Dwayne Johnson Recognizes Women in His Life for Shaping Him

NEW YORK (AP) — Dwayne Johnson's two youngest daughters, Jasmine and Tiana, love to play a game where they close their eyes, go to the kitchen and throw ingredients into a bowl.

“They look for flour and water and I can hear them say, 'Where is the oil? ' And I know what's coming,” Johnson said. He squints his eyes and sees them approach. “I tell them, 'OK, I'm not going to look, 'and bam! They throw the mixture on my head.”

Johnson's playful submission to his daughters contrasts with the personality he presented in his previous career as a WWE superstar and now as a successful actor known for films such as “The Scorpion King” (“The Scorpion King”), “The Fast and Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw” (“Fast and Furious: Hobbs & Shaw”) and “Jungle Cruise””. Despite his 1.95 meters (6 feet 5 inches) and muscular physique, Johnson isn't afraid to be vulnerable and share the life lessons he's learned.

Some of them are part of the NBC series “Young Rock”, whose second season opens on Tuesday. The program follows a younger Johnson through important moments of his childhood, adolescence and college. Johnson appears in each episode, shaping the stories in a 2032 presidential campaign interview (a nod to the constant rumors that he might one day run for president of the United States).

In his personal life, Johnson is quick to admit that women run the show. “I'm lucky to be surrounded by all the estrogen,” the actor said recently via Zoom from his home in Hawaii. “I'm the only guy in the house, me and the dog.”

As an only child, Johnson was raised primarily by his mother, Ata Johnson. While he also had a relationship with his father, the late professional wrestler Rocky Johnson, the actor credits his mother and grandmother for raising him.

“They had a very clear agenda about how to raise me and what lessons they should teach me and what kind of integrity I should have as a young child,” he said.

“My grandmother, my mom, my first wife Dany Garcia, who is now my long-time business partner; my current wife, Lauren, my three daughters, continue to influence and teach me daily. Even my little daughters. I have a 6-year-old girl and a 3-year-old girl. If you are open and docile, you will be surprised as a man how much your daughters will teach you,” he added.

Johnson often says that he and his daughter Simone, who is now 20 years old, “grew up together.”

“I'm a completely different man than I was 20 years ago,” he said. “I had an incredible career in professional wrestling. The things that you thought were important and that you should sweat about maybe 10 or 15 years ago don't really make sense. The most important things are literally in front of you (like family).”

In the second season of “Young Rock”, viewers will get to know Arlyn Broche as Garcia. Johnson and Garcia separated in 2007. Garcia, a businesswoman with a broad portfolio, manages Johnson's career and is the co-founder of his production company, Seven Bucks Productions.

Johnson hopes that Simone will appreciate seeing her parents in a healthy and professional relationship, even though they are no longer a couple.

“It took a lot of hard work. It took years, actually, because you have to work out your (rudeness),” he said laughing. “One of the most important things while we were going through the divorce process was: 'We are friends. The marriage didn't work out. ' That our marriage didn't work out was the best thing in many ways. It allowed her to meet the love of her life and me to meet the love of my life.” He claimed that he and Garcia's husband, David Rienzi, are “great friends”.

Johnson acknowledges that a special person, his wife Lauren, is also required to agree with her husband working with his ex-wife.

“That was all of us doing the work. It wasn't just me and Dany. It was Lauren and me because we were a couple just starting out. Lauren is amazing,” he said. “She embodies the two most important qualities: love and kindness.”