Hollywood star Dwayne Johnson has his eyes on the White House and a run for the US presidency.

The former wrestler known as The Rock, who is now the highest-paid actor in Hollywood, turned down the chance to endorse both Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton last year. Now he has told GQ magazine that a presidential bid is "a real possibility".

Last June, he shared a newspaper article suggesting he could be a viable candidate on Instagram, saying it was "interesting" and "fun to read", adding that "the most important thing right now is strong honest leadership from our current and future leaders of this country".

REUTERS Move over Trump, The Rock - aka Dwayne Johnson - is after your job.

But he has since given it more thought.

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"A year ago it started coming up more and more," he told GQ.



"There was a real sense of earnestness, which made me go home and think, 'Let me really rethink my answer and make sure I am giving an answer that is truthful and also respectful'.



"I didn't want to be flippant - 'We'll have three days off for a weekend. No taxes'.



"I think that it's a real possibility."

Johnson, 45, said he is registered as an independent and added that he did not endorse a candidate last year because he wanted to watch the public decide for themselves.

"I feel like I'm in a position now where my word carries a lot of weight and influence, which of course is why they want the endorsement," he said.

"But I also have a tremendous amount of respect for the process and felt like if I did share my political views publicly ... I felt like it would either make people unhappy with the thought of whatever my political view was.

"And, also, it might sway an opinion, which I didn't want to do."

He spoke at the Republican national convention in 2000, but also attended the Democratic convention that same year, encouraging audiences at both events to vote.

Johnson said he "completely disagrees" with President Donald Trump's Muslim ban.

"I believe in our national security to the core, but I don't believe in a 'ban' that bans immigrants. I believe in inclusion," he said.