Dwayne Johnson on being asked to lose weight, change name for Hollywood career: It all felt wrong

Hollywood actor Dwayne Johnson aka The Rock has had his share of struggles while trying to get a break in Hollywood and changing his well-established career from a wrestler to an actor. In a recent interview, he shared that he was ordered to lose weight, drop his stage name and stop talking about wrestling if he wanted to get into Hollywood.

Speaking on 'CBS Sunday Morning, Johnson said, "They said, ‘Okay, great. But now here’s what you have to do: You have to stop working out as much. You have to lose weight. You can’t call yourself The Rock. You can’t talk about wrestling. Let’s stay away from all that.'"

He added, "I tried getting smaller, losing weight. It all felt wrong.”

When host Tracy asked, "And once you started being yourself?," he replied, "That was it. When that happened, a funny thing happened: Hollywood conformed around me. And years later, I’m sitting here with you."

The 'Fast and the Furious' actor shot to fame in the mid-1990s as a wrestler with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). He adopted the name 'The Rock' and became one of the franchise’s most recognisable wrestlers. He then decided to make a crossover to movies with as Scorpion King in 2001's 'The Mummy Returns'.

Later, he landed a lucrative recurring role in the 'Fast and The Furious' franchise and got lead roles in films like 'San Andreas' and 'Skyscraper'. Today, he is counted among the top stars of showbiz.