Sharing his Polynesian culture with the world is one thing, but Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson exclusively told New Idea what it meant for him to have his family be a part of the live action iteration of Moana.
The beloved Disney film is widely adored for its emphasis on the family unit, so to have his mother and daughters be a part of that fictional family was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
“I’ll never forget that moment, I wasn’t in that scene, but I was off-camera and I was just watching it, and it just spoke to generational pride. It’s my mum, it’s my daughters…” he exclusively told us in Sydney before the film’s release on July 8.
“As we know life, and elders move on.
“I went to Tommy, our director and said ‘Brother, can we do something like this? Can we put my mum and daughters in the film? No dialogue, no nothing…’ and he was like ‘you’ve got it brother.’ And so I’ll never forget it.”
The atmosphere shifted completely the moment Johnson stepped onto the blue carpet alongside Australia’s own Moana, Catherine Laga’aia, director Thomas Kail, and the film’s choreographers.
The constant loop of Dwayne’s hit You’re Welcome abruptly softened, and the guests, who had to walk past the media wall to claim their seats for the exclusive first-look screening, were ushered away by the security guards on standby.
With the stars completely open with the journalists, no topic was off-limits.
So naturally, we had to ask about his character Maui’s luscious locks, which became a talking point when the first photos of the film were released.
When asked how it felt “breaking up” with his wig, he quipped back with “Who says I broke up?”
“[The wig] came home with me. [It’s stored] in a safe that opens up on Friday nights at about 2am after some tequila,” he playfully added.
He then mentioned that Maui’s favourite Papatui shampoo scent is: “Coconut, lush coconut” from his own men’s care brand of the same name.
