Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson Reveals How His Parents' 'Explosive and Volcanic' Marriage Shaped Him

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson is peeling back the curtain on his childhood — and it wasn’t nearly as picture-perfect as his blockbuster career might suggest.

In a candid new interview with Variety, the actor opened up about growing up amid what he described as his parents' "explosive and volcanic" relationship, revealing the painful moments that shaped him long before fame.

"My own mom and dad had an explosive and volcanic relationship," Johnson, 53, shared, explaining that his father's struggles and demanding wrestling career put immense strain on their family.

"My dad was a pro wrestler at a time when it was the Wild West. There wasn’t million-dollar contracts. It was paycheck to paycheck and just trying to survive. And my dad struggled with his addictions and focused on his career and himself, while my mom was at home, raising me," he revealed

The Jumanji star continued: "She had to give up her own dreams and support the man that she loves. All she wanted was to be seen, and she was never seen. And I grew up watching that kind of decline in a relationship when a man battles his own demons. I watched their fights. I heard their fights, which is even worse."

The Fast and Furious actors' parents were married in 1978 before they divorced in 2003.

His father, Rocky Johnson, died of a pulmonary embolism in January 2020 at the age of 75.

In December 2025, The Rock recalled a massive argument he had with his father right before his death.

"We got into this huge fight Christmas 2019 … it was awful," he revealed on the "Artist Friendly" podcast with Good Charlotte's Joel Madden, per EWrestlingNews.

"One of the biggest fights we ever got into about some just some stupid [stuff] … and then about a month later, he passed away. And we weren’t talking," he shared.

Dwayne said Rocky called him a few days before his passing, but he didn't pick up the phone because he was at his kid's sports game.

"I thought, 'I'll call him back.' And then like a day or two later, he's gone," he recalled.

Despite their final fight, the athlete paid tribute to his father in an emotional post after his death.

"I love you," he wrote. "You broke color barriers, became a ring legend and trail blazed your way thru [sic] this world. I was the boy sitting in the seats, watching and adoring you, my hero from afar. The boy you raised to always be proud of our cultures and proud of who and what I am. The boy you raised with the toughest of love. The intense work. The hard hand. The adoring boy who wanted to know only your best qualities. Who then grew to become a man realizing you had other deep complex sides that needed to be held and understood. … That's when my adoration turned to respect. And my empathy turned to gratitude."

He continued under a video of his father's wrestling highlights, writing, "I'm in pain. But we both know it’s just pain and it'll pass. Now I’ll carry your mana and work ethic with me, as it's time to move on because I have my family to feed and work to accomplish. Finally, I want you to rest your trailblazing soul, Soulman. Pain-free, regret-free, satisfied and at ease. You lived a very full, very hard, barrier-breaking life and left it all in the ring. I love you dad and I’ll always be your proud and grateful son. Go rest high."

His revealing interview comes just before the actor was honored at the 2026 Palm Springs International Film Festival with the Variety Creative Impact in Acting Award for his role in The Smashing Machine.

"It changed my life in ways that I didn’t anticipate, discovering things about myself," the A-lister said about the film.