Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson is a renowned wrestler-turned-actor whose fame is attributed to his career and his appearance in box-office movies such as Hercules, the HBO series Baller and the Fast and Furious franchise.
Introduction
Dwayne Douglas Johnson was born on May 2 1972 in California to Rocky Johnson and Ata and into a family that constituted of wrestlers. His father and grandfather were famous wrestlers at the time of his birth (“Biography”, N.d.). He is multiracial, with his mother being of Samoan heritage and his father being of Canadian origin His family constantly moved from place to place due to his father’s wrestling career and this way, he was unable to make friends. His huge size at a young age made him an object of teasing and humiliation amongst his peers. This caused him to develop a quick temper and was constantly caught fighting with other students.
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Family and Career
Despite watching his father and grandfather fight in the ring while he was growing up, Dwayne Johnson did not have any plans to be a professional wrestler. He went to Freedom High School in Bethlehem where he developed an interest for sports. He ran tracks and boxed. While in college, he joined college football at the University of Miami where he played defensive tackle. He however lost his spot at the NFL in 1995 when he injured his back and could no longer play (“Biography, N.d.). He thus opted to join wrestling, and he debuted his career in WWF in Texas in 1996 when he wrestled against Brooklyn Brawler. Several wins after joining wrestling saw him sign himself under Flex Kavana and later under the Nation of Dominion where he became its leader and adopted the name that he is famously known for, ‘The Rock’. His fame in the wrestling world in the 1990s was coupled with his good looks and his famous eyebrow arch on TV and his charisma on the ring. His feud with fellow wrestler Steve Austin also added to his popularity. His success as a wrestler was crowned by the title of WWF Heavyweight champion and the five wins he garnered from WWF Tag Team championships. He also made an appearance at WrestleMania 30, alongside Steve Austin and Hulk Hogan.
In spite of these successes, The Rock also nurtured his acting career when he appeared in the movies The Scorpion King and The Mummy Returns in 2001. He appeared in several other movies and dropped his wrestling name, only being referred to as Dwayne Johnson. He was featured in Hercules of 2014 as the most famous strong men to ever exist (“Biography”, N.d.). He has also featured in several action films such as Fast and Furious Seven and a drama series Ballers .
His career aside, Dwayne Johnson is a family man with a daughter named Simone Alexandra whom he had with his high school sweetheart Dany Garcia. The two however parted ways after being together for almost a decade.
Personality Analysis
William Sheldon’s physiognomy theory classifies the personalities of people and their temperaments according to the shapes of their bodies. He forms three groups into which bodies can be classified namely, endomorphs, mesomorphs and ectomorphs (“Psychology of Personality”, N.d.). Endomorphs have soft and spherical body shapes characterized by narrow shoulders and wide hips and these tend to be kind and like to be in the company of people, especially those who shower their affection. They also tend to be relaxed, peaceful and tolerant an are fond of humor. Mesomorphs have muscular shapes characterized by large and rectangular physiques tend to be assertive, combative, competitive and active. Ectomorphs have lean, delicate forms and thus tend to be quiet, fragile and sensitive. They keep to themselves and are afraid to try new things, unlike mesomorphs.
With regards to this personality theory, Dwayne Johnson can be said to be a mesomorph. According to “Health Celeb” (2017), his chest is 30 inches wide and waist is 35 inches thin. This gives his a broad shoulder and thin waists. His biceps are 20 inches wide, and his thighs are 31 inches. He is 6 feet 5 inches tall. Using the analysis, and from his life, Dwayne Johnson is combative and active, seeing as he got involved in sports that require too much activity and combativeness. His masculine body form makes it easy for him to excel in sports. However, this body shape is one that gives him his over-confidence and for this reason, he has an aggressive personality, owing to the fact that he beat his age mates up for teasing him about his body size.
Karen Horney’s theory of neurosis is also relevant in analyzing Dwayne Johnson’s personality as a man being defined by his masculinity. This is what determines whether an individual belongs to the inferior or superior complex. Familial relations strongly determine the complex that reflects itself on the individual’s personality, depending on how family members treat an individual. For example, an individual who is intimidated by his or her parents tends to embrace the inferior complex and has a personality that is characterized by insecurities and anxiety. Certain individuals often develop defense mechanism that helps them to deal with the inferiority and offset any competition or possible danger that may be lurking around them. This is usually as a result of the lack of having their individual needs being met (Harris, 2016). When summarized, the neglect appears to be a basic evil to the child and since he or she cannot avoid the abuse by leaving home due to being dependent on the parents, then he or she redirects the feelings of hostility and rage to others.
The constant movement from one place to another caused Dwayne Johnson to experience neglect from his parents since they majorly paid attention to his father’s career and less to him. This caused him to be psychologically maladjusted while growing up and this resulted in hostility. As a way to cope with the feelings of anger, he became aggressive and constantly fought with his peers for picking on him. The aggressiveness and anger made him the perfect person for the wrestling job seeing as he won various titles as a wrestler. This was his own way of redirecting anger to other people, and the rage ensured that he fought to his best. In an interview by Samantha Miller of People magazine, he admitted that he was arrested severally for getting into fights. The Rock can be said to be an alter ego which Dwayne Johnson adapted in the ring for when he had to beat up his opponents.
Overall Analysis
Looking at his attitude towards life, Dwayne Johnson likes to live large and is more oriented toward personal gain. This can be said to be his attempts to overcompensate for what his parents failed to grant him as a child in terms of attention needs. His body size causes him to be arrogant when dealing with people he deems inferior to him both physically and financially, to cover for the times he was teased as a young boy. This also takes advantage of his body size that has helped him achieve the success that is attributed to him today, seeing as this was the source of his teasing. It is however important to note that his unique personality has made him resilient and a good judge of character, making it easy for him to interact with all the right people, a quality that is beneficial to his financial status.
References
Biography. (N.d.). Dwayne Johnson. Retrieved from https://www.bibliography.com/people/dwayne-johnson-11818916
Harris, C. (2016). A Description of Karen Horney’s Neo-Freudian Theory of Personality. Owlcation. Retrieved from http://owlcation.com/social-sciences/A-Description-of-aren-Horneys-Neo-Freudian-Theory-of-Personality-and-Psychopathology
Healthy Celeb. (2017). Dwayne Johnson Height, Weight, Body Statistics. Retrieved from http://healthyceleb.com/dwayne-johnson-height-weight-body-statistics/10894
Psychology of Personality. (N.d.). Sheldon’s Personality Theory. Retrieved from http://sites.google.com/site/psychologyofpersonalityperiod8/home/type-and-trait-theories/sheldon-s-personality-theory
