Entertainment

Dwayne Johnson

Cut from professional football in 1995; moved from wrestling into film.

Born: 1972 · Hayward, California, US
Roots: Black Nova Scotian and Samoan descent
Family: Working class; A wrestling family with unstable income; evicted from their apartment when he was 14.
Education: University of Miami (football scholarship, criminology)
Started with: $7; What he had after the CFL released him in 1995.
Affiliations & societies: None documented.; Information only — claims like these are often unverifiable and may be wrong.

The pathway

1991 · age 18
College football
Backup defensive lineman on Miami's national-title team.
1995 · age 23
Released by the CFL$7
Cut from Calgary's practice squad; returns to his parents' apartment.
1996 · age 24
WWF debut
Debuts as Rocky Maivia; the character is poorly received by crowds.
1998 · age 26
“The Rock” persona
Switches to a villain character; becomes one of the promotion's top-drawing performers.
2002 · age 29
First film lead$5.5M
The Scorpion King; the fee is reported as a record for a first leading role.
2011 · age 38
Fast Five
Joins the franchise; the film's box-office performance restarts his film career after several underperforming releases.
2012 · age 40
Seven Bucks Productions
Founds a production company, named after the $7.
2016 · age 44
Forbes' highest-paid actor~$87M/yr

Sources

Compiled from these references and contemporaneous press reporting. Figures are approximate; verify before relying on them.