Cinematic Crush: Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson

Dwayne Johnson began his showbiz career as “The Rock”, the most popular professional wrestler this side of Hulk Hogan. Like Hogan, Johnson segued into legitimate acting (their performances in and out of the ring were anything if not just that -- performances), but unlike the Hulkster and others who have tried to parlay their WWF fame to Hollywood success, Johnson can actually act.

The Rock started small (as a pebble?), with a cameo appearance in The Mummy Returns, which in turn led to his own spin-off feature, The Scorpion King. More action roles followed with The Rundown, Walking Tall and Doom, and the charismatic hunk with the killer smile and flexible eyebrow eventually branched out into dramas (as an inspirational football coach in Gridiron Gang) and comedies (as a gay bodyguard/wannabe actor in Be Cool).

His latest film, the family friendly Disney flick The Game Plan (Click here for my Toon Talk review), is now in theaters, and he will next be seen in Richard Kelly's long-delayed follow up to Donnie Darko, Southland Tales. Johnson will continue on the comedic path with next year's big screen adaptation of the classic spy-com Get Smart, and he has also been attached to Disney's upcoming Witch Mountain remake and the potential superhero franchise Shazam!, where he will either play Captain Marvel or the villainous Black Adam. Either way will be a good thing: we'll get to see him in tights.

UPDATE: The Game Plan is now available on DVD from Amazon.com.