Ever since pursuing a career in the film industry, Dwayne Johnson has featured in a number of blockbusters and portrayed multiple characters on the screen. While he is known for starring in comedy and action movies, the list of his work also includes some of the movies which were inspired by horrifying true events. And one such film also includes the 2013 crime action movie Pain & Gain.
The movie was based on the true crime events that happened in Miami in the mid-1990s. And the whole concept of the film was so terrifying that the wrestler-turned-actor had to pray to God for forgiveness every night he went to bed after the shoot.
Dwayne Johnson Was Disturbed by His Movie’s Concept
Dwayne Johnson starred alongside Mark Wahlberg and Anthony Mackie in the 2013 crime action movie Pain & Gain. The film was based on the real-life crimes of the Sun Gym gang in Miami, which was convicted of several crimes, including kidnapping and murder in the mid-1990s.
The Rock also portrayed one of the members of the gang who kidnapped a businessman and convinced him to sign all his property to them. While he portrayed the role in the movie, he was so taken aback by the film’s plot and concept that he “went to bed praying for forgiveness.”
During an interview, the actor shared that he had a hard time understanding the whole thing, even before the shoot started for the craziest scene of his acting career. “It was one of those moments where I would wake up understanding that I am going to shoot the craziest scene of my whole career that involves cooking hands on a grill,” he said.
Johnson added that he was so disturbed by filming such things that he would go to bed apologizing for what he did and end up doing the same things the next day. “As we wrapped for the day, I would think, ‘I can’t believe that really happened.'” he recalled what he felt every day after the shoot.
Dwayne Johnson Almost Quit Michael Bay’s Pain & Gain
Director Michael Bay has shared that the 2013 movie Pain & Gain was his passion project, and he was very intrigued with the crime story. And it was one of the reasons he filmed the whole thing around his house in Miami. “I would drive a moped to the set; that’s how close it was,” he shared.
While the director shared that he had quite the fun filming the movie, it did not seem the same for Dwayne Johnson. According to the Transformers director, the Jumanji star tried to leave the film weeks before its production started. “He literally quit the week before. And he goes, ‘I can’t do this,’” Bay shared as he talked about Johnson.
However, he was adamant about having him in the movie, so he wrote a letter, talking about the actors who were scared to do some roles, but it turned out pretty well for them. He was able to convince The Rock and believed that the actor gave a brilliant and amazing performance in the film.
Source: USA Today