Dwayne Johnson was emotional as he remembered his father on his posthumous birthday. The multi-hyphenated star took to social media to mark the occasion with a special, heartfelt post dedicated to his “soulman.” On Saturday, August 24, Dwayne, 52, shared a series of images from different eras of his life with his father, the late WWE wrestler Rocky “Soulman” Johnson, on what would have been his 80th birthday.
“My old man was a true trailblazer as a professional wrestler in the ’60s, ’70s and ’80s,” the Moana actor wrote in the caption. “As a black athlete, he changed the racist behavior of many people over the years with his talent in the ring and his insane work ethic in the gym.”
When he thinks back on the father-son dynamic, he remembers learning “good and not so good” lessons from him. Although their relationship was “complicated,” at the end of the day, it was all “love.” One of the pictures shows his dad as a young guy working out at the gym, another of him with his championship belt, another of him posing with a young Dwayne, and one of them several decades later.
In the years since his father’s death in 2020, the “Jumanji” actor has spoken openly on several occasions about the complicated dynamic that existed between him and his father, revealing that the two were not on speaking terms at the time of his death.
In March, Dwayne reflected on his late father’s life, legacy and record-breaking milestones in the WWE world in an Instagram post. “He’s had a tough road and he’s been a trailblazer for all of us men of color – in every sport and at every level of entertainment. But he also cared deeply about paving the way for all men, no matter the color of their skin – it didn’t matter,” he added.
In the same post, he expressed that his biggest regret was never having the chance to say goodbye to his father, who died suddenly. “I regret not getting our complicated father-son thing sorted out before I lost him,” he added. Rocky raised him with strict fatherly love, which he was grateful for later in his life.
