Dwayne Johnson we meet. We will call him Dewey, one of Johnson’s many nicknames. He grew up in Hawaii surrounded by wrestlers. His grandmother (Ana Tuisila) was a huge wrestling promoter. His father (Joseph Lee Anderson) was the wrestler Rocky Johnson. His uncles were wrestlers, as were his parents’ friends. He was the only child among these bigger-than-life men like Andre the Giant. They all helped to raise him, along with his parents.
What advice did Dewey have for Groulx? “I’ve got the kid who’s playing me at 10 years old and that little, innocent boy who just needed guidance but who loved the world I was in,” Dewey said during NBC’s TCA Winter Press Day. “I loved the bad guys of pro wrestlers, of pro wrestling, I love my dad. He was my hero. Never understood that things were actually tougher than they appeared in terms of lifestyle. I never knew. And that’s the blessing that I have with mom and dad, who never, you know, really hit me to what happened, to what was happening.”
Bradley Constant plays Dwayne when he was going through his Tomás stage. By this time in his life, the 15-year-old had lived in 13 states and two countries. All he wanted to do was fit in. Thus, he stole clothes to make himself look rich. Something he and his family were far from at that stage of his life.
What did Tomás tell Constant? “And then now, I’m looking at Bradley at 15 and it’s a kid
who had some anger issues but also thought he was really cool. Clearly had an identity crisis. I didn’t want to be known as Dwayne when I moved from high school to high school. I called myself Thomas. Girls used to call the house and ask for Tomás and my mom would go, ‘I’m sorry. There’s no Tomás here.’ And I would run, ‘No, no, no, no, no. That’s me. That’s me.’ I’d get on the phone, ‘Hey. Yeah, hey, hey. It’s Tomás.’ And she would be like, ‘What are you doing?’
Next up, we meet Uli Latukefu, who is DJ at 18 when he went to our alma mater, the University of Miami. I call him DJ because that is how we knew him at UM. This is the first time DJ is on his own, but his dad is still there to help him out. Although, it might not always feel like help. This was also a time when he grew up and stopped being a punk. Well, a punk who got arrested all the time.
DJ’s advice to Latukefu was, “I remember telling Uli, just remember, I was just so determined to make something of myself. That was so important to me.”
How did the younger versions of him do, according to The Rock? “And, you know, these guys nailed it, so I’m just — it’s so surreal, and I want to give these guys so much credit,” The Rock said. “Never in my wildest dreams, number one, would I have ever had the career that I’ve been lucky enough to have. I’m a lucky SOB to have this career. Never did I ever think I’d be in this position where people are bringing to life people in my life and my loved ones. So, these guys did such a tremendous job.”
How does the show do as a whole? Tonight’s episode combines all four parts of his life into one 30-minute episode. The fourth part is The Rock running for President of the United States in 2032. The 60-year-old will be leading into stories from those times in his life via interviews with former-actor Randall Park and press conferences.
Back to the show. Take tonight’s episode as an introductory one because, in the next two episodes I saw, they focus on two years, one in the past and one in 2032. Those episodes are much stronger. Not that the pilot isn’t. It just has to fit a lot of information in a short period of time.
We all know that DJ and his fanny pack had an interesting life. Now, we get to see it play out every Tuesday at 8p.
Yesterday, The Rock was on The Tonight Show to talk about his bio-pictom Young Rock. Jimmy Fallon mentioned to his guest how good the casting is when it comes to the people who play his parents.
However, if his mother had her choice, she would be played by Jennifer Lopez. Personally, I think Ata Johnson is so much prettier on the inside and outside. Thus, I think that Stacey Leilua is a much better choice.
Don’t believe me that Ata deserves better than J-Lo? Then listen to her play a ukelele for the NBC late night host.
I think she and DJ should go on the road with their act. I would pay to see them singing together as she played the ukelele. Although, they should not have his youngest daughter, Tiana, do the setlist. It would be the same Mohana song over and over again.
Young Rock premieres this Tuesday on NBC at 8p. You don’t want to miss it because the series is as lovable as DJ.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMGdV2RehDk
There were rumors that The Rock was considering running for President of the United States. Now, DJ is confirming that he is planning on doing that in 2032. At least he is on his NBC show Young Rock that debuts on February 16th.
The series starts off with him on the campaign trail telling former actor Randall Park about his interesting life before he was famous. From that moment on, we see what a life he led when he was a pre-teen, 15, and as a freshman at the University of Miami.
I am not going to tell you all about the show now. I will tell you more about it when we get closer to the premiere date. However, I will say it is something you are going to want to watch every week because his life is even more exciting than the movies he makes for a living. Although, his life is not a movie. I am so confused.
But, the one thing I am not confused about is that he totally has my vote when he runs for President.
NBC announced today that the sitcoms Young Rock and Kenan are going to debut on February 16th before This Is Us. That means that Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist will go on a break after being back for six episodes.
According to the press release, Young Rock focuses on different chapters of Dwayne Johnson’s life. From growing up in a strong and resilient family, to being surrounded by the wild characters of his professional wrestling family, to playing football at the University of Miami, the show will explore the crazy rollercoaster that has shaped Dwayne into the man he is today and the larger-than-life characters he’s met along the way.
While Kenan is about a recently widowed host of Atlanta’s #2 morning show, struggles to balance his job and his young daughters despite all the “help” he gets from his father-in-law and his brother/manager/house guest.
Hopefully, the two comedies will convince This Is Us to add a little more humor to the drama and stop being so melodramatic.
