Dwayne Johnson (born May 2, 1972), also known by his former ring name The Rock and occasionally credited as Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, is an American actor and former professional wrestler. Johnson was a collegiate football player, and in 1991, he was part of the University of Miami's national championship team. He later played for the Calgary Stampeders in the Canadian Football League, but was cut two months into the season. This led to his decision to become a professional wrestler, like his grandfather, Peter Maivia and his father Rocky Johnson.

He gained mainstream fame as a wrestler in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), then known as the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), from 1996 to 2004, and was the first third-generation superstar in wrestling history. Johnson was quickly given a push in WWE, first as "Rocky Maivia", and then as "The Rock", a member of the Nation of Domination. Two years after he joined the WWE, Johnson won the WWF Championship, and became one of the most popular wrestlers within the company for his engaging interviews and promos. Since 2001, he has focused on an acting career, though he still makes occasional WWE appearances for promotional purposes.

Johnson was a nine-time World Heavyweight Champion in his career, being a seven-time WWE Champion and two-time WCW Champion; his last reign was as WWE Undisputed Champion in 2002. He also won the WWF Intercontinental Championship twice and is a former five-time WWE Tag Team Champion. He also was the winner of the 2000 Royal Rumble.

Johnson is also an actor, with his first leading role in 2001, in The Scorpion King. For this film, he received the highest salary for an actor in his first starring role, earning $5.5 million. He has since appeared in movies such as The Rundown, Be Cool, The Game Plan, Gridiron Gang, Doom, Race to Witch Mountain and Get Smart. (via Wikipedia)