(CNN) Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson was in Hawaii Wednesday to support protesters who are trying to stop the construction of a giant telescope on Mauna Kea, Hawaii's tallest mountain.

"I wanted to come here and see our people and stand with them and support them," Johnson told reporters, CNN affiliate KGMB/KHNL reported.

Actor Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, right, talks with TMT opposition leader Kaho'okahi Kanuha during a visit to the protests against the TMT telescope, Wednesday, July 24, 2019, at the base of Mauna Kea on Hawaii Island. (Jamm Aquino/Honolulu Star-Advertiser via AP)

Johnson's visit came on the 10th day of protests at the base of Mauna Kea to block construction from starting on the Thirty-Meter Telescope on the mountaintop. Native Hawaiian groups say the mountain, which already hosts a number of telescopes, is sacred.

The actor and former wrestler lived in Hawaii as a child, and offered to help with talks between the state and protesters, the affiliate reported.

Opposition to the construction of the $1.4 billion telescope goes back for years. Construction was supposed to begin in 2015, but stalled amid similar protests.

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