10 People Dwayne Johnson Is Still Close Friends With & 5 He Doesn’t Talk To Anymore

Successful at pretty much everything he does, Dwayne Johnson exudes so much charisma that he seems infinitely watchable. A trait that appears to hold true in person, it seems like everyone wants to have a little bit of The Rock in their life. No matter how in demand the man clearly is, however, he still has managed to build some extremely close relationships. That said, there are other people that have played a part in his life that he no longer interacts with regularly, in some cases due to negative feelings between them.

In order for someone to be considered for possible inclusion on this list, they either need to have a close friendship with The Rock or seem to no longer be a big part of his life. For the purposes of this list, it makes no difference whatsoever how the person in question first became a part of The Rock’s life. All of that said, we want to make it abundantly clear that we don’t know anyone included as a part of this list personally. As such, we included people on this list based on public reports about their relationship with Dwayne Johnson. With all that in mind, here is a list of ten people Dwayne Johnson is still close friends with and five he doesn’t talk to anymore.

15 Close Friend: Rob Corddry

An actor that is far from a household name, there is still no doubt that Rob Corddry has been one of the most in-demand comedic actors over the last several years. We say that because he has appeared in twenty-four different shows and twenty-one different movies since the year 2010 alone. Clearly, someone that is extremely hardworking and perhaps that is the aspect of his personality that has allowed Corddry become good pals with Dwayne Johnson.

It’s interesting because Corddry has been cast as a total jerk over and over again, which makes his onscreen persona the polar opposite of The Rock’s.

Working together on the well-received HBO series Ballers for several years at this point, that show that stars Dwayne Johnson and Rob Corddry is set to return in August. As a result, it is very safe to say that they’ve spent a great deal of time working together, which makes it very fortunate that they enjoy each other’s company so much. Asked during an interview what is it is like working with The Rock, Corddry replied “it’s as good as you imagine it is. He’s a really good dude.” On top of that, Corddry said about spending time with Johnson, he’s “a superhero in some people’s eyes and he doesn’t do anything to dispel that when you’re hanging out with him”.

14 Close Friend: Hugh Jackman

One of the most talented people in Hollywood, Hugh Jackman is most famous for playing Wolverine on the big screen but he has accomplished so much more than that. A throwback to the song and dance performers of yesteryear, he has strutted his stuff in films and even more notably on a long list of theater stages. On top of all of his achievements in the entertainment world, Jackman also stands out as he comes off like a genuinely awesome dude, something he has in common with The Rock.

Two men that have taken on roles that require them to be incredibly jacked, it seems this bond is what has turned them into friends. Hugh Jackman revealed that he turned to Dwayne Johnson for advice on how to pack on muscle. Talking about it during an interview, Jackman said “I know Dwayne and I rang him and said, ‘Buddy, I saw you in The Tooth Fairy…and then I saw you in an action movie and you are massive. How do you do it?” Additionally, he spoke about one of their many conversations that was especially touching. “Right as he’s telling me the whole diet, someone knocked on his trailer door—and I’ll never forget this moment,” Jackman recalls in an excited voice. “He goes, ‘Hold on a second! I’m talking to Wolverine! You can tell them I said they can wait.'”

13 Not Talking: Seann William Scott

Seann William Scott is one of those actors that at one time seemed to be just about everywhere and has since seemingly disappeared. Thankfully, he is set to take on another high profile role soon, now that he has been cast as one of two lead characters in the TV version of Lethal Weapon. However, as much as we are pleased to see his career get the chance to rebound, we still have to say that we wish his comeback role featured him working alongside The Rock. After all, whenever they appeared onscreen together in The Rundown and Southland Tales, their chemistry was obvious.

Two men that seemed to really like working together considering things they said about one another during interviews, it seems clear they considered one another friends. However, even though we are sure there is still affection between them, it seems like they have grown apart over the last decade. Never cast in the same project since 2007, considering the insanely busy schedule The Rock keeps, their lack of communication seems inevitable. Still, we’re surprised to learn that Dwayne Johnson is excited that the director of The Rundown, Peter Berg, spoke about working on a sequel, but this time with Jonah Hill in the sidekick role instead.

12 Close Friend: Jason Statham

A man whose life has fascinating, to say the least, these days Jason Statham is an actor, but he has competed on the national level in diving, worked as a model, and hustled on the streets. A combination of early careers that combined gave him the experiences to be a highly entertaining big screen figure, his physical abilities, good looks, and fast wit have made him a star. Funnily enough, those are all the same traits that helped turn Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson into the megastar that he is today. They entered into one another’s orbits because both are major figures in the Fast and Furious film franchise and since then they’ve developed a fun and competitive friendship.

Prone to speaking about their desire to one-up each other during interviews, Statham has said, “put a challenge in front of me and I will never turn my back. I’ll never say no”. This and the boisterous nature of The Rock have put these two in one another’s crosshairs, but all that serves to do is make each of them work harder and enjoy one another’s company. In fact, Statham has said “Dwayne and I are good friends”, which is a really good thing as they are set to star in a Fast and Furious spin-off together.

11 Close Friend: Zac Efron

Introduced to most people as one of the stars of the squeaky-clean High School Musical movies, for a time that franchise seemed to define how people perceived Zac Efron. However, since that time period, Efron has gone on to play a number of roles in outrageous movies like the Neighbors movies, Dirty Grandpa, as well as Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates. As a result, Efron became known for his mind-blowing physique, as he shows it off in all those films, and his comedic efforts. This led to him being the perfect choice to star in the movie version of Baywatch alongside The Rock, as both of them look good in swimwear and are adept at cracking a joke.

A movie that is considered a flop as it failed to live up to expectations, Baywatch is not a highlight in the careers of Dwayne Johnson or Zac Efron.

However, that is not to say that they will not be able to look back on the experience around the movie with joy in their hearts as they clearly had a lot of fun during its production. The camaraderie between them was obvious whenever they were interviewed or appeared on red carpets together. Additionally, they show each other a lot of love on social media, with Efron even posting online that Johnson is “perfect” and referring to him as his “sensei”.

10 Not Talking: Vin Diesel

An actor we are often astonished doesn’t seem to get the credit he deserves, Vin Diesel is among the biggest movie stars in the world. After all, he has an incredible voice that he lends to Groot, one of the most popular characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which is the highest grossing film franchise of all-time. Also cast as Dominic Toretto in The Fast and the Furious, in the years since then that original film has blossomed into a full-fledged franchise that Diesel is a major part of. Added to the Fast and Furious cast during Fast Five, The Rock is a massive enough star that in some people’s eyes he has eclipsed Diesel in importance to the series of movies.

While we can’t say for sure that competition between them is what created hard feelings between Vin Diesel and The Rock, it certainly seems possible.

Either way, during the final week of The Fate of the Furious’ filming, The Rock called out some of his male co-stars over Instagram. At first a bit of a mystery, it didn’t take long for it to be clear The Rock was referring to Diesel and special effects had to be used, so the two of them didn’t have to share a scene. Eventually coming to an understanding, Johnson says they “have a fundamental difference in philosophies on how we approach movie-making”. That said, at least he also said he has “no ill will” for Diesel during the same interview.

9 Close Friend: John Cena

A man that was given an unenviable task, John Cena became the flag bearer for the WWE in the years after Steve Austin and The Rock left the industry for the most part. Of course, this led to Cena being asked about The Rock in particular, since he had become an acting megastar and John never held back on the topic. Upset that Johnson had professed his love for wrestling then left it behind for years, Cena said that The Rock “pounded his chest that he really loved the WWE, and that wasn’t the truth”. Additionally, Cena also said that Johnson “doesn’t give anything back” to wrestling fans.

Placed into a feud with one another that took place over three WrestleManias, The Rock and John Cena interacted for years. Not holding back on each other during the run-up to these matches, the anger between them was real enough that they had to stop themselves from “coming to blows backstage”. However, Cena’s recent move to focus on an acting career of his own has allowed him to understand his former foe and he has called his earlier comments about The Rock “the stupidest stuff ever”. Furthermore, Johnson has called Cena one of his “best friends” and Cena was also clear that they are buddies.

8 Close Friend: Mark Henry

A truly incredible man, Mark Henry is capable of doing things that can only be described as superhuman. Referred to as The World’s Strongest Man throughout his WWE career, that could seem pretty hyperbolic, but if you’ve followed the life of Henry it seems like an accurate description. The holder of far too many powerlifting records to list here, Henry was inducted into the International Sports Hall of Fame in 2012. A large and powerful man, it didn’t take too long for Henry to gain the attention of Vince McMahon which led to him receiving a lengthy and financially rewarding WWE contract.

Introduced to the wrestling ecosystem with no idea how he was expected to act backstage, when Mark Henry first signed with the company he understood the business as a fan. Made a part of the Nation of Domination relatively early on, during his tenure with that group he interacted a great deal with The Rock, which was both advantageous and detrimental. Negative because The Rock would make him late for events because he would say things like “I have to put on special face cream” and that tardiness got both of them fined a lot. However, The Rock’s family lineage meant “he knew the protocols” and helped Henry to understand what was expected of him. In the end, they have remained friends through the years and Henry even went out of his way to thank The Rock during his WWE Hall of Fame induction speech.

7 Not Talking: Tyrese Gibson

A film franchise we have already touched on several times on this list, the relationships of Dwayne Johnson and his Fast and Furious co-stars have garnered a lot of headlines. However, we have yet to touch on the most contentious relationship The Rock has with another one of the stars from that series. Evidently not pleased at all that the ninth Fast and Furious film had its production pushed so a spin-off starring The Rock could be filmed first, Tyrese Gibson publicly bashed Johnson several times. Odd as his ire was never targeted at Jason Statham, The Rock’s co-star in the spin-off, Gibson seems to blame Johnson for all of it.

A feud that began when The Rock called out his male co-stars, even though it seems he wasn’t referring to Tyrese Gibson, it caused some tension between them. Then word broke about the spin-off and things really took off. Posting on Instagram, Gibson wrote “we don’t fly solo” and a lot of things about how Fast 9 should be filmed as soon as originally planned. In the months that followed, Gibson also posted things like The Rock made “ the Fast and Furious franchise about himself” and he even threatened to quit the series if the spin-off was produced. Thankfully, things finally seemed to ease off after Gibson posted that he had a “heart to heart” with one of Dwayne’s “associates”.  Despite the relative calm, these two clearly are never going to be besties.

6 Close Friend: Arnold Schwarzenegger

A hero to millions of people around the world, throughout his life Arnold Schwarzenegger has accomplished some truly mind-blowing things. First coming to prominence as one of the most respected and successful bodybuilders ever, he won the Mr. Olympia competition seven times. Not content with that alone, he then transitioned to the movie world and appeared in beloved films like the Terminator series, Predator, True Lies, and far too many others to list here. Still not through, he was also the governor of California for eight years. With all of that in mind, you’d think Arnold would not have had time to do anything else.

Arguably the biggest action movie star of all-time, it seems as though Schwarzenegger decided that he needed to shepherd his heir apparent through his career. Arnold befriended The Rock, who spoke about what Schwarzenegger did for him in an Instagram post. Speaking about Arnold, The Rock said he “was so supportive and welcoming to me, when he didn’t have to be”. Especially notable as they never starred in the same film, so Arnold had nothing to gain, Schwarzenegger even went so far as to cameo in The Rundown a movie that starred his friend. It was incredibly meaningful as it seemed like a passing of the torch and Arnold actually “flew himself to New Jersey” to take part in the film.

5 Close Friend: Brian Gewirtz

Undoubtedly the least famous person on this list, unless you are a really ardent fan of wrestling or The Rock there is very little chance you’ve even heard of Brian Gewirtz. Formerly the head writer for the WWE’s flagship show, RAW, it turns out Gewirtz began his time with that company due to the respect The Rock had for him. Meeting on the set of a one-time WWE project, Gewirtz has said he and The Rock “got along great right from the beginning”. In fact, Johnson thought enough of Gewirtz to put in a word with WWE officials and before he knew it Gewirtz had a new job. Funnily enough, however, after Gewirtz found huge success with that company, he quit there in large part due to his friend.

Deciding to leave the WWE in order to work for Seven Bucks Entertainment, the production company owned by The Rock and his ex-wife, Brian Gewirtz and Dwayne Johnson became a pair again. In fact, it didn’t take long for Gewirtz to be promoted and named the company’s SVP of Television. On top of that, The Rock at one point also announced their plan to base a sitcom on the “unique bond as an unstoppable writer/wrestler duo”, they shared. While that has not come to fruition, it certainly speaks to how remarkable The Rock finds his friendship and partnership with Gewirtz to be.

4 Not Talking: Kevin Nash

A wrestler with a fascinating history in the business, Kevin Nash debuted in the WWE under the name Diesel and seemed like exactly the kind of guy Vince McMahon loves to promote. As such, it wasn’t too surprising when he became the World Heavyweight Champion. However, his run with the title didn’t exactly cause the WWE’s business to go into hyper drive. He eventually decided to work for another company, WCW, and there a faction he helped found, the nWo, was so ground-breaking that it brought many fans back to the business. As a result of that, he was a key figure in what led the wrestling business to be more popular in the nineties than it had ever been before.

Hired back by the WWE in 2002, by then Nash was seen as an aging star while The Rock was one of the most popular wrestlers in the world. Sharing an onscreen moment during Nash’s first night back with the company, The Rock called Kevin “Big Daddy B”. According to legend, that line was not written for The Rock and greatly angered Nash. Whether that is true or not, during interviews since then, Nash has been very negative about The Rock, to say the least.

3 Close Friend: Dany Garcia

A man whose personal life has been gone over with a fine-toothed comb over the years, the relationships in Dwayne Johnson’s life are put under a pretty powerful microscope. As a result of that fact, one thing is abundantly clear about him, family means more to him than anything else. We see this in the way he speaks about his parents for instance or in the fact that he supports all of the people he considers his cousins, even if they aren’t blood relatives.

More than anything else, however, the relationship he has with his ex-wife Dany Garcia speaks to the kind of man he is.

Married to one another in 1997 and divorced a decade later, Dwayne Johnson and Dany Garcia were always going to be bonded by those years and the daughter they share. Not content with just passing their child back and forth while being civil, however, the two of them still play a major role in each other’s lives. The co-founders of Seven Bucks Productions, Johnson and Garcia created the company five years after their marriage came to an end. A testament to how important to one another they remained, they have continued to work closely ever since. If that isn’t proof of how close they still are, we don’t know what is.

2 Close Friend: Kevin Hart

Someone whose career is absolutely on fire, to say that Kevin Hart is killing it these days is a huge understatement. Seen as one of the biggest comedy stars around, he has starred in a long list of popular movies like the Ride Along series, The Wedding Ringer, and The Secret Life of Pets. On top of that, he also is a sensation in the stand-up comedy world, since he somehow finds room in his schedule to tour and sell out in one region after another. Of course, on top of that stuff, we left out two of his most successful films, Central Intelligence and Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, both of which he starred in with Dwayne Johnson.

The two men have proven that they have an insane amount of onscreen chemistry and it seems like they might become known as something of a comedy team in the years to come. The success of the movies they’ve already made together means they certainly will be offered more projects as a pair and they clearly like working together. This is evidenced by the fact that they love giving each other a hard time everywhere they go, including on social media, interviews, and on the red carpet, and the friendly ribbing between them is obvious. If their demeanor together isn’t enough, Johnson has outright said he has “never had this type of brotherly chemistry with anyone”.

1 Not Talking: Shawn Michaels

Considered by many fans to be the single best professional wrestler of all-time, Shawn Michaels has proven time and time again that he was fantastic at all aspects of the business. Known for his many amazing matches, his bouts against the likes of Bret Hart, Ric Flair, The Undertaker, and Chris Jericho will go down in history. Also extremely entertaining on a microphone, he could make people love or hate him with his words alone whenever he chose. Additionally, as the original leader of D-Generation X, he had a major role in a faction that millions of people loved.

At or near the top of the business for many years, Shawn Michaels worked with pretty much all of the biggest stars at that time. However, there is one glaring exception; he and The Rock never had a feud with one another. An astonishing fact considering how much money their matches could have garnered, it is such a curiosity that there has to be an explanation. Well, according to probably the most respected wrestling journalist in the world, Dave Meltzer, The Rock held a grudge against Michaels. Evidently, early in the career of The Rock, he beat Bret Hart in the ring and Michaels was openly upset by that as he felt that Johnson was beneath them. Also, there was rumors of an issue with HBK mocking Johnson’s grandmother. Turns out, The Rock has a long memory and had no interest in working with someone that tried to tear him down while he was still on the rise.

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Which of these surprised you most? Let us know in the comments!

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