The Rock is tired of "getting pounded"
The Rock - real name: Dwayne Johnson - is just the latest star wrestler to break into the movies, which is just as well since he admits that at the age of 28 "getting pounded on every night" can be a bit tiring.
The Rock made his movie debut in The Mummy Returns and he has followed that up with a starring role as Mathayus in a spin-off, The Scorpion King, which takes the action back several years before the Mummy events.
For his fans, though, the good news is that he isn't planning to completely forsake the ring for the screen: "I have a passion for both wrestling and the movies, so I'll try to juggle them both for as long as I can.
"From the physical standpoint, it's demanding, and at 28 I feel a lot older. It's non-seasonal and it's four hours of television, not to mention two or three house shows which are just minus the television production. But you're working every night so physically it's draining and demanding ... but, one way or the other, I'll always be a part of the WWF in some form, there'll always be those strong ties there."
He heard about getting the part when he was in Morocco: "My agent called and said they were watching clips of me and they really liked what they saw. They were thinking about making a movie about how he became The Scorpion King, it's set about 10 years before The Mummy."
Before he became King, says The Rock, his character was an assassin: " ... and within the first couple of scenes his brother, who is the last of his family, is murdered right in front of him, so the motive immediately is there.
"So, not only has he just seen his brother being murdered, but he's also taken an oath to kill a sorcerer, the lead villain's right-hand man, because the sorcerer sees the outcome of every battle, which allows this villain to completely sweep across the land."
OK, got it!
He does give away the worst kept secret in sport ... yes, all the WWF fights are worked out in advance: "Making a movie is almost like a WWF show. Hey, I know what we're gonna do. I'm gonna beat that guy and that one. The Scorpion King is set in ancient Egypt and it was a pretty brutal time!"
While he doesn't do any wrestling in The Scorpion King, he vows he will always "take care" of his ring fans: "In the movie my character is an assassin who comes from a family of assassins ... it's a wonderful story and we have a terrific cast in Michael Clarke Duncan, Summer Altice, Kelly Hu and Steve Brand. There are so many elements there that I'm really excited about it."
He has, naturally, been trying to break into the movies, having done some TV spots: "With our live WWF show we have four hours of exposure and I've been able to showcase some entertaining qualities."
He hosted the top Stateside TV show, Saturday Night Live, but, funnily, he was adamant that he wouldn't do any wrestling skits ... and the offers began to roll in: "And, of course, since making The Mummy Returns, a lot of things have transpired and substantive roles have been offered."
He took to 'acting' with no signs of nervousness: "I was really excited because I'd seen the original Mummy and was a big fan."
The Rock still, he confesses, can't put his finger on why his move to the screen has been so successful: "I really don't know ... it's for other people to decide I've got this or that. What I do know is that I'm a guy who has come from a background of a confrontational world that's very visceral and entertaining and I was just doing my own thing when The Mummy Returns came along and it all happened from that."
