The first meeting between Robin Williams and Dwayne Johnson was nothing less than “a disaster!”
Dwayne Johnson has led a star-studded career in almost every field he has stepped in — be it sports, entertainment, or business. But that success didn’t save him from getting into an incredibly humiliating moment while meeting one of those brilliant actors he most admired and wanted to meet while growing up. This actor was none other than the late beloved legend, Robin Williams.
Fortunately for Johnson, he encountered the legendary comic for the first time in his life before to appearing in the highly anticipated Jumanji sequel from 1995. However, The Rock’s first meeting was so nerve-wracking that it ultimately turned out to be a humiliating moment for him—he even called it “a disaster!”
The First Meeting Between Dwayne Johnson and Robin Williams Was “A Disaster”Yes, when Johnson transitioned from being a wrestler to an actor, Robin Williams—Hollywood’s own favorite—became his idol as well. Both performers just so happened to be backstage at the same moment during a CinemaCon event in Las Vegas years ago.After lurking around awkwardly, he told the story in an interview with Entertainment Weekly.
“At last, I manage to meet his gaze and say, ‘Hey, I just wanted to say, you are my biggest fan,’” Johnson recalled.
Oh my goodness, that had to have been incredibly embarrassing. Funny enough, there was a moment of confusion after which Dwayne Johnson realized that he had spoken the exact opposite thing to Williams than he had intended to say to him.The star of Jumanji: The Next Generation revealed what transpired next.
“I thought, ‘Ah, s—! I intended to say the opposite! “It’s so good to meet you,” he said, laughing, and he gave me a big hug. That concluded things. When I first met Robin, I made a fool of myself.”
Despite the humorous nature of the episode, the late Williams undoubtedly took care to ensure that his younger fan had the best possible experience. Maybe that’s why The Rock held him in even more regard, to the point that he said no one could replace Williams!
Regards to Robin Williams made Jumanji “tough” for Dwayne Johnson to handleAs many of Williams’s adoring followers are already aware, Johnson played a lead role in Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, the follow-up to the 1995 classic. But he described it as “nerve-wracking” to be continuing the late actor’s legacy.
As the Hercules star continued to share in the interview:
“It was pretty nerve-wracking at first because there’s such a tremendous amount of love and reverence that people have for Robin. Anything you touch of his can be very polarizing at first.”
Thus, he decided to term his film as a sequel to the original classic Jumanji instead of letting fans feel like they were trying to fill in the Good Will Hunting actor‘s shoes — which, he claimed, was “impossible to do” anyway.
“I felt like the best thing that I could do for our movie was to try to get out in front of any narrative and let everybody know that we’re making this as a continuation. We cannot fill Robin Williams’ shoes. That’s impossible to do.”Maybe this crucial element was actually responsible for the sequel’s enormous popularity with reviewers and viewers alike!
Watch Welcome to the Jungle (2017) on Hulu and Jumanji (1995) on Prime Video.
