Dwayne Johnson has been named the top grossing
actor in the world by Forbes magazine, thanks to the
success of the movies, ‘Fast & Furious 6’ and ‘GI Joe:
Retaliation’.
The wrestler turned actor, also known by his one-time
ring name ‘The Rock’, emerged ahead of Iron Man 3’s
Robert Downey Jr. and Fast & Furious co-stars, Vin
Diesel and the late Paul Walker, on the list. His four
films of 2013 generated a staggering $1.3bn in total.
Forbes produced its rundown by tallying the
worldwide box office hauls of all movies released
during the past calendar year. Downey Jr. came in
second with $1.2bn courtesy of his only film of 2013,
Iron Man 3. Steve Carell was named third on the list
with $964m from the hugely successful animated
sequel, Despicable Me 2, and other movies, ‘The Way
Way Back’ and ‘The Incredible Burt Wonderstone’.
Fast & Furious 6 stars Diesel and Walker came in
fourth and sixth, with $887m and $789m
respectively. Diesel surpassed his late co-star because
he also starred in sci-fi sequel ‘Riddick’ in 2013.
The top-grossing female star, according to Forbes,
was Sandra Bullock, in fifth place overall. Hit films
‘Gravity’ and ‘The Heat’ helped her secure a total box
office haul of $862m.
The Rock walks tall
Dwayne Johnson’s full name is Dwayne Douglas
Johnson, but he is more popularly known by his ring
name – The Rock. Johnson, born on May 2, 1972, is
an American actor and a former professional
wrestling champion.
Johnson was born in Hayward, California, to Ata
Johnson, nee Maivia and professional wrestler, Rocky
Johnson. His maternal grandfather, ‘High Chief’
Peter Maivia, was also a wrestler. His maternal
grandmother, Lia Maivia, was one of wrestling’s few
female professional promoters, taking over
Polynesian Pacific Pro-Wrestling after her husband’s
death in 1982, until 1988.
Johnson had 17 championship reigns in World
Wrestling Entertainment and World Wrestling
Federation. His first leading role in movies was in
The Scorpion King and he was a star straightaway in
Hollywood as well. He later starred in many hit
movies like The Rundown, Be Cool, Walking Tall,
Tooth Fairy, The Other Guys, Fast Five, Fast and
Furious 6 and many more.
In 2000, Johnson’s autobiography, ‘The Rock Says…’,
which was co-written with Joe Layden, was released.
It debuted at number one on The New York Times
Best Seller list, and remained on the list for several
weeks.
Johnson was listed in the 2007 Guinness Book of
World Records for receiving the highest salary as an
actor in his first starring role, pocketing $5.5m for
his role in The Scorpion King. He made $12.5m for
the movie, The Rundown and $15m for Walking Tall.
Johnson reportedly made $32.6m for his role in the
Fast Five. In wrestling, he was among the top 5
highest paid wrestlers and made $9m annually.
The Rock made part time appearances in wrestling
from 2004 to 2009 because he was more active in
movies. Johnson met Dany Garcia in Miami, who
later became his wife. They married on May 3, 1997,
but split up after ten years of marriage on June 1,
2007. Johnson and his ex-wife have one daughter.
The American Sun-Times reported on December 20,
2013, that Johnson and his current girlfriend, Lauren
Hashian, were sighted closely eyeing some pricey
diamond rings in a couple of major jewellery stores.
The report said the couple could be shopping for
engagement rings, adding that sources close to the
pair confirmed that the couple could be tying the
knot soon.
The famous Hollywood wrestler and actor bought an
extravagant luxury mansion worth $3.4m in March
2012. The plush 13,153 square feet home in South
Florida, boasts five bedrooms and seven bathrooms
with a beautiful summer kitchen. There is also a
garage which can hold up to four cars. In addition to
a mini theater room with a huge flat screen for
watching big games and movies, which would surely
keep Johnson’s guests entertained.
An August 2013 report on www.sportrichlist.com put
Johnson’s net worth at $82m. Johnson has been
sighted driving a lot of cars, but one of his favourite
cars seems to be the Chevrolet Chevelle SS, which was
modified for his 2010 movie ‘Faster’. Johnson drove
the car to the Premier of the movie too.
Johnson is a good friend of actor and former
Governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger.
He has shown a lot of devotion to help
underprivileged children through charitable
activities.
In 2006, Johnson founded “The Dwayne Johnson
Rock Foundation”, a charity working with children
who are at-risk or terminally-ill.
He also works as the acting director of ‘The Beacon
Foundation’, which encourages teenagers to continue
schooling beyond the high school.
On October 2, 2007, he and his ex-wife donated $1m
to the University of Miami to support the renovation
of its football facilities; it was noted as the largest
donation ever given to the university’s athletics
department by former students. The University of
Miami renamed the Hurricanes’ locker room in
Johnson’s honour.
Sources: www.theguardian.com;
www.forbes.com; www.bornrich.com;
en.wikipedia.org ; www.sportrichlist.com;
www.dailymail.co.uk