Dwayne Johnson recalls "trauma" growing up amid parents' "explosive and volcanic" relationship
Jan 04, 2026
Los Angeles [US], January 4 : Even as a superstar, Dwayne Johnson has had a fair share of troubling childhood memories - something which the wrestler-turned-actor describes as a "trauma."
Speaking to Variety, Dwayne Johnson recalled his past days and opened up about his parents' "explosive and volcanic" relationship.
"My dad was a pro wrestler at a time when it was the Wild West. There weren't million-dollar contracts. It was paycheck to paycheck and just trying to survive. And my dad struggled with his addictions and focused on his career and himself, while my mom was at home, raising me. She had to give up her own dreams and support the man that she loves. All she wanted was to be seen, and she was never seen. And I grew up watching that kind of decline in a relationship when a man battles his own demons. I watched their fights. I heard their fights, which is even worse," the actor shared, as quoted by Variety.
The actor revealed how he distributed the pain by focusing on his acting career with films like 'Jumanji' and 'Furious 7' until 'The Smashing Machine' with director Benny Safdie, the film which helped Johnson confront his own rocky past.
"For years, I didn't know that could actually serve as a landing place for me to be able to put all this trauma you go through into my work," he explained.
Noting that it was a first for him to have the audience sit with him in pain, the actor added, "It was the most freeing I have ever felt in my entire career. When you make these blockbuster films, you have the responsibility of making the audience feel good and the choices you make are dictated by the character's likability. And for the first time, every shot, every day, regardless of the scene, that never crossed my mind," Variety added.
Directed by Safdie, 'The Smashing Machine' follows Dwayne Johnson as two-time UFC heavyweight champ Kerr in the true story drama opposite Emily Blunt as Kerr's wife Dawn Staples.
The film tracks their volatile relationship amid Kerr's professional highs and lows in MMA, including his substance abuse struggles. Kerr was a mixed martial artist who fought from 1997 to 2009, winning four ADCC World Championships in his career.
