Widescreen: Dwayne Johnson's movie star ascension began 20 years ago this weekend
Now one of the most recognizable, likable and bankable movie stars in the world, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson began his film career rather inauspiciously 20 years ago this weekend.
The wrestling superstar's first big-screen role came in the Brendan Fraser sequel "The Mummy Returns" (HBO Max), which gave The Rock two words of dialogue in the opening scene before transforming him into a barely finished CGI monstrosity known as The Scorpion King in the climactic battle.
No one watching Fraser escape the clutches of oversized digital scorpion pincers could have predicted that, 20 summers later, Johnson would be starring in an NBC sitcom about his own life ("Young Rock," whose first-season finale aired this Tuesday), headlining a Disney movie based on the "Jungle Cruise" ride (in theaters July 30) and filming a DC superhero epic ("Black Adam," coming next year).
How did it happen? These three roles best explain his ascendancy:
• "Be Cool" (2005, HBO Max) - You probably forgot that this sequel to "Get Shorty," in which movie producer and former wiseguy Chili Palmer (John Travolta) dips his toes in the music industry, even existed. But Johnson's performance as Elliot, a gay bodyguard to a way-over-the-top talent manager played by Vince Vaughn, showed that he was willing and able to do more than throw punches on screen. It's a crucial steppingstone for his career.
• "Fast Five" (2011, digital rental) - Vin Diesel's "Fast and Furious" franchise is celebrating its 20th anniversary this summer as well, with "F9" hitting theaters on June 25. We wouldn't be talking about that without this film that introduced Johnson as Diesel's rival-turned-reluctant ally. Unlike its predecessors, "Fast Five" is a heist film, not a street-racing film, and shifting focus - and adding The Rock's formidable frame - helped the franchise become a global juggernaut. Johnson is such an essential member of the crew that it's easy to forget he wasn't there from the beginning.
• "Moana" (2016, Disney+) - Johnson had been in his share of family films by 2016 ("Tooth Fairy," "The Game Plan"). But his vocal performance as Maui, the demigod sought by the title heroine in this animated Polynesian adventure, revealed yet another nugget: The Rock can sing! The winking, winning "You're Welcome" was an instant classic in the pantheon of Disney songs courtesy of a songwriting team that included Lin-Manuel Miranda, and "Moana" gets better with every viewing. (Granted, parents whose kids have watched it a zillion times a week may disagree.)
• Sean Stangland is an assistant news editor who also recommends seeing The Rock in "Pain & Gain," a 2013 Mark Wahlberg film that plays like the Michael Bay version of a Coen brothers movie.