Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson dedicated his performance to those who struggle with addiction and depression.
In an interview with Variety, Johnson revealed that he lost 15 people to addiction and sucide in 20 years.
“Over the past two decades, I lost exactly 15 friends to addiction and suicide. They just couldn’t handle the pressure,” Johnson said.
In a way, The Smashing Machine is a love letter to the men and women who struggle. Who have made it on the other side, and who didn’t make it on the other side,” he continued. “So Smashing Machine became more of a film, so that’s the thing.”
Johnson also shared that his mother, Ata Johnson once attempted suicide. When he was 15 years old, she walked into oncoming traffic on a Nashville highway. Johnson has also spoken candidly about his battle with depression.
OWN’s Oprah’s Master Class in 2015, he admitted to falling into depression at the age of 23. He failed to make it into the NFL and was cut from the Canadian Football League.
“I found that with depression, one of the most important things you could realize is that you’re not alone. You’re not the first to go through it,” he said. “I wish I had someone at that time who could just pull me aside and [say], ‘Hey, it’s going to be okay.’ “
“Help ‘em thru it, get ‘em talkin’ about the struggle. Remind ‘em that they’re not alone,” he said on social media in 2018. “We got lucky that day when I was 15, and that ain’t always the case.”
In honor of World Mental Health Day, Johnson admonished people to check on their friends.
“Everybody is fighting demons and a lot of people keep it in. A lot of people don’t talk about it. And I learned that, in many cases, the hard way over the years,” he said. “So when I check in with my friends I don’t check in and say, ‘Hey what’s wrong? I check in and say, ‘How’s your heart?”