Johnson started body building in a bid to get into NFL but he did not get selected. He did make it to the Canadian Football League but was released from the team. The actor says he slipped into depression after that and even broke up with his girlfriend, Dany Garcia, who he married later. “The dreams I had, they’re dashed. There is no more football. My relationship was crushed. That was my absolute worst time,” Johnson said.

“I didn’t want to do a thing. I didn’t want to go anywhere. I was crying constantly. Eventually you reach a point where you are all cried out,” he recalls.

Things started looking up for Johnson when he became a hit as WWE star. He soon found an opening in Hollywood hosting Saturday Night Live in 2000.

He later starred in films such as The Mummy Returns and The Scorpion King.

“I grew up where when a door closed, a window didn’t open. The only thing I had was cracks. I’d do everything to get through those cracks—scratch, claw, bite, push, bleed.“Now the opportunity is here. The door is wide open,” said Johnson.