Dwayne Johnson has indeed found himself in troubling times and troubling roles in Hollywood. During the not-so-early days when The Rock was not so popular (as he is now), he found a challenging role.
The 2013 movie directed by Michael Bay called Pain & Gain had quite an intimidating role that Dwayne Johnson wasn’t confident enough to take on. After much convincing, the Red Notice actor was finally able to pull through and portrayed the character of Paul Doyle.
The Role That Was Too Tough Even For Dwayne Johnson!
Starring alongside Mark Wahlberg and Anthony Mackie, Dwayne Johnson had the dream team for a comedy-action movie. Michael Bay was helming the project as director for Pain & Gain, with 8+ years in development.
As revealed by the Black Adam actor, Michael Bay delivered the script 8 years prior to the release of the film! The problem lay in a misunderstanding where Johnson had his role confused with someone else’s. The role of Paul Doyle was attached to The Rock, however he read the script through the character of Daniel Luge (played by Mark Wahlberg). After the error was discovered, Dwayne Johnson almost wanted to quit the movie since the role was quite challenging for him.
“He’s so complex. He’s got so many layers and so extreme. Because he was a composite of all these other guys there were a lot of minds being thrown into Paul Doyle. God, I said, I’d really like to play this. Then you start doing the research, preparing for the role, physically and psychologically, looking into people who do drugs and prisoners who just get out of prison. About a week out, I started to think, I don’t know. I am not quite sure I can do it.” said Dwayne Johnson to the Miami Times.
The role of Paul Doyle was described as a con man, who is a born-again Christian, struggling with drug use. It is tough to imagine Dwayne Johnson in such an extreme role but he was finally coerced into the role by Michael Bay.
How Michael Bay Convinced Dwayne Johnson For The Role
The Baywatch actor was almost on the verge of quitting when he received a letter from Michael Bay. Stating that he was convinced of the project only due to his trust in Bay, The Rock read the letter. Talking about it, Dwayne Johnson stated that the character was fun to play albeit challenging.
“He sat down and wrote this letter to me. It was a very defining letter and a very defining moment in my career. This letter was so incredibly articulate and empathetic and forward and direct. It was a letter from a brother to another brother. The overall spirit of the letter was, “I brought you this role because of the complexities of it. I know there is no one in Hollywood but you who can do this.” The fear went away. The insecurity went away. Okay, I’m going to jump off this cliff. It was one of the best decisions I ever made.”
Loosely based on a true story, Pain & Gain was something not extraordinary but managed to fare well at the global box office. Dwayne Johnson gradually became famous over the years and reached the throne that he currently resides upon.
Pain & Gain is available to stream on Prime Video.
Source: Miami Times
