Dwayne Johnson, then, has done for action movies what Bruce Lee did for Kung Fu films. Sure, many had done it before, but few had done it so well. Dwayne has that unique personality that endears himself to a wide audience. Rarely have we seen the tall, muscular, good-looking minority actor who comes off as sympathetic. You root for him in every film, even though you can tell he has every tool at his disposal. The last non-white guy to be so perfect in so many ways and yet so universally loved by audiences was… Bruce Lee himself, although admittedly he was contained in a much smaller package. Even though The Rock has been with us for 20 years and will likely be wowing audiences for 20 more, he has still spawned a whole slew of imitators and opened the door to any former pro wrestler who wants to join Hollywood . His very own genre then, defined as the wrestler-turned-action-hero, could be called Rocksploitation. Not every film can star THE Rock, but every film can have A Rock.





Professional wrestlers have always been equal parts actor, athlete, and magician. They entertain massive live audiences with compelling interviews, incredible feats of strength, and sleight-of-fist trickery; whereas most of their contemporaries struggle to entertain in one way at all. Some mock their flamboyant behavior and outlandish routines, while others are caught in the cult of personality created by these larger than life figures. Wherever you stand on professional wrestling as a part of pop culture, one thing is indisputable: pro wrestlers have changed the film industry, bringing a legitimacy to the art of the action film like the Stallone’s, Schwarzenegger’s, Chan’s, and yes even Bruce Lee’s that came before them. As our parent’s generation of “expendable” action stars age out, our generation has been searching for the next great action stars for over a decade… and the whole time, they were right there on our TV.

