Dwayne Johnson Was ‘So Sick’ On His First Day Filming Mummy Returns, But He Also Explained Why That Day Was So Important

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With so many Dwayne Johnson movies constantly being made—including two planned for 2026—it’s surprising to remember he didn’t start out as an actor. He first became well-known as a professional wrestler in WWE before landing his first movie role in 2001’s The Mummy Returns. Now, celebrating 25 years in acting, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson vividly remembers his very first day on set.

Dwayne Johnson recently participated in The Hollywood Reporter’s Actors’ Roundtable, joining a discussion with other highly-regarded actors of 2025. He shared a story about his first day filming The Mummy Returns, recalling the experience with the following words:

I believe a larger force was at play, but I also actively sought personal and professional growth, and moving to Hollywood was a goal of mine. During the filming of my first movie, The Mummy Returns, we were in the Sahara Desert, and I got quite sick – likely from something I ate. It was incredibly hot, around 110 degrees, but I was strangely freezing and had to wrap myself in a blanket.

Filming for The Mummy Returns began in Morocco and Jordan, and later moved to England. This marked Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson’s very first acting role, and he was still new to the world of big-budget filmmaking at the time – he was in his late 20s and learning as he went. He even recalled being sick on his first day, but that wasn’t the only memorable thing that happened…

The director, Stephen Sommers, checked to see if I was alright, and I told him I was. I hadn’t acted before, but when he yelled ‘Action!’ and we filmed the scene, I knew immediately I wanted to make acting my career. As soon as he said ‘Cut!’, I was certain this was what I wanted to do with my life.

Even though filming The Scorpion King was physically demanding for Johnson, he quickly felt confident he’d made the right decision by changing careers. Considering how much pain he was in, that positive feeling was surprising, but that’s exactly what happened.

I was really touched to hear Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson recently publicly thank Brendan Fraser for taking a chance on him early in his career. Apparently, Fraser had the power to say no to working with him, but instead, he welcomed The Rock onto their film set with open arms. It’s awesome to see that kind of support, especially with both of them starring in such well-received movies lately!

The movie earned $433 million around the world, making it the seventh highest-grossing film of 2001. It led to a spin-off called The Scorpion King, and helped launch the actor’s career to greater success.

Dwayne Johnson is famous for action films, but he recently took on a more serious role playing MMA fighter Mark Kerr in The Smashing Machine. Although the movie didn’t do well in theaters, both Johnson and his co-star, Emily Blunt, have been nominated for Golden Globes in 2026 for their work in the film, which was directed by Benny Safdie.

After the success of The Smashing Machine, Dwayne Johnson has two big films planned for 2026, allowing him to continue doing what he loves. He’ll first appear as Maui in the live-action Moana movie this July, and then return for a fourth Jumanji film in December alongside Jack Black, Kevin Hart, and Karen Gillan. Despite feeling unwell on his very first day of acting, pushing through it clearly paid off!

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2026-01-04 03:08