Dwayne Johnson addresses Liz Truss turmoil at Black Adam premiere: ‘Are you ready for another Johnson prime minister?’
Among the highest paid actors in the world and widely considered as one of Hollywood’s nice guys, Dwayne Johnson is often asked whether he would think about running for president.
But when he is visiting the UK – and with the country in just a spot of political turmoil at the moment, it’s fair to say – how about a move into Number 10 to try to sort things out?
Speaking to Sky News at the premiere of his new “anti-hero” superhero film Black Adam, Johnson mentioned his political namesake as he asked if the UK would be prepared for him.
“Are you ready for another Johnson prime minister?” he said. “Maybe Rock prime minister?”
Pic: Warner Bros
Johnson, also known by his nickname The Rock from his days as a professional wrestler, does not give much away.
“I will tell you this… It’s great to be back in London. I will tell you that.”
The star’s comments came as a YouGov poll of Tory members found that more than half (55%) think Liz Truss should resign now – and almost a third (32%) believe her predecessor Boris Johnson would be the best person to replace her as prime minister.
Johnson (The Rock, not the former PM) has addressed calls in the US for him to make a White House bid several times, saying in a recent interview with CNN: “I have seriously considered it. You have to. When you start looking at some of these polls, and these numbers creep up into the 46%, 50% of the country would vote for me should I run, and I have been – I’ve been really moved by that.”
In September 2020, Johnson endorsed Joe Biden with a video interview in which he described the then upcoming election as “arguably the most critical” in decades.
The star said at the time that he was a “political independent and centrist” who had voted for both the Democrats and the Republicans in the past.
‘The most important role of my life’
Pic: Warner Bros
At the moment though, with his career on screen showing no signs of slowing down, politics is on the backburner.
Johnson has played numerous action men and tough guys in the past, but Black Adam is his first foray into the superhero world.
Fifteen years in the making, he describes the film – based on the DC Comics character of the same name – as a “passion project” that he fought to turn into a reality when some studio executives weren’t sure it would sell.
Teth Adam is an anti-hero slave, blessed with the powers of Superman, who rises once again some 5,000 years after being imprisoned for using his powers for vengeance. In modern times, as he wields his dark sense of justice, he is challenged by a group of heroes known as the Justice Society.
Pierce Brosnan and Aldis Hodge also star as Dr Fate (Brosnan) and Hawkman. Pic: Warner Bros
Once a professional wrestler, and with a physique that lends itself to playing a superhero, Johnson has said this role was the only one he wanted to take on, writing on Instagram before the premiere: “When I was a little boy the one thing that drew me to Teth Adam when I saw my first Black Adam comic…
“He was a hero of color.
“That mattered to me then.
“As it matters to me now. Kids of ALL colors around the world will now be able to see themselves in Black Adam.”
Speaking to Sky News, Johnson said Black Adam was the “most important movie of my entire career”.
He continued: “I think it’s the most important role of my life. And what I mean by that, context for people, is I feel like everything that I have done has led to Black Adam.
“I also feel like Black Adam represents a commitment and a tenacity to keep pushing, when… there were a lot of people throughout the course of the past 15 years who felt like, well, is there real value in introducing Black Adam to the world? Will people like him?
“And I truly in my heart, I felt, yeah, if we make the movie right, we can create a character that people can see themselves in.”
Black Adam, also starring Pierce Brosnan, Aldis Hodge, Sarah Shahi, Noah Centineo, Marwan Kenzari and Quintessa Swindell, is released in cinemas in the UK and Ireland on 21 October
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John David Washington says he felt like he had to conceal his desire to act because of the external expectations of him being the child of Denzel and Pauletta Washington.
He tells Sky News it took some time for him to pursue an acting career, choosing football instead to assert his “independence” and create his own “identity” separate from his famous family.
“I’ve been wanting to do this my whole life… but I was hiding it,” he said.
“I had to conceal that passion based on my relationship to the world and more specifically, my folks being in the industry, so I chose ball.
“I loved ball, but I was sort of hiding my love for the arts under a helmet – literally an American football helmet – and so when I wanted to become an actor, when I decided to pursue it, that was a big shock to some people.”
The 40-year-old actor says when he decided to pursue an acting career, he kept the decision quiet.
“Some people didn’t know I was even pursuing it professionally until I got a job,” he said.
John David with fellow actor Danielle Deadwyler. Pic: David Lee/ Netflix
Since switching to acting, John David has starred in a number of notable roles including the protagonist in Christopher Nolan’s Tenet, Ron Stallworth in BlacKkKlansman and Joshua in The Creator.
He also led the stage revival of the 2022 Tony-nominated play The Piano Lesson on Broadway alongside Samuel L Jackson.
“He [Jackson] originated the role [I play] in 1987 at Yale with Lloyd Richards and August Wilson,” John David said.
“So it was of great importance for us to learn from both he and Michael Potts about August Wilson. It was a great blessing for me, I think, for all of us to have him present on set.”
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The Piano Lesson is the third August Wilson play to be adapted for the screen by Denzel Washington’s production company Mundy Lane Entertainment.
It is part of a pledge made by the Gladiator II actor to make all 10 of the playwright’s works into films.
The Netflix project is directed by another Washington family member, Malcolm, and stars most of the cast from the Broadway revival.
The Piano Lesson is Malcolm Washington’s directorial debut. Pic: Katia Washington/ Netflix
Set in 1936 Pittsburgh in the aftermath of the Great Depression, the film centres on a family heirloom, a piano, that is etched with the carvings of their family history made by their enslaved ancestor.
Malcolm says he started reading the play for the first time during the pandemic and immediately wanted to be involved in the film adaptation.
“I think with this movie, reclamation of story and identity is so central to the theme and it’s something that’s central to my life where I both acknowledge the fertile ground that I was raised on and who I am today.
“That’s what Wining Boy [played by Michael Potts] really is trying to do, he’s trying to build on that legacy, so that’s a story that really resonated with me.”
The filmmaker added: “I take all the gifts that my ancestors laid in front of me, and I’m trying to build something for the next generation to pass down – all of their gifts, plus mine to the next generation and let them build on it.”
Malcolm has dedicated his directorial debut to his mother, Pauletta Washington. Pic: David Lee/Netflix
Malcolm says his goal was to put family at the forefront of the production. By dedicating his feature debut to “Mama”, he is acknowledging the dedication and sacrifices that mothers make for the growth of their families.
“There’s so much pointing to my mother in particular, who inspired this adaptation so much. I see so much of her life in Berniece’s character [played by Danielle Deadwyler] – and that became a guiding light for me in this adaptation,” he said.
“As we made this thing and started reconnecting with our ancestors, my mum became like a kind of representative of them.
“She’s the matriarch of our family. She tells me about my grandparents and great-grandparents and the line that I come from, and I see them in her.
“And when the movie ends, I want people to kind of have that moment of reflection for their own lives. So in dedicating it to her, I was trying to dedicate it to all mums everywhere.”
The Piano Lesson is now available on Netflix.
Blockbuster Wicked has landed the largest opening weekend of 2024 at Vue International.
The film, starring Oscar-nominated actress Cynthia Erivo and Grammy-winning pop star Ariana Grande as Elphaba and Glinda, surpassed both Gladiator II and Paddington In Peru.
It has also had the largest opening weekend for a stage musical adaptation in the cinema chain’s history.
A boss for Vue International said it had seen a “sea of pink and green” over the weekend.
Ariana Grande (left) as Glinda and Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba in the film. Pic: PA
Pic: PA
Pic: PA
Released on Friday, Wicked is up 60% on Les Miserables’ opening weekend in 2012 and three times larger than the 2022 film adaptation of Matilda.
Founder and chief executive of Vue International Tim Richards said: “Vue has seen a sea of pink and green over the opening weekend of Wicked, which has shown continued high demand for the big screen experience.
“We saw record-breaking pre-sales for Wicked, followed by a chart-topping opening weekend – the biggest for 2024.”
The film is the first of two parts, with the second expected in November next year.
Wicked and Gladiator II – known together as Glicked – have reportedly failed to beat out Barbenheimer, Barbie and Oppenheimer, in its own opening weekend last summer.
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Glicked brought in £215m in worldwide ticket sales – with Wicked making the majority of that.
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