Dwayne Johnson has spoken candidly about his difficult relationship with his late father, Rocky Johnson, during a press conference at the Venice Film Festival. The 53-year-old actor, promoting his new film The Smashing Machine, revealed that his father's limited capacity for love, stemming from a childhood of homelessness, shaped their fraught bond.
Johnson explained that he did not draw inspiration from his father for his role as MMA fighter Mark Kerr, describing Rocky as lacking tenderness. 'He was homeless by the time he was 13, so his capacity for love was very limited, and that's the man that raised me,' Johnson said. The pair became estranged after a phone argument in December 2019 and had not reconciled before Rocky's death from a pulmonary embolism in 2020.
In a social media tribute on what would have been his father's 80th birthday, Johnson reflected on their complex relationship. 'He raised me with a tough and complex love. But at least I had love,' he wrote. 'Hard to reconcile stuff with your dad when he's no longer here – but nonetheless, regardless of challenges or any struggle, my dad was a 'life adapter', and he taught me to be the same.'
Johnson's transformation for The Smashing Machine has generated Oscar buzz, marking a departure from his blockbuster hits like Furious 7 and Moana. He said the role allowed him to explore a deeper artistic ambition: 'There was just a voice inside of me, a little voice that said, 'Well, what if I could do more – I want to do more, and what does that look like?''
