The Rock (Dwayne Johnson) performs the haka for Disney's Moana.
The Rock (Dwayne Johnson) performs the haka for Disney's Moana.
The Rock is really getting pumped for his latest role.
This week Dwayne Johnson posted a video to Instagram of him performing a haka for his part in Disney's animated musical, Moana, where he voices the character Maui.
"It's my DNA, but hard to explain the "mana" (spiritual power) thatcomes out when I perform the haka," Johnson commented on the Instagram video.
The 44-year-old San Andreas star, who is of Samoan heritage, revealed that performing the haka is "highly intense and emotional" for him.
"I always need a few minutes to calm down after I do it," Johnson added, explaining that performing a haka takes a lot out of him physically.
Johnson will star alongside Hawaiian actress 15-year-old Auli'I Cravalho, who will be voicing the movie's title character Moana. The animated feature is set in the South Pacific as Moana sets sail for a new land. She is joined by Maui, a legendary demi-god, on her adventure across the ocean.
Kiwi film-maker Taika Waititi (Hunt For The Wilderpeople) helped write the script. He shares a writer's credit with the film's directors John Musker and Ron Clements, who were responsible for Disney classics The Little Mermaid (1989) and Aladdin (1992).
