The Rock Is Losing Weight To Become Friends With a Chicken

I never thought The Rock was a big person. That’s mostly because I was judging him against people like The Undertaker, the aptly named Big Show, and The Great Khali, who are 6’10”, 7’0”, and 7’1” respectively. Yes, those are some of the taller wrestlers out there, and Dwayne Johnson is only four inches shorter than the shortest among them, but he just never looked that big. So I was surprised to see a piece about his drastic weight loss.

I’m not talking about recently. This was in 2008, as promotion for his turn in Get Smart, which was being pushed as a big opportunity for him. It wasn’t that for anybody. But that didn’t stop Johnson’s ascent, even though the piece highlighted him getting into more “normal” shape. He was slimming down from the huge wrestler I didn’t think he was, to a more believable body type. That didn’t really work.

I’d argue that Dwayne Johnson kicked his career into high gear during his “franchise viagra” era, when he started showing up in the Fast and Furious movies, and a G.I. Joe sequel, jacked as all hell, barking and punching and wearing shirts with more pockets than sleeves. He hit it big, not because he lost weight, but because he gained more muscle than I had seen him have before.

The Rock’s weight has always been up for discussion. I can’t find the article I’m referencing online, but, if you have $14.99, you can read it yourself. Even if it were online, it would be hard to find. Any search for news of Johnson’s weight will lead you to a new, slightly bizarre chapter in his acting career.

Ole Black Adam was looking a lot thinner than usual recently, especially compared to his character in his new movie, The Smashing Machine. Rumors swirled about why The Rock had changed so drastically, and he finally has the answer: chicken. Not only will he not be eating any chicken going forward, but he’s doing this so he can play a man who is best friends with a chicken. Oh, and he’s in his 70s.

The character is called Chicken Man and will be in a Benny Safdie-directed film called Lizard Music, itself an adaptation of the Daniel Pinkwater novel of the same name. “Benny pitched me this after,” Johnson revealed at the Toronto Film Festival. “And after about 45 minutes, this pitch ended and I said, ‘I am your Chicken Man.’” Good! Do it!

I knew The Rock from wrestling, but I genuinely thought he had the acting chops to take Hollywood by storm, as the article I read suggested. I still think he does. He has mentioned being pigeonholed, and who did that to him is debatable. But if he wants to start stretching himself as an actor, and this is what it takes, I’m all for it. Get weird, Chicken Man.