Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson on why his new film hits so close to home
Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson opened up about the new film he stars in and co-produced with his ex-wife, saying that a lot of the "dysfunctionality you see in the movie is just taken from our lives."
As one of Hollywood's hottest action stars, Johnson said that having the chance to premiere the film, "Fighting With My Family," at the Sundance Film Festival was surreal.
"It was a bucket-list dream come true that I didn't even know was on the bucket list," Johnson told ABC News' Kayna Whitworth.
His film tells the true story of Paige and her wrestling-fanatic family, something Johnson said he has plenty of experience with in his own family.
"I grew up in a wrestling family," he said.
"We lived like gypsies ... So lots of fun dysfunction," he quipped. "The dysfunctionality you see in the movie is just taken from our lives."
The film is even produced by a company he founded with his ex-wife, Dany Garcia, as well as his ex-brother-in-law, Hirim Garcia. The trio fought hard to get the film made after they say every movie studio turned them down.
"It's a story that we felt, no matter at what scale we made it, it's something that will always resonate with audiences globally," Hirim Garcia said. "So ... no matter what, we were gonna get the movie made right."
When asked how they turned a marriage that didn't quite work out into a professional partnership, Johnson said the answer was "therapy."
"Lots of therapy," Dany Garcia added.
She said that it also took "friendship" and "the expansion of wanting what's best for everyone, wanting what's best in his life, wanting what's best in my life, Hirim's life."
A "great way to put it," Johnson said, adding, "I'm so happy I sent you all those notes ... prior to this."
Dany Garcia added that they have grown a lot over the years.
"We are so different today than who we were 10 years ago, 12, 15 years ago that it's like that past almost doesn't exist," she said.
Now, the couple's daughter, Simone, is following her father's lead and training to be in the WWE.
"When Dany had Simone, and I was fortunate enough to be her father, at ... 29 I was still trying to find myself," Johnson said. "I was flying by the seat of my pants at that time. I was in WWE."
"As she's going into a business that I have enjoyed over the years," he added. "It's brought us even closer together."
You can catch Johnson's film, "Fighting With My Family," in theaters this February.
