Popular Artist: Dwayne Johnson American Professional Wrestler

Dwayne Douglas Johnson (born May 2, 1972), also known by his ring name The Rock, is an American actor and professional wrestler who is signed to WWE, appearing on the Raw brand. He is often credited as Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson.

Johnson was a college football player. In 1991, he was part of the University of Miami's national championship team. He later played for the Calgary Stampeders in the Canadian Football League, and was cut two months into the 1995 season. This led to his decision to become a professional wrestler like his grandfather, Peter Maivia, and his father, Rocky Johnson.

He gained mainstream fame as a wrestler in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), originally known as the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), from 1996 to 2004, and was the first third-generation superstar in the company's history. Johnson was quickly given a push as a heroic character in the WWF, originally billed as "Rocky Maivia", and then as "The Rock".

He would subsequently turn into a villain as a member of the Nation of Domination in 1997. Two years after he joined the WWF, Johnson won the WWF Championship, and became one of the most popular wrestlers within the company's history for his engaging interviews and promos. Johnson is regarded by many as one of the greatest talkers in professional wrestling history, and was ranked third on the official WWE fan poll of greatest microphone talkers behind Stone Cold Steve Austin and Roddy Piper.

Johnson is widely considered one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time. He won a total of 16 championships in WWF/E. This included nine World Heavyweight Championships (the WWF/E Championship seven times and the WCW/World Championship twice), two WWF Intercontinental Championships, and five times as co-holder of the WWF Tag Team Championships. He was the sixth WWF/E Triple Crown Champion, and the winner of the 2000 Royal Rumble.

Johnson's autobiography co-written with Joe Layden, The Rock Says..., was released in 2000. It debuted at number one on The New York Times Best Seller list, and remained on the list for several weeks. Johnson's first leading role as an actor was in The Scorpion King in 2002. For this film, he received the highest salary for an actor in his first starring role, earning $5.5 million.

He has since appeared in several blockbuster movies such as The Rundown, Be Cool, Walking Tall, Gridiron Gang, The Game Plan, Get Smart, Race to Witch Mountain, Planet 51, Tooth Fairy, Doom, The Other Guys, Faster, and most recently Fast Five starring opposite Vin Diesel and Paul Walker.

In 2011, Johnson appeared in the fourth sequel in The Fast and the Furious film series, Fast Five , as Luke Hobbs, a Diplomatic Security Service agent assigned to hunt down the series' protagonists, played by Vin Diesel and Paul Walker. Johnson was cast in the role after Diesel had read comments and feedback from fans, one of whom wanted to see Diesel and Johnson in a movie together.

Critics and audiences alike considered Johnson's involvement a welcome addition to the franchise and plans are to have him return for future installments. The film grossed at over $86 million its opening weekend, making it the best opening for a 'Fast & Furious' film, the biggest opening for an April release, and Johnson's best opening weekend.

In 2012, Johnson will appear in Journey 2: The Mysterious Island and as Roadblock in G.I. Joe: Retaliation. Johnson's Hosting Reveal of the PBS Special of Celtic Woman Believe at Fox Theater in Atlanta, Georgia, as a fan and a special guest host.