Dwayne Johnson says he's done 'research' on a potential presidential run, but admits: 'I don't know the first thing about politics'
"President Dwayne Johnson" has a ring to it, but the movie star isn't convinced he'll have a political future.
In a new interview with Vanity Fair, the action star, also known as the Rock, discusses the topic, which the public (or whoever takes those political polls) is apparently keen on.
The Red Notice star, 49, revealed he's talked to people in politics, though doesn't say who, and has done “a small amount of research and analysis to see where this comes from and to see what it could look like in the future."
What did he find? “Indicators are all very positive — in, for example, 2024, and in, for example, 2028,” he said.
Though while he's not ruling it out, he's not planning for it — right now anyway.
“You know, at the end of the day, I don’t know the first thing about politics," he admitted. "I don’t know the first thing about policy. I care deeply about our country. I care about every fucking American who bleeds red, and that’s all of them. And—there’s no delusion here — I may have some decent leadership qualities, but that doesn’t necessarily make me a great presidential candidate. That’s where I am today.”
Johnson also discussed, at length, his ongoing feud with his Fast & Furious franchise co-star Vin Diesel — the target of the Rock's infamous 2016 "candy ass" social media post.
"That just wasn’t my best day," Johnson said of the now-deleted post that went up during The Fate of the Furious production, during which they shared no scenes to "forgo drama," but feuded anyway. And not because he regrets what he wrote — "I meant what I said" — but that he “chose to share it” with the world.
“It caused a firestorm. Yet interestingly enough... [it was] as if every single crew member found their way to me and either quietly thanked me or sent me a note," Johnson said. "But, yeah, it wasn’t my best day, sharing that. I shouldn’t have shared that. Because at the end of the day, that goes against my DNA. I don’t share things like that. And I take care of that kind of bullsh** away from the public. They don’t need to know that. That’s why I say it wasn’t my best day.”
He spoke of the meeting between then that followed, noting that it wasn't peaceful and it was then that it "really became just crystal clear that we are two separate ends of the spectrum." He said they're "philosophically two different people" and "approach the business of moviemaking in two very different ways." In his case, Johnson said he looks at everyone as "equal partners" — from the studio down to each crew member — suggesting Diesel doesn't.
He also responded to Diesel's most recent comments, in Men's Heath in June, in which his rival claimed he purposefully engineered the feud to push Johnson to give a better acting performance.
After taking a moment to just laugh at Diesel's comments, Johnson said, “You know, I’ll tell you this. One part of me feels like there’s no way I would dignify any of that bullshit with an answer. But here’s the truth. I’ve been around the block a lot of times. Unlike him, I did not come from the world of theater. And, you know, I came up differently and was raised differently. And I came from a completely different culture and environment. And I go into every project giving it my all. And if I feel that there’s some things that need to be squared away and handled and taken care of, then I do it. And it’s just that simple. So when I read that, just like everybody else, I laughed. I laughed hard. We all laughed. And somewhere I’m sure Fellini is laughing too.”
The interview also touches on the star's childhood, stealing from a young age because he didn't have clothes, and police run-ins that came with that — not to mention his parents' marital turmoil, which culminated in his mother once getting out of the car and walking into the middle of a highway because she was overwhelmed with her marriage and life. Johnson, just a teen, saved her life.
He admitted it's taken a lot to work through that childhood baggage and not carry it into his relationship with second wife, Lauren Hashian. And he said that is part of what's behind the roles he takes and his lighthearted approach to celebrity.
“It is as simple as it sounds: Let’s make people feel good,” he said is his M.O. “There are a lot of actors — and a lot of my friends — that utilize the platform of acting to explore their emotional sh**. What has worked for me is a lighter touch, as it relates to that. I would prefer not to explore my emotional sh** in my movies because for me, that’s my responsibility to go figure out. That’s a lot of sludge. It’s more important to me to impact as many people as possible on day one. I don’t need acting to work out my personal sh**. I work it out on my own.”
