Despite enormous public support, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson will not run for president of the United States in two years.
“Unfortunately I don’t see it happening in 2020. It’s a position that requires years of hard work and experience to learn the skills. There’s a lot of ground to cover, and due to my schedule, it’s not possible in 2020,” Johnson said at the New York premiere of his latest movie, Skyscraper, on Tuesday. “I have so much respect for the position. It’s something that I seriously considered. What I need is time to go out and learn.”
Johnson’s upcoming film slate will keep him busy beyond the next presidential election. The wrestler-turned-movie star is currently shooting Disney’s Jungle Cruise with Emily Blunt; has signed on to star with Jason Statham in the Fast & Furious spin-off Hobbs and Shaw; will appear in the sequel to Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, bowing on Dec. 13, 2019; and is also set to play supervillain Black Adam in an eponymous DC Comics adaptation, which is currently in development.
Just don’t think this means Johnson was never serious about running for president in the first place. According to Johnson’s longtime friend Hiram Garcia, the idea was never a publicity stunt, even when The Rock began floating it in the immediate aftermath of the 2016 election.
“People called for Dwayne to run for president, and as that sentiment started to build up, he really started to respond to it and seriously thought about it,” said Garcia, president of production at Seven Bucks Productions—Johnson’s development company, and the force behind Skyscraper. “Dwayne really does care about the people, and he has great respect for the position that it requires and holds. Whenever we talk about him running for president, he’s very aware of the position and knows what is required of it, and he doesn’t like to speak loosely about it ’cause he respects the job, and respects the people and what it took to get there.”
When asked if The Rock would eventually retire from acting and follow in the footsteps of other performers who successfully transitioned into politicians—including Ronald Reagan, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Jesse Ventura, the former wrestler elected governor of Minnesota from 1999 to 2003—Garcia remained coy.
“You never know what will happen with Dwayne. Nothing is impossible for him. But right now, he’s very happy doing what he’s doing, ’cause he knows he can serve the people very well in this position of performing and entertaining.”
Although his political aspirations are on hold, Johnson has plenty of other things going on: he remains one of Hollywood’s highest-paid actors, a top box-office draw, a savvy producer, and a social-media star with 109 million Instagram followers. Despite all that, though, The Rock hopes his legacy will revolve around his diligent work ethic rather than his success.
“When it’s all said and done, I would like to hope I was known as a good father who put in the work to get better as a father and also put in the work to get better as a man,” said Johnson, father to three girls. “I hope I was a great business partner to everyone that I did business with and known for not playing dirty. A handshake and a look in the eye is very important to me, even above a contract—even though we have to get the contract signed!”
The 46-year-old star added, “I hope I will be known as a guy who always tried to find the best in scenarios, even challenging scenarios. I’m constantly always looking for the optimistic side of things—and always looking for a great dirty joke.”
