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Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson said he and his late father, Rocky Johnson, "crossed the line" prior to their final conversation before his death in 2020.
The WWE superstar turned A-list actor reflected on his complicated relationship with his father in an in-depth interview published by the New York Times Magazine last Sunday (September 21), claiming he was shocked that he was credited as writing the foreword for his father's memoir, Soulman: The Rocky Johnson Story, even though he hadn't.
“Growing up with my dad, I know the truth to all these stories. And they’re not in this book," Dwayne said. "If the truth is blue, this story is red.”
“It just completely crossed the line,” he added. “It goes back to the attention, and the narcissism.”
Dwayne said he called his father to confront him about the book and have it pulled from store in the weeks after it was published in the New York Times Magazine interview. The actor often shares tributes to his late father during Rocky's birthday and Father's Day, however, confirmed that they weren't on speaking terms at the time of his death.
"Hard to reconcile stuff with your dad when he’s no longer here - but nonetheless, regardless of challenges or any struggle, my dad was a 'life adapter,' and he taught me to be the same," Dwayne wrote in tribute to Rocky in August.
Dwayne reportedly learned of his father's death during the first day of filming his Netflix movie Red Notice.
"Wildly enough, my old man was just this amazing friend," he said while discussing his experience at his father's funeral to the New York Times Magazine. “Complicated husband. Complicated dad. But an awesome friend to everyone else.”
“I think my dad’s capacity to love was very limited," he added. "He was kicked out when he was 13. Imagine that pain. And that’s the man who raised me. That was my dad.”