Dwayne Johnson is one of the biggest movie stars in the world. He’s a celebrity known by most of the planet. While he is a big star, Johnson publicly comes across as a pretty down-to-earth guy, but a story a few months ago alleged that working with Johnson on set was no picnic for the cast and crew. Now the celeb has spoken out on the allegations and admitted that some of them are true.
The allegations against Dwayne Johnson included the fact that he was chronically late to the set of his films, specifically Red One, which is coming to theaters next week. Most bizarre, however, was the claim that Johnson would pee in empty water bottles on the set. In a new profile from GQ, Johnson admits that part of the story is actually true, saying simply…
I pee in a bottle. Yeah. That happens.
Johnson doesn’t reveal what would happen to the bottle after he used it. The initial report said he would make others dispose of it. Overall, Johnson pretty is open and honest about what he has done. He also admits to sometimes being late to the set, but denies that it rose to the level of the claims, calling them “ridiculous.”
The report claimed that Johnson’s lateness caused Red One to go over budget by $250 million. Director Jake Kasdan, who has worked with The Rock before, insisted that the actor's lateness was not beyond what's normal in Hollywood, saying…
[He] never missed a day of work ever. He has a lot going on. He can be late sometimes, but such is Hollywood—that’s the case with everybody. Honestly, I’ve made three big movies with him. I’ve never seen him be anything but great to every single person on the set.
Johnson’s Red One co-star Chris Evans went a step further and rejected the idea that Johnson was ever really late at all. Evans said that Johnson showed up later to the set than others because he was working out in the mornings, and all that was part of the known schedule.
We certainly know how extensive The Rock's workouts can be. Evans says he’s seen actors who were inconsiderate of everybody else’s time and that Johnson is not that guy. He explained…
In terms of the guy that I saw, compared to some of the things I’ve seen on other movies with other actors who are not only not conscious of other people’s time and efforts, but they’re unpredictable? I found Dwayne to be—we all know exactly what he’s going to do when he’s going to do it. But this is something that the producers, the director, and it’s all his team, so they all know this. So it’s all basic. It’s not like he’s late unexpectedly, and I wouldn’t even call it late. He comes in slightly later on certain mornings, but it’s part of the plan. It’s worked into the schedules and everyone knows it, so he shows up when he’s scheduled to show up.
There’s certainly no argument that Dwayne Johnson has a lot of irons in the fire. Between all The Rock's upcoming movies and his other business ventures, it wouldn't be shocking if his attention was often elsewhere.
He may not end up showing up as early or working as late as others on set, but according to people other than The Rock himself, his attendance was never a real problem. And apparently, he was so committed to working when he was on set that he wouldn’t even take the time to walk to the bathroom. I guess that’s one way to show commitment.