Dwayne Johnson appeared on “The Kelly Clarkson Show” and revealed how hugging “Young Rock” star Joseph Lee Anderson felt like hugging his own dad. The Rock also shared about a special moment with his on-screen dad when he met him for the first time. Dwayne has previously opened up about his complicated relationship with his late dad, Rocky Johnson and this interview was a glimpse of an emotional Dwayne.
Never Got A Chance To Say Goodbye…
During his appearance on “The Kelly Clarkson Show”, Dwayne Johnson had a heart-to-heart conversation with the host about his late father, who suddenly passed away two years back. He revealed how special it was to hug Joseph Lee Anderson as it felt like hugging his own dad whom he couldn’t say goodbye.
As the clip of the on-screen father-son duo walking together played behind, While narrating about his on-screen dad from “Young Rock”, Joseph Lee Anderson, Dwayne told Kelly, “This is Joseph Lee Anderson and he plays my dad on ‘Young Rock’.”
He recalled his real-life dad, Rocky Johnson’s achievement and said, “My dad was a professional wrestler, a bad dude in the game, and one of the first black champions in the world of pro wrestling.” The 50-year-old star narrated that his dad passed away two years ago suddenly and he never had a chance to say goodbye to him.
“You know when somebody goes like that (snapped his fingers) and we had a complicated relationship, so when he died, I was just like, man, there’s just, we have more talking to do. We had more stuff to take care of, unanswered questions…,” he emotionally added.
Dwayne then revealed that “this surreal show” Young Rock has been shooting for three years and he never met any of the actors because of Covid-19. “So we just shot in Memphis just three weeks ago, and the cast flew over and I finally got a chance to meet the cast,” he added.
Dwayne revealed that his on-screen dad, Joseph Lee Anderson bears a striking resemblance with his dad, Rocky Johnson and when he came, he immediately hugged this guy and it was emotional. He revealed that he didn’t want to let him go because it felt like hugging the one you lost.
Never Took A Walk With Dad…
Dwayne Johnson was asked by Kelly Clarkson, “Speaking of walking, you asked your father on “Young Rock” to take a walk with you. You wanted to do that with your dad and you didn’t get to do it, so is that what happened?” Dwayne revealed that he never got a chance to take a walk with his late father, Rocky.
He said, “My dad was like, he’s like a dude who stunted emotionally.” On this Kelly interrupted, “A dude bro, that’s what we call it.” Dwayne continued, “So we had these moments, and I told him, hey man, would you mind taking a walk with me,” Dwayne spoke about asking his on-screen dad for a walk.
He further revaeld that walking with Joesph Lee Anderson was just like walking with his old man, and it was really special. Kelly revealed that even she never got such a chance with her father, and then he passed away. “Sometimes it’s hard, sometimes you try and it doesn’t work, and then sometimes, I do feel like people come into your lives to kind of represent maybe what was missing,” she emotionally added.
The “Fast & Furious” actor added, “What’s interesting is that we had a complicated relationship, but now that he’s gone, I feel like we’re closer. In this crazy world, where I could just talk to him at any point. Also, what I realised is that I find myself more and more thinking about the good stuff.”
Dwayne Johnson has, time and again, revealed his complicated relationship with his late father. The 49-year-old actor narrated how he relived his childhood memories with his father through the show “Young Rock”. In a previous interview, the “Baywatch” star revealed, “I was an only child and I had a complicated relationship with my dad, though he was my hero when I was a little boy.”
However, he narrated that he had a loving and supportive relationship with his mother, but “all the lessons that my mom was able to teach me over the years I didn’t realise because I was running around getting arrested and being an idiot at some points in my life.”
If you aren’t aware, Dwayne who picked up acting after his success in WWE, narrated how his father was kicked out of his home at 13 and was homeless. He lived in 13 different. These experiences majorly shaped his parenting styles, and Dwayne received “tough love” from his dad.
He said, “But some of the things and the lessons that I learned from my old man I didn’t realise how critical those lessons were until years later. And, to be honest with you, I didn’t realise how important they were until he passed away.”
In this interview, Dwayne expressed his wish to give his dad “a big ole hug and a big ole kiss” before he died. He explained: “You know when we lose loved ones like that we have to go through our own process. But when my dad passed away you look back – and I know a lot of people feel this way too – it’s that wild thing that happens where in life if you have a complicated, loving relationship like I did with my dad, then in death and in passing – in this wild way – you actually become closer.”
Last year, Dwayne spoke about the incredibly tough relationship he shared with his dad. “Growing up, and you know we specifically went with these timelines in my life that were very defining times at 10 years old, 15 and 18 … there’s a lot of things in between those years that took place.”
Dwayne added, “…but it was complicated and the relationship that I had with my dad was incredibly complicated — that was fueled by tough love,” Johnson remembered his late father who died on January 15, 2020, at age 75. Sometimes we only realise the importance of a person when they’re gone for real, eh?
