Landing a role inStar Trekhas proven to be a bit of a double-edged sword for some of its stars over the years. For many, it has been the highest-profile job on their resumes and one that also provided creatively satisfying roles to tackle and a lifelong career on the convention circuit. But the exposure can be an anchor around their necks — they are so associated with their character in the show that they struggle to find other roles once it’s over.
At the same time, the nature of long-running, weekly episodic TV meant there was always a need for one-off characters or bit part actors inStar Trek. These roles provided early career work to actors who were obscure at the time but would go on to be recognizable faces. Such was the case for someone who would eventually become the biggest movie star on the planet.
The Rock’s Early Career Evolution
In the year 2000, not many people necessarily knew the name Dwayne Johnson. But millions (and millions) knew who The Rock was. He was the biggest name in professional wrestling at a time when the WWE was arguably at its most popular.
But he wasn’t satisfied with just success in the squared circle — he was taking his first steps into an entertainment career beyond wrestling. With just two TV credits to his name (excluding wrestling programming and any appearances as himself on talk shows), he secured a memorable guest-starring role in a season 6 episode ofStar Trek: Voyager.
Star Trek’s Fight Club
The episode, titled “Tsunkatse” sees Jeri Ryan’s Seven of Nine and Tim Russ’ Tuvok abducted by an intergalactic fight promoter of sorts played by legendaryTrekactor Jeffrey Combs. Tuvok is injured and will only receive medical attention if Seven participates in a mixed martial arts contest called Tsunkatse.
Seven is forced into a bout against an alien champion portrayed by The Rock. In what was seen by some as a shallow bit of co-promotion by UPN — the network that also broadcastWWE SmackDownat the time — he even breaks out a few of his signature wrestling moves on Voyager’s resident rehabilitated Borg. Despite the criticisms, the episode (which also featured a guest appearance byStar Trek: Deep Space Ninealum J. G. Hertzler) was the highest-rated of the season.
Dwayne Johnson’s Post-Start TrekRise
Around this time, Dwayne Johnson was very much transitioning from wrestler who occasionally did some acting to bona fide movie star. One year after his appearance inStar Trek, he landed the role of The Scorpion King in the blockbusterBrendan Fraser sequelThe Mummy Returns.
One year after that, he had his first motion picture starring role in the character’s eponymous spin-off film, and he never looked back. His movie star ambitions were no secret — at this time, he adopted a “Hollywood Rock” persona in his wrestling work that he would use up until he took a seven-year hiatus from WWE in 2003 to focus on his movie career. And what a career it has been.
Dwayne Johnson’s Explosion into Superstardom
The Rock, then Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, then finally just Dwayne Johnson has starred in a plethora of high-profile and super successful projects, from theFast and the Furiousfranchise, to Johnson-produced endeavors like the TV showsBallersandYoung Rock.
His career seemed an unstoppable juggernaut that could only gain momentum. In 2024, he was the highest-paid actor in Hollywood, a testament to his box-office appeal, with his films having a combined worldwide gross of over $14 billion. His fortunes have been a bit more mixed of late, though, with a few missteps and some unflattering reports of his work habits and on-set behavior.
Red OneControversy
A piece inthe Wrapalleged that he was chronically late to filming on the set of the star-studded Amazon MGM Christmas action-comedyRed One, sometimes appearing as much as eight hours after his call time. His tardiness was claimed to be partly to blame for the budget of the much-maligned film ballooning to $250 million.
The same piece also alleged that he would urinate in water bottles on set to save time; something Johnson actually holds his hands up to. He also concedes that he would sometimes be late to set, often due to his workouts running long, but says the exposé in the Wrap massively exaggerated things. In aGQ cover piece, Johnson said of his alleged lateness:
“Yeah, that happens too. But not that amount, by the way. That was a bananas amount. That’s crazy. Ridiculous.”
A Superheroic Misstep withBlack Adam
Johnson’s most high-profile professional miscue may have comein the form ofBlack Adam. He had campaigned for years to get a movie focused on the DC villain off the ground, with himself as the lead. However, he wasn’t satisfied with just playing the character in a self-contained movie. He had ambitions, in his own words, to change the “hierarchy of power” in the DC universe.
He campaigned for a new creative direction in DC’s cinematic output that put Black Adam front and center, and gave The Rock control behind the scenes. He even went as far as to court Henry Cavill back into the blue and red to play Superman in aBlack Adampost-credits scene. But this all proved to be a massive miscalculation; the movie underperformed, and his creative vision was rejected to the extent that the hierarchy of power in DC did indeed change in the form of a total creative reboot with James Gunn and Peter Safran taking the helm over Johnson.
Despite this slight change in recent career fortunes, there is no denying that Dwayne Johnson remains one of the biggest and most instantly recognizable actors on the planet.
And like a host of actors that came before him — from Teri Hatcher to Ashley Judd —Star Trekis an important, if small, chapter in his career.
