From his primary school days in New Zealand, Johnson wrestled, scowled and charmed his way into Hollywood.
Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson is having a stellar year. You can't turn an Internet corner without finding a profile on the star, or an analysis of his gradual but steady explosion in popularity, or a compilation of the best of his onlineantics.
But despite how easy he makes it look, Johnson has been working on his meteoric movie-star rise for some time now. To follow in his (presumably giant) footsteps, just follow these simple steps.
Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson and John Cena in action during WrestleMania XXVIII. Photo / Getty Images
Johnson was only about 24 when he started his WWE career as The Rock in 1996, and spent about a decade as one of the most popular professional wrestlers of alltime.
Children of the '90s could barely walk through an elementary school hallway without seeing his face - with eyebrow raised - emblazoned on overly large T-shirts, or hearing the familiar, elongated call: If you smeeeeeeeeell what the Rock is cooking!
(Catchphrases are generally always helpful when attempting to gain popularity.)
Don't be afraid to play the villain
Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson stars as the Scorpion King in The Mummy Returns.
Johnson had his first real feature film debut in 2001's The Mummy Returns, playing the Scorpion King. The popularity of his character in that film - despite meeting a (14-years-late spoiler alert) violent end - turned into a solo movie for the man still billed in credits as The Rock. (It wouldn't be until 2006 that his stage name turned into nicknameable quotation marks - Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson - before being dropped entirely.) The Scorpion King opened at No. 1 at the box office in 2002, earning $165.3 million worldwide on a $60 million budget.
Be so popular on Saturday Night Live that you have your own recurring character
The Rock as Nic Katrel, Ana Gasteyer as Cheryl, Chris Parnell as Husband during the 'Nicotrel' skit Saturday Night Live. Photo / Getty Images
The Rock has hosted the famed late-night comedy show four times - in 2000, 2002, 2009 and this year - to great acclaim. His latest stint, in March, earned him an "A" rating in the A.V. Club's review, a rare occurrence. It also saw the reappearance of The Rock Obama, Johnson's timely iteration of the president's alter ego who is, in the character's own words, "much like Barack Obama, only larger and, uh, more violent." If you can't be just a movie star, you might as well do topical political impersonations.
Always be game
A scene from the movie Tooth Fairy. Photo / Twentieth Century Fox Film
No doubt you've seen Johnson bopping around to Taylor Swift's infectious Shake It Off on the sugary-sweet, celebrity-ridden Lip Sync Battle. But lest you forget, that wasn't his first foray into the world of pop stardom. In 2007, The Rock starred as himself on an episode of the Disney Channel's Miley Cyrus vehicle, Hannah Montana. The cameo saw him in a full face of makeup complete with a blond wig and curlers as he received a mani-pedi from a disguised Montana and crew - obviously. Despite a career ripping up bad guys (or playing them himself), Johnson has never been afraid of family fare, probably in large part because he has a young daughter. He has been in Cory in the House, Tooth Fairy and Journey 2: The Mysterious Island without anyone batting an eye.
A scene from the movie San Andreas starring Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson.
The Rock's latest film, San Andreas, hit box-office gold this past weekend with a $53.2 million debut. The disaster movie is the star's first true headlining, non-franchise film, which seems to prove that he is not only usually one of the best parts of each movie he's in, but that he can carry a movie on his own. (Even though Washington Post critic Michael O'Sullivan wasn't a fan of the earthquake-ridden film, he still refers to Johnson as a reliable "force of cinematic nature and rock-ribbed charisma.") The beefy actor has spent much of the month prepping for the start of his new HBO show, Ballers (of which he is executive producer and star). Taking over film is simply not enough for this man. Watch out, premium cable - you're next.
Be amazing at social media (and humble while you're at it)
It's not hard to keep track of Johnson as his Instagram and Twitter accounts essentially provide a live feed of his whereabouts. Alongside videos of him greeting screaming fans are documentation of epic workouts and selfies of his impressive musculature. But despite his preening, every measure of success is generally modified with a modest "it's all because of you" clause for his followers and shoutouts to the "execs and employees - on every level" who helped in the various film-making processes. This is a guy who still gets unjaded happiness out of a letter from Steven Spielberg while simultaneously posting pictures of his mother crying in happiness on Mother's Day. Fans clamor for The Rock for any number of reasons, but his strong loyalty and familiarity with them is certainly among the factors. (Not many other celebrities would hop out of a car to greet them. Or officiate at their wedding.)
