Dwayne Johnson, the actor-wrestler from Hawaii, is rocking on several fronts. He’s the cover boy on The Hollywood Reporter’s June 27 edition in which the underrated A-lister discusses a couple of rounds of despair and depression en route to his current Hollywood popularity.
Johnson, aka The Rock, is everywhere these days. He’s the sword-equipped, sandal-wearing demigod "Hercules" in the MGM/Paramount epic set for release July 25 and he’s shooting Warners Bros.’ "San Andreas" earthquake disaster film in Australia, expected in 2015.
His path to success has been peppered with ups and downs. His football career vanished when he suffered injuries and severe disappointment when not drafted by the NFL. With his brawny frame, he turned to pro wrestling, where The Rock evolved into a WWE icon. Once divorced, he has a live-in girlfriend now, Lauren Hashian.
He appeared in lightweight box-office hits "The Mummy Returns" and "Tooth Fairy," but "Fast and Furious" made him a legit action star and the "Journey" franchise solidified his global following. So "Fast and Furious 7," due next April, should give him another lift. His films last year, including "Pain & Gain," "Snitch" and "G.I. Joe: Retaliation," grossed $1.3 billion — enough to make producers take notice.
Watch, too, for Johnson’s new HBO series, "Ballers," described as a sports-themed "Entourage," beginning production in the fall; and a TNT reboot of "Wake Up Call," dubbed "The Hero," which hurls him reality series turf.
Further, The Rock will have a second autobiography, still untitled, this fall, a sequel to 2000’s "The Rock Says." Looks like The Rock is staying, too. …
HY THERE: Singer-composer-guitarist Audy Kimura celebrates his 27th year this week as resident entertainer of Hy’s Steak House. With Don Ho‘s death and the closing of the Society of Seven groups, Kimura is Waikiki’s longest-running act at a single club. The Tihati ohana has a 30-year run, but in different rooms.
The Na Hoku Hanohano Award-winner has sung for the rich and famous, from Hollywood stars to athletes, from politicos to loyal locals and repeat visitors. He serenades from 6:30 to 10 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays, mostly without incident.
But he’s had the infamous, too, notably John Wayne Bobbitt, who popped into Hy’s one night after he gained global notoriety at the hands of his revenge-seeking, now ex-wife Lorena. He requested Kimura to "just play something — anything."
Just after starting Billy Joel‘s "She’s Always a Woman," Kimura realized the tune had some sensitive lyrics, which made the singer wince as he sang "Then she’ll carelessly cut you and laugh while you’re bleeding." Ouch! …
HONORABLE MENTIONS: There’s a swirl of behind-the-scenes buzz at the Honolulu Theatre for Youth, which is prepping for its 60th season beginning with Alvin Chang‘s "A Bollywood Robin Hood," Aug. 15 at Tenney Theatre, and its Le Masquerade fundraiser titled "Let Our Children Sparkle," to herald HTY’s diamond anniversary Sept. 27 at Waialae Country Club.
Word is that Yasu Ishida, who will direct "Rockin’ the Holidays With Rakugo" during the Christmas season, has won the American Alliance for Theatre Education’s Don and Elizabeth Dole Fellowship for his lifetime achievement and creativity in youth theater. …
And Robert St. John, Le Jardin Academy drama teacher and former HTY public relations director, won the AATE Lin Wright Professional Teaching Grant for his exemplary professional development in a secondary school. …
Each $3,000 award funds travel and registration costs to attend AATE conferences this year and next. …
And that’s "Show Biz."…
Wayne Harada is a veteran entertainment columnist; reach him at 266-0926 or wayneharada@gmail.com; read his Show and Tell Hawaii blog at www.staradvertiser.com.
