Dwayne Johnson has announced the actors who will bring his younger years to life.
“Young Rock,” the upcoming NBC comedy executive produced by and starring Johnson, has tapped Adrian Groulx to play 10-year-old Dwayne (described as honest, headstrong, impressionable and bold), Bradley Constant to play him aged 15 (at which point he is doing his best to fit in as a normal teenager), and “Marco Polo” star Uli Latukefu to play him from the ages of 18 to 20 (when Dwayne has just been recruited to play football on a scholarship at the University of Miami).
Also joining the cast are Stacey Leilua as Ata Johnson, Dwayne’s strong, positive mother, “S.W.A.T.” and “Harriet” alum Joseph Lee Anderson as Dwayne’s charismatic and charming father, and finally Ana Tuisila as Lia Maivia, Dwayne’s sweet grandmother who is a cutthroat, ruthless businesswoman when she needs to be.
“Young Rock,” which is slated to premiere sometime in 2021, charts Johnson’s childhood from growing up in a strong and resilient family, to being surrounded by the wild characters of his professional wrestling family, to playing football at the University of Miami. It will explore the rollercoaster that has shaped Johnson into the man he is today and the larger-than-life characters he’s met along the way. Johnson broke the casting announcements via Instagram, while also revealing that production on the series is officially underway.
The series hails from Nahnatchka Khan, who co-wrote the pilot with Jeff Chiang. Both are executive producing alongside Johnson under his Seven Bucks Productions banner. Also among the EPs are Seven Bucks’ Dany Garcia, Hiram Garcia, and Brian Gewirtz, as well as Jennifer Carreras of Khan’s Fierce Baby Productions. Universal Television, where Khan is under an overall deal, will serve as the studio. Jeffrey Walker serves as producer, director and co-EP.
Johnson recently starred in “Jumanji: The Next Level” and will next star in Disney’s “Jungle Cruise.” Meanwhile Khan is best known as the creator and executive producer of “Fresh Off the Boat,” which recently ended its six-year run. She previously created “Don’t Trust the B—- in Apartment 23,” which ran for two seasons on ABC.
Source: Variety
