© 2026 ABC News

Johnson, who comes from Polynesian descent, said this was \"an opportunity to showcase Polynesian culture to the world on the big screen in a way that it had never been showcased before.\"

A lot of Johnson's real-life experiences and parts of his own story were reflected in this movie. \"I played football, didn't make it. Failed at that. There were a lot of failures that Maui has had to go through as well,\" Johnson said.

Proud of the film, his character and what it represents, he told ABC his favorite line from the film is when Maui tries to tell Moana she is a princess. \"And she’s very adamant, 'I'm not a princess. I'm the daughter of a the chief, but I'm not a princess,'\" he said laughing. \"And I say something like, 'Well, listen, if you got a dress and you got a sidekick then you're a princess.' It's very funny. It’s the best line in the movie.\"

\"Moana\" will be in theaters on Nov. 23.

Disney is the parent company of ABC.

","canonicalUrl":"https://abcnews.com/Entertainment/dwayne-rock-johnson-shed-manly-tears-moana/story?id=43680580","legacySlug":"/culture/story/dwayne-rock-johnson-shed-manly-tears-moana-43680580","noIndexNoFollow":false},"publishTime":"14:25","publishDate":"11-21-2016","updatedTime":"15:21","updatedDate":"05-11-2017","socialImage":{"alt":"VIDEO: Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson Shed 'Manly Tears' During 'Moana'","credit":"ABCNews.com","ratio":"16x9","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/161121_gma_watt_16x9_1600.jpg","width":992,"height":558},"datePublished":"11/21/2016 14:25:00 GMT","video":{"live":false,"id":43680580,"headline":"'The Rock' Shed Tears Making 'Moana'","mediaAssetTitle":"MCCARTHY_MOANA_ROCK_DWAYNE_JOHNSON_161121","description":"Johnson said his own daughter, 15, reminded him of the title heroine.","duration":"6:15","posterImg":{"url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/default-img-undefined.png","width":608,"height":342},"video":{"feed":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2016/11/161124_ntl_dwayne_johnson_1252_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8"},"playlist":["135812210","135707633","135382432"]},"relatedItems":[{"contentType":"video","date":"August 20, 2026","headline":"Fantasy football players serving their time for coming in last place","section":"News","slug":"/video/135812210","id":"135812210","image":{"alt":"With millions of fantasy football leagues around the world, the quest to generate the most unique and hilarious last place punishment has become an annual internet tradition.","credit":"ABCNews.com","ratio":"1x1","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/football_fantasy_gmafl_260820_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","width":384,"height":384},"images":{"alt":"With millions of fantasy football leagues around the world, the quest to generate the most unique and hilarious last place punishment has become an annual internet tradition.","credit":"ABCNews.com","crops":[{"16x9":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/football_fantasy_gmafl_260820_hpMain_16x9_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/football_fantasy_gmafl_260820_hpMain_16x9_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/football_fantasy_gmafl_260820_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"9x16":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/football_fantasy_gmafl_260820_hpMain_9x16_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/football_fantasy_gmafl_260820_hpMain_9x16_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/football_fantasy_gmafl_260820_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"1x1":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/football_fantasy_gmafl_260820_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/football_fantasy_gmafl_260820_hpMain_1x1_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/football_fantasy_gmafl_260820_hpMain_1x1_1600.jpg"}}]}},{"contentType":"video","date":"August 17, 2026","headline":"'Dance Dance Revolution' ignites sibling rivalry","section":"News","slug":"/video/135707633","id":"135707633","image":{"alt":"Millions on social media turned to watch a sibling rivalry take center stage in a Dance Dance Revolution battle.","credit":"ABCNews.com","ratio":"1x1","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/dance_danny_gmafl_260817_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","width":384,"height":384},"images":{"alt":"Millions on social media turned to watch a sibling rivalry take center stage in a Dance Dance Revolution battle.","credit":"ABCNews.com","crops":[{"16x9":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/dance_danny_gmafl_260817_hpMain_16x9_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/dance_danny_gmafl_260817_hpMain_16x9_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/dance_danny_gmafl_260817_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"9x16":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/dance_danny_gmafl_260817_hpMain_9x16_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/dance_danny_gmafl_260817_hpMain_9x16_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/dance_danny_gmafl_260817_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"1x1":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/dance_danny_gmafl_260817_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/dance_danny_gmafl_260817_hpMain_1x1_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/dance_danny_gmafl_260817_hpMain_1x1_1600.jpg"}}]}},{"contentType":"video","date":"August 5, 2026","headline":"New Jersey sues Amazon","section":"News","slug":"/video/135382432","id":"135382432","image":{"alt":"VIDEO: New Jersey sues Amazon","credit":"ABCNews.com","ratio":"1x1","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260805_gma_norwood2_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","width":384,"height":384},"images":{"alt":"VIDEO: New Jersey sues Amazon","credit":"ABCNews.com","crops":[{"16x9":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260805_gma_norwood2_hpMain_16x9_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260805_gma_norwood2_hpMain_16x9_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260805_gma_norwood2_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"9x16":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260805_gma_norwood2_hpMain_9x16_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260805_gma_norwood2_hpMain_9x16_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260805_gma_norwood2_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"1x1":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260805_gma_norwood2_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260805_gma_norwood2_hpMain_1x1_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260805_gma_norwood2_hpMain_1x1_1600.jpg"}}]}}],"relatedContentSection":"news","schemaContent":{"name":"'The Rock' Shed Tears Making 'Moana'","description":"Johnson said his own daughter, 15, reminded him of the title heroine.","duration":"6:15","uploadDate":"11-21-2016","publication":"11-21-2016","images":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/default-img-undefined.png","url":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2016/11/161124_ntl_dwayne_johnson_1252_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8","contentUrl":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2016/11/161124_ntl_dwayne_johnson_1252_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8","link":"https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/news/story/dwayne-rock-johnson-shed-manly-tears-moana-43680580"}},"playlist":[{"id":"135835493","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"135803895","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"135768595","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"135739178","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"135734125","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"135706030","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"135592333","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"135619397","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"135617187","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"135574939","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"135591318","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"135555293","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"135548166","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"135545791","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"135521103","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"135515317","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"135453822","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"135450294","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"135420050","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"135435408","contentType":"story","section":"news"}],"kvps":{"pgtyp":"article","lang":"en","sp":"goodmorningamerica","programmatic":"true","bundleId":"com.abcnews"}},"analytics":{"accountID":"wdgnewwdgnewgmaweb","ns":"gma","pageName":"gma:news:video","pageType":"video","globalSpecVersion":"v1.08","siteDifferentiator":"gma:site","tagID":"g_page01","userABCookie":"0","section":"news","title":"'The Rock' Shed Tears Making 'Moana'","pubTime":"09:25","pubDate":"11-21-2016","modTime":"11:21","modDate":"05-11-2017","taxonomyTags":"none","id":43680580,"editorialOtherSubjects":"","wordCount":"none","columns":"none","authors":"","authorsUnit":"none","authorsBureau":"none","subBrand":"Good Morning America","provider":"Good Morning America","videoName":"'The Rock' Shed Tears Making 'Moana'","mediaAssetTitle":"MCCARTHY_MOANA_ROCK_DWAYNE_JOHNSON_161121","videoId":43680580,"mediaOnPage":"video","legacySlug":"/culture/story/dwayne-rock-johnson-shed-manly-tears-moana-43680580"},"taboola":{}},"request":{"headers":{},"httpVersion":"1.1","method":"GET","url":"/video/43680580","vary":{"host":"www.goodmorningamerica.com","cached":true,"path":"/video/43680580","forwarded-proto":"https","device":"desktop","userab":"0"}},"viewport":{"width":1260,"height":0},"user":{}};