Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s Advice Is Perfect for Any Generation at 2019 MTV Movie & TV Awards

There’s nobody quite like The Rock.

During tonight’s 2019 MTV Movie & TV Awards, a very special actor was awarded the Generation Award from host Zachary Levi. In case you didn’t already guess, congratulations are in order for Dwayne Johnson. 

While accepting his special trophy, Dwayne couldn’t help but recall his early days in Hollywood when people weren’t sure what to think of him.

“When I first got to Hollywood, Hollywood, they didn’t know what the hell to do with me. I mean, I was half black, half Samoan, six foot four, 275 pound pro wrestler,” he recalled. “I was told at that time you gotta be a certain way. You gotta drop some weight. You gotta be somebody different. You gotta stop working out, stop doing the things that I love. You gotta stop calling yourself ‘The Rock.'”

He continued, “For years I actually bought into it because you think, oh, that’s what—that’s what I’m supposed to do. I was miserable doing that so I made a choice. The choice was I wasn’t gonna conform to Hollywood. Hollywood was gonna conform to me.”

Between his success in the WWE and on the big screen, Dwayne certainly proved the doubters wrong.

And while standing on MTV’s big stage, the actor couldn’t help but share some words of advice to his fans of all ages.

“Yes it’s important to be yourself,” he shared. “[But] you gotta recognize the joy and the responsibility of bringing everybody with you. We bring everybody with us and you do that by being kind, by being compassionate, by being inclusive and straight up, just being good to people because that matters.”

Dwayne continued, “And if you can hit that place, that’s when you become influential. That’s when you can have real global influence in a positive…When I was 15-years-old, I heard a quote and I will never forget it and I bring it with me everywhere. It’s ingrained in my DNA. It’s nice to be important but more important to be nice.”

Perhaps Zachary summed it up best in his introduction. “Dwayne Johnson is more than just The Rock, he’s our rock.”

The Generation Award celebrates beloved actors whose diverse contributions to both film and television have turned them into household names. Previous recipients of MTV’s special award include Chris Pratt, Will Smith, Reese Witherspoon, Sandra Bullockand other A-list stars. 

The 2019 MTV Movie & TV Awards airs Monday night at 9 p.m. only on MTV.