Does Dwayne Johnson do his own stunts?
It's no surprise that WWE legend Dwayne Johnson mostly leans toward action-packed movies filled with exciting stunts. Although the Hollywood actor is experienced in taking bumps due to his pro-wrestling history, he still has someone to share his movie workload with.
The Rock's first movie was The Mummy Returns in 2001, and he had his first lead in a film a year later in The Scorpion King. Since then, he has also appeared in films including G.I. Joe, Rampage, San Andreas, Red Notice, and more. Most recently, he portrayed the antihero character Black Adam. Fans may be familiar with The Rock's extensive wrestling family background, but a family member that may not be too familiar to fans is Tanoai Reed.
The 48-year-old has been a stunt double for Johnson ever since The Scorpion King up until his recent DC film. However, there are a few times when the WWE star does perform his own stunts if they're not that extensive.
Due to the nature of the job, Reed has also suffered a couple of injuries here and there. Because of this, another name added to the team was Myles Humphus. The latter joined them in 2014 during the filming of Hercules and has doubled for Johnson in multiple movies since.
In an interview with Netflix, Tanoai spoke about working with Dwayne Johnson. Surprisingly, he revealed that he and The Rock didn't know they were related at first. The stunt double shared that he knew they were related in a way, but they didn't meet until Scorpion King.
"Yeah, [but] we found out later!" Reed answered when asked if they were truly cousins. "I knew we were related somewhere down the line because I have uncles with the same last name. His mom knew my dad — that generation knew each other, but we never met until the set of Scorpion King. A lot of people assume that he was like, “Oh, I have a cousin that looks like me, bring him on.” But I was already doing stunt work before he was in the ring, I think. I started in ’94. He started wrestling in ’96, ’97."
One of the toughest and most gracious men I know. My cousin & stunt double since 2001. Broken bones, severed tendons over the years to make our actions scenes bad ass - all with a smile. Thanks @GQMagazine for recognizing a real 1 in Tanoai Reed. #Usos
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Dwayne Johnson had a big gift for his cousin/stuntman Tanoai Reed
It's no secret that The Rock values family a lot and shows his appreciation to those around him as much as he can.
In August 2018, Dwayne Johnson was filming a video with Reed and surprised him with a new $30,000 truck to show his appreciation and honor the sacrifices his longtime stuntman dedicated.
SURPRISE! I love handing over keys🔑🎁
I love you brother and enjoy your new truck!
Over the course of my career, my stunt double (and cousin) Tanoai Reed @tanoai1 has broken multiple… instagram.com/p/Bl2odVZnGE0/…
It's a good thing that the two cousins were able to see each other and form a bond. From the looks of it, Dwayne Johnson does truly care about those around him, especially in the industry.
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