When he entered Hollywood, Dwayne Johnson was just a wrestler. It wasn’t until his game-changing role in the Fast Five that The Rock became a household name. But just two movies after, he had a fallout with some of his male co-stars, mainly Vin Diesel and Tyrone Gibson, which made him leave the series. But what about his relationship with the late Paul Walker?
Walker, one of the most beloved actors, by actors and fans alike, was a major part of the Fast and Furious series. His death before the seventh movie’s release sent the Hollywood fraternity into a state of mourning. So what was Johnson’s relationship with Walker, given that Diesel was one of the closest friends of the late actor?
How healthy was the bond between Dwayne Johnson and Paul Walker?
Dwayne Johnson had a lot of tensions with his Fast series’ male co-stars. Although he was close with Vin Diesel earlier, everyone knows about his beef with Vin Diesel. Not only was that the reason for Johnson’s exit from the series, but it is also rumored to be the reason for no Hobbs and Shaw sequel announcement. But Johnson’s relationship with Diesel’s closest friend, the late Paul Walker was totally different.
The two co-stars worked on two movies, Fast Five and Fast and Furious 6. Also, they worked on the seventh movie, but Walker lost his life due to a car accident while they were still shooting. The news broke in November 2014, just a year after his last movie, Fast and Furious 6. It sent a shock to the entire Hollywood industry, including Johnson.
But it wasn’t after the news of Walker’s passing that Johnson talked about his late co-star. Six months after Walker’s death, Johnson revealed his initial reaction to his friend’s tragic demise. He revealed that he was driving with his current wife, Lauren Hashian when he heard about the news.
In the same interview, he revealed he talked about how the two bonded over being divorced single fathers to their daughters at the time. About the depression he faced during that time, he told Hollywood Reporter, “I didn’t want to do a thing. Didn’t want to go anywhere. I was crying constantly. Eventually, you reach a point where you are all cried out.” It was certainly a difficult time for The Rock having to deal with the death of a friend.
At the time, everyone was talking about Walker. Almost every actor opened up about their fond memories of Walker. Whether it was on the sets, or in personal lives, Walker affected a lot of his close friends. But does Johnson mentions Walker after his passing away?
Dwayne Johnson still recalls his late friend
Again in 2019, in a post, The Rock opened up about his connection with Walker on his birthday. The Facebook post read, “Our friendship was bonded over our daughters, Meadow & Simone, and the pride and protection we took being their fathers.” This post came just a few days after another one of his friends, Kevin Hart, met with an accident.
Meadow Walker and Simone Johnson have a 3-year age gap, so it’s highly likely that Walker and The Rock were going through the same thing as fathers, dealing with teenage daughters, while working on the movies. In the post, he also mentioned that he also likes to keep his friendships private, but Walker’s birthday felt like a good time to reveal this little tidbit.
While he may have had issues with other co-stars, Johnson made good friends with Walker. It is also evident from their scenes in the movies together. While we won’t see Johnson in a Fast movie anytime soon, we hope to get an announcement about his spin-off sequel.
