The Rock remembers the one request he made to Lorne Michaels when he hosted Saturday Night Live.
Dwayne Johnson introduced himself to the SNL audience for the first time in 2000. Johnson and his WrestleMania 2000 opponents — Triple H, Mick Foley, and The Big Show — all appeared on the show to promote WWEâ€s biggest PPV of the year.
The Rock would eventually return to host Saturday Night Live on four different occasions. He also became part of the “five-timers club†when he hosted SNL for the fifth time in 2017.
Speaking on The Hollywood Reporterâ€s Awards Chatter podcast, The Great One reflected on hosting SNL for the first time in 2000. He also revealed the request he made to show co-creator Lorne Michaels.
“I got a call from Lorne Michaels, who said, ‘Hey, Iâ€d love for you to host.†I was like, ‘I would love to host.†And I said, ‘I have one request that I would ask that you consider.†Because youâ€ve got to know your audience, and itâ€s Lorne Michaels. You donâ€t want to go in and say, ‘Hey, hereâ€s my demands!†I said, ‘Iâ€d love for you to consider this.†He said, ‘Whatâ€s that?†I said, ‘Iâ€d love to do no wrestling skits at all because I feel like thatâ€s kind of low-hanging fruit. I want to do everything else but that.â€â€
Johnson said Michaels agreed to the request, and the show was a success. This also led to more opportunities, which is something he wanted to do.
The Rock on getting movie offers after hosting Saturday Night Live
Johnson said he got a call from director Stephen Sommers after hosting the show, who pitched the Scorpion King role in The Mummy Returns. Johnson was offered the part, despite having doubts about how heâ€d fit in.
“Brendan Fraser, at that time, was one of the biggest stars in the world — he had this throwback look to him, and he was the man — and I remember thinking, ‘God, is he okay with this? Because this is his franchise.†And I remember pulling Stephen aside and I said, ‘Hey, is Brendan okay with this? Can I call him can?†He was like, ‘Not only is he okay with this, but he wants you to be in this.†It was so awesome, and Iâ€ll never forget that. He could have, at that time, because he had the juice, gone, ‘I donâ€t know. Letâ€s get somebody else. I donâ€t know if I want The Rock in this, whoâ€s never acted before other than what heâ€s done in the ring.†Iâ€ll never forget that. And to this day, weâ€re great friends and I really appreciate him.â€
Read More: The Rock Reveals When Jumanji 3 Starts Production
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