Dwayne Johnson and Arnold Schwarzenegger have plenty in common; both are film industry titans, to begin with. Not to mention, the latter played a massive role in The Rock’s rise to fame when he passed the symbolic action-hero torch to him. And let’s not forget that one is a former professional wrestler and the other a retired professional bodybuilder.
However, while the two have known each other for years and are good friends at present, they hadn’t been more than formal acquaintances before. Sure, Johnson looked up to the former Governor of California, but that wasn’t tantamount to Schwarzenegger being his “real friend” at that time.
Dwayne Johnson’s Take on His Friendship With Arnold Schwarzenegger
Before The Rock stepped into the competitive waters of Hollywood with his debut film titled The Scorpion King (2002), he’d been renowned for his prolific contribution to WWE as a professional wrestler. And a wrestling match is also how he came to become acquainted with the award-winning actor, Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Long back when The Rock had appeared on The Howard Stern Show to promote the Chuck Russell-helmed action/adventure film, he addressed his friendship with The Terminator star and how it all started when Schwarzenegger had appeared at one of Johnson’s wrestling shows years ago. “Since then,” Dwayne Johnson remarked, “We’ve become friends, we’ve gone out to dinner a couple of times.” However, when asked if he thought of the Predator actor as his “mentor,” The Rock disagreed with Stern.
“No, he’s not my mentor, but I respect what he’s done because he’s done a lot of good films and, you know…so yeah, he’s been real cool, supportive.”
Surprisingly enough, the Black Adam star didn’t even consider Schwarzenegger as a “real friend” at that point, claiming that he didn’t have “too many of those.” But as time surged forward and things changed, so did Johnson’s equation with Schwarzenegger, and their friendship bloomed into a real one.
The Rock And Arnold Schwarzenegger – An Iconic Duo
When the Total Recall star was gearing up for his break from acting to enter the arena of politics back in 2003, Johnson was busy climbing the ladder of fame at the same time, and both of them were of immense support to the other’s goals.
While Schwarzenegger had an epic cameo in Peter Berg’s action flick titled The Rundown wherein he passed the allusive action torch to Johnson, the latter helped the True Lies star during his campaign as California’s Governor. Schwarzenegger even credited The Rock for his genuine encouragement and efforts for the same, expressing his gratitude towards the 50-year-old muscular legend. “You’re a champion, I’m grateful for your friendship and I’m so proud of your success,” he stated.
In one of his interviews with Muscle and Fitness, Johnson also pointed out how Schwarzenegger had been an inspiration to him during a rather rough patch in his life to carry on and never give up. And after all these years, both of them are two of the most renowned film icons of Hollywood.
Source: YouTube
