Dwayne Johnson Reveals He Was Passed Over for Jack Reacher Role

Dwayne Johnson AKA The Rock is a pretty busy man with lots of movies under his belt and some exciting ones on the way. The actor’s next film, Jungle Cruise, was pushed back until next year but he has also been preparing for DC’s Black Adam and was in the middle of filming Red Notice with Ryan Reynolds and Gal Gadot before production was halted over coronavirus concerns. However, despite the actor’s history with playing leading men, he recently revealed that he was once passed over for a major action role. According to Deadline, Johnson recently revealed on Facebook that he was up for the part of Jack Reacher, which ultimately went to Tom Cruise.

“In Hollywood, actors are kind of like in-a-box. There are actors that can vie for a particular role because it allows for them to have a certain look, skin color, size, etc. Fortunately, for me, there aren’t a lot of guys at all who look like me. So, all of my roles, from the beginning of my career, I’ve been a lucky son of a b***h that they’ve been created and designed for me — except Jack Reacher,” Johnson explained. “Now, this was ten years ago, and I was in a much different place, I recognize that,” he added, “Tom was the biggest movie star in the world, and I was not.”

“I got the call saying ‘Hey, you didn’t get the role’ Look, I didn’t even know if I had a shot for it, but the people around me at that time made me think that I did. I felt like I did, I felt like ‘Why not me?’” he wondered. “I’m positive that the role of Jack Reacher, because it was an established character, an IP that was well known and beloved around the world, that I wouldn’t have had the creative space to do what I wanted with the character,” Johnson added, “I look back in gratitude that I didn’t get Jack Reacher.”

This isn’t Johnson’s first time speaking about his career on social media. During a Q&A on Instagram last month, he was asked by a fan about Hobbs & Shaw 2. He confirmed that the movie was indeed in development. There may not be a director in place or a shooting date nailed down, but it sounds like the team behind the Furious franchise is ready to move forward with more Hobbs & Shaw films.

“We are developing now the next film, the next [Hobbs & Shaw] movie, and I’m pretty excited about it,” Johnson said. “[We] just gotta figure out the creative right now, and the direction we’re going to go.”

Which upcoming The Rock movie are you most excited about? Tell us in the comments!