Dwayne Johnson once changed agents after they doubted he could become bigger than Will Smith

‘That was the idea back then,’ said the actor

Dwayne Johnson has revealed he once changed agents after his representatives voiced scepticism that he could be as big as stars such as George Clooney or Will Smith.

The actor and wrestler is one of Hollywood’s best known and most profitable actors, thanks to roles in films such as Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle and Furious 7.

A new interview with GQ saw Johnson discuss the change, which took place shortly after launching his acting career.

Johnson, who rose to fame in the world of WWE, made his film debut in The Mummy Returns in 2001, opposite Brendan Fraser. He reprised his character, the anti-hero the Scorpion King, in the 2002 spin-off named after the character.

It was around this time that Johnson is said to have “surveyed the landscape” and “noted who was at the top of it,” as per GQ.

Writes the outlet: “He went to his agents and said, despite whatever recent setbacks he’d experienced, he had an idea, or simply an ambition: He wanted to have the career of George Clooney or Will Smith. But bigger, perhaps, or better. When his agents seemed sceptical of this plan, he found new agents.”

Speaking to GQ, Johnson said that this “was the idea back then”. He admitted that he had thought “I could be bigger” than both Clooney and Smith, two of Hollywood’s highest-profile actors at the time.

Dwayne Johnson and Chris Evans in ‘Red One’ (© 2022 Amazon Content Services LLC)

“And I mean that respectfully,” he says. “But also maybe do things differently, because there’s no blueprint, I feel like, for a guy like me, who looks like me. But I feel now looking back on the career…. Bigger than Will, bigger than George? I think the declaration is just: different.”

Johnson’s latest project is Christmas-set action movie Red One, in which he stars opposite JK Simmons and Chris Evans. The story follows the fallout when a highly militarised Santa Claus (Simmons) is kidnapped.

According to Johnson, his strategy for maximising his own audience appeal involves rigourous planning.

“So the date is Christmas, X year,” Johnson said. “Year and a half, two years before that: ‘There’s our date.’ Now here comes the film. Now we work backwards from there. And I found myself doing that for years, actually. And it worked and it served me back then because it helped build my career.”

“I had this conceit and I idealised what my career should be,” he added. “[The conceit was]: Audience first. Let’s take care of the audience first. So I get a piece of material, I’d look at it and think, ‘Okay, does this have four-quadrant capability and opportunity? Are audiences going to like seeing me in this role?’”

Red One is in cinemas now.