The Rock may be one of the biggest celebrities in the world, but he has been accused of some fairly bizarre on-set behaviour.
The former WWE star-turned-superstar celebrity actor is experiencing a career renaissance this year due to his upcoming role in The Smashing Machine.
Starring Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson as UFC fighter Mark Kerr, the film got a 15-minute standing ovation at Venice and has led to calls for the actor to receive his first Oscar nomination.
This marks a major turnaround for the wrestler-turned-actor following a report from last year about his alleged on-set conduct.
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The Wrap released a report about The Rock’s tardiness on the film Red One, claiming it had led to major production issues, which caused the budget to balloon.
In this report, they further claimed that the actor would show up to set an average of seven to eight hours late, forcing the crew to have to shoot around him on many days.
They also alleged that ‘several’ insiders had alleged that Johnson was well known for his tardiness, with one saying: “The only thing Dwayne was consistent at was being chronically late.”
According to this report, this led to at least $50 million in additional expenditures.
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In addition to this, one of the more shocking revelations was that in order to save time, The Rock would supposedly often pee into water bottles.
A source told The Wrap: “On set, away from his trailer, if he needs to pee, he doesn’t go to the public bathroom. He pees in a Voss water bottle, and his team or a PA has to dispose of it.”
Johnson ended up responding to the allegations, confirming parts of the report whilst decrying others.
He said in an interview with GQ when asked about peeing in bottles: “Yeah, that happens…I’ve said a thousand times: ‘Hey, I’m here. Come and ask me. And I’ll tell you the truth.”
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When asked about his reported lateness, he said: “Yeah, that happens too. But not that amount, by the way.
“That was a bananas amount. That’s crazy. Ridiculous.”
The actor went on to call the controversy caused by the report ‘bulls**t’.
His Red One co-star Chris Evans also defended Johnson, claiming that he came in later on certain days but that it was part of the schedule and known by everyone involved.
Meanwhile, director Jake Kasdan said: “[Dwayne] never missed a day of work ever. He has a lot going on.
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“He can be late sometimes, but such is Hollywood – that’s the case with everybody.
“Honestly, I’ve made three big movies with him. I’ve never seen him be anything but great to every single person on the set.”
The actor has received a great deal of praise for his performance in The Smashing Machine, and according to his co-star Emily Blunt, the role has been 'life-changing' for him.
She told Net-A-Porter: "I think this has been life-changing for him. This is a man who’s never allowed to disappear, and it’s so moving for me as his friend, and as an actor, to watch someone discover what they’re capable of."
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The film has garnered a massively successful critical reception, sitting at 77 per cent on Rotten Tomatoes, with Johnson sitting at third in Variety’s current prediction for Best Actor at the Oscars.
The Smashing Machine releases on 3 October in cinemas.
Topics: Dwayne Johnson, Film, TV and Film, Celebrity
Michael Slavin