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Dwayne Johnson's Decision to Quit Wrestling and Pursue Acting

Season 5 Episode 504
Aired on 11/15/2015 | CC
At the height of his career in the WWE, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson quietly walked away from wrestling. Dwayne says he was close to accomplishing everything he'd set out to accomplish in that arena, and he was ready for a new challenge—acting.

"It kind of shook me a little bit because wrestling was all I knew at that time," he says. "I wanted to grow as an entertainer. I wanted to reach as many people as possible, not for the box office value of it, but for the connection."

Although Dwayne had dabbled in acting, he knew he had a lot to learn. "If I made the transition into acting, I wanted to be great. I knew going in, the cards are stacked against me," he says. "There's a shelf life to a career if I just wanted to get by on popularity. I didn't want to be in that position. I wanted longevity."

Dwayne says he set out to learn everything he could about show business, from acting and marketing to directing and producing. "I had to educate myself, and I had to be a student of the game," he says. "Know your business. ... And surround yourself with brilliant people, and go to work."

Watch as this blockbuster movie star shares more from his early days in Hollywood.

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