The Rock is glad he wasn’t picked to play Jack Reacher
Was there ever a role Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson wanted but didn’t land? The answer is yes, and now he realizes he wouldn’t have done it justice.
Thanks to the quarantine, high-profile actors have to find new ways to fill their time. One such way are Q&A sessions! During one of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s Q&As, it was revealed he auditioned for a role, but didn’t get it. Something he is thankful for now.
In the seven or so minute video, The Rock noted himself as a fan of the Jack Reacher franchise. He felt he could do him justice when they were looking for someone to fill that specific role in 2012’s Jack Reacher. He enjoyed the franchise and was around the same height, so he felt like he could do something with the character.
In the end, the role, of course, went to the already well-off actor, Tom Cruise, who went on to make the movie a hit. This left The Rock a bit disappointed when he learned he didn’t get the role, but it was short-lived as he got a call from Universal wanting him to be in Fast and Furious 5.
He had his demands, such as creative freedom to form his role and surround himself with his own posse to create who became the character of Hobbs. Production agreed, and he went on to work on that. Later in his career, he came to a sudden realization that he probably couldn’t do it justice as he felt he could.
The role of Jack Reacher was already established, he wouldn’t have any sort of creative freedom to make the character his own.
Let’s be honest, when we see a lot of movies, we almost always imagine what would it be like if another actor played the leading role. I know I personally question how movies like In Time, which starred the likes of Justin Timberlake, would have done if it was Steve Carell or Ben Stiller in the leading role.
I think it would have been a completely different movie if the role of Jack Reacher was given to the wrestler-turned-actor. The loss of this role was probably the best thing for his career, considering there could have been a possibility he would have dropped out of Fast and Furious 5 and opt to go for Jack Reacher and we’d never have Hobbs the way we know him now.