Dwayne The Rock Johnson is still awesome, visits Make a Wish kids

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Monday was the birthday of both David Beckham and Dwayne Johnson. Whereas Becks was being gifted with bedazzled headwear, The Rock was gifting us enough feels to last the rest of the month. The Rock has been visiting with various children through Make-A-Wish and on the set of Baywatch and taking the time to introduce them to the world. I don’t know about you but after the last couple of crappy weeks, I can use a healthy dose of Do-Gooding Rock.

Dwayne Johnson is an impossibly impressive specimen of human-shaped magic. Have you seen what this man eats in a day? He announced his own alarm clock today, which is definitely not intended for non-magic humans. And speaking seriously, how many people do you think can dub themselves “The Rock” and actually have it stick. I can’t even refer to Alcatraz by that name without using a snickery Sean Connery voice.

You already knew The Rock was a robot sent from the future to improve our species. This past week, though, he went above and beyond even his own standards of incredibleness. Over the last week, he’s been sharing stories on his Instagram account of the people he’s met, both around the Baywatch set and during his visits to the Make a Wish Foundation. Quick question: How are your tear ducts feeling? If the answer is “fine,” that’s about to change.

[From Pajiba]

While at Make-A-Wish, The Rock met Ashley:

A very special day. Today, I had the pleasure of meeting and spending time with Ms. Ashley Rodriguez from Make-A-Wish. I walked in, walked right over to her and… she started crying, then her mama started crying (in the background), then dammit I almost cried, but everyone was watching so I held it together 'cause I'm tough as nails😂. We hung out, ate some lunch together and chatted about all the cool things we have in common – our love for pizza, our fear of spiders (don't tell anyone Rock's afraid of spiders;) and our love for our dogs. As a matter of fact Ashely loves animals so much that she wants to be a veterinarian one day which is awesome – she'd make an amazing vet! Took lots of selfies, laughed a ton, gave her a few gifts and then we wrapped up our visit. Ashley, you made my heart full today and I'm such a lucky guy to have been able to spend time with you. You stay strong, stay awesome, keep smilin', enjoy the gift and always keep lovin' pepperoni pizza. And I'll do the same! Lastly, I want to thank everyone who made Ashley's and her family's trip possible. So many people who I don't even know, but please know that I'm grateful from afar. Always say this, because it's true.. this is by far the best part of my fame. #Onset #Baywatch #MakeAWish #AshleyRodriguez #AndOneVeryLuckyBigBrownBaldDude

A photo posted by therock (@therock) on

And then he met Larry:

I mean there's cool dudes, and then there's COOL dudes. My buddy Larry Orozco-Chavez from Make-A-Wish is THAT cool dude. Such a pleasure getting to hang with him and his family today. We chopped up talkin' about video games (he's a hard core gamer), my WWE matches, movies, took selfies, shot videos on our phones of each other and his mom even asked me to bounce my pecs up and down! I mean don't threaten me with a good time, so I was pec poppin' all over the place much to the amusement of Larry's mama and much to the embarrassment of Larry himself😂. When I sat down with Larry, he said something to me that struck a chord. He said, "Dwayne Johnson (he often called me by my full name today which was awesome) when you walked in today my heart was beating so fast I didn't know what to do. Then you started talking to me and it slowed down and everything was good". I shared with him that that happens to me sometimes. I get so worked up before something big happens (shooting an intense scene, performing in front of 100,000 people at WrestleMania) that my heart feels like it's beating out of my chest, BUT the moment I realize "I got this" then all the angst goes away and I'm ready. So next time something like that happens with him, I told just remember "you got this", be calm, cool and you'll be ready. Made me think of everything this kid has been thru up to now – making him more stronger than many of us could ever imagine. We wrapped up our visit, I gave him a lil' gift and said our goodbyes. It was a real pleasure kickin' with you today, Larry. I can't begin to tell you what it means to me. Just know how grateful I am to share your time, your laughs and definitely grateful to have been able to pop my pecs for your family.😂 Stay cool and remember… you always "got this". #OnSet #Baywatch #MakeAWish #LarryOrozcoChavez #AndOneVeryLuckyBigBrownBaldDude

A photo posted by therock (@therock) on

This is Ryan who travelled with is family to the Baywatch set unannounced to meet The Rock. They were willing to wait the 12 hours until they had wrapped for the day but The Rock thought that was too long for them to wait. As always, his take-away was about the love he got from them, that he needed them more than they need him.

A while back, we discussed The Rock’s invitation to a young man name Tator to visit him on set. Well, Tator finally got to visit the set:

Been a long time coming, but I finally met the one and only "Tater". This very special lil' 7yr old boy has been battling cancer for 4yrs now. Multiple surgeries, chemo, radiation treatments and stem cell transplants. You name it, this lil' boy has gone thru it. He's had one request. Meet me. He spent the day with me on our #Baywatch set. Watched me film and in between scenes we'd hang out, have some laughs and have some good talks. One of the good talks we had was about every time he goes into the hospital for treatments he takes two things: his Rock action figure (which I'm holding) and his stuffed animal, appropriately just named "puppy". He even made these shirts for us. "Strong As The Rock" and "Live Like Tater". He told me every time he gets treatments he wants to be strong like me. I told him he's already way stronger I'll ever be. He just giggled not really knowing what I meant. One day he will. Spent all afternoon with Tater and his beautiful family. Lots of tears were shed among us. Joyful tears. Grateful tears. I don't know why things happen the way they do in this life. Gotta have faith that there's a bigger reason or lesson for us. Sometimes I'm not sure. But I can tell you this with all my heart and soul that meeting lil' Tater and all these little kids over the years who for some reason far unbeknownst to me, look at me as their hero – is a thousand times way more important than any movie or any "thing" I could ever do or accomplish in my life. Having this platform to shine a little light on the path that these brave children walk – is by far the best part of fame. LIVE LIKE TATER this lil' 7yr old says. Strong. Loving. Happy. You stay strong big man. Me and puppy always got your back ~ Rock

A photo posted by therock (@therock) on

To ensure there are no dry eyes left, here is a video of The Rock presenting Tator with his own custom Baywatch poster. Beware, The Rock gets so overwhelmed, he has to pause for a minute to fight back tears.

The big moment where we surprised lil' 7yr old cancer warrior named "Tater" with his own #BAYWATCH movie poster! I wish you guys could've seen his face when I turned this frame around. When I told him "we're all so inspired by you, especially me" and looked down at him and saw him lookin' up at me, nodding his head with those big eyes.. good Lord I almost lost it in front of him and the whole damn crew. (that actually happened to me once before when I was accepting an award on stage and as I thanked my family, I just happened to catch my daughter Simone's eyes and sweet cheese on an ice cream sammich I almost lost it again). I did exactly what I did here.. paused, gazed into space like a crazy man and told myself "you better hold it together dammit", shook it off and proceeded to continue. Despite my almost tearing up like a baby and ruining my tough guy image, the greatest and I think most beautiful irony about Tater, is that this very special little boy has no idea just how much he inspires all of us around him. One day he will. #OnSet #OurWholeBaywatchCrew #UnforgettableMoment #LiveLikeTater #AndRocksDontCry * special thank you our good buddy and one of Hollywood's greatest photographers @jaimietrueblood and the @forthewinproject charity creating this awesome poster for Tater.

A video posted by therock (@therock) on

If you can’t get enough of The Rock, you are in luck – now you can wake up to him. As the excerpt mentioned, The Rock Clock app is available for both Android and iOS. Not only has he recorded greetings and motivational phrases to pepper throughout your day, he has created custom ringtones as well. Admit it, who couldn’t use a little more Rock in their world?

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Photo credit: Fame/Flynet Photos and Instagram

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36 Responses to “Dwayne The Rock Johnson is still awesome, visits Make a Wish kids”

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  1. mlle says:

    no shade. this guy is great.

    • imqrious2 says:

      Honking SO HARD for The Rock! DJ is beyond awesome! You can “feel the real” in him. A forever crush here 😍

  2. Rita says:

    He was also in Carl Lagerfeld’s fashion show in Cuba. Incredibly wonderful setting: Outside with modern fashion set against 1950 cars and architecture.

  3. Joy says:

    I’m not crying, you’re crying!

  4. Kris says:

    I honestly have no idea what this guy does or how he came to be famous, but whenever I read something about him, he’s completely fantastic.

    • ohdear says:

      He started his climb to fame as a wrestler in the WWE. His dad was a pro wrestler as well. He moved into movies and has been in some Fast and Furious movies, as well as his own action movies. He also has a TV show called Ballers. He still shows up for some WWE shows so he honours where he came from. And he is an amazing dresser. His tailor needs to be recognized for the amazingness of dressing this guy.

  5. JustCrimmles says:

    Sweet cheese on an ice cream sammich 😍 I think my ovaries just went boom.

  6. Saks says:

    I love him!

  7. Al says:

    I might LOVE the Rock now.

  8. ItHappenedOneNight says:

    I once had a dream that I was on a top secret sting operation with The Rock as my partner. We were camped out on the roof of my nextdoor neighbor’s house inspecting some shady business. Woke up with a huge crush on him that hasn’t gone away since. 😂

  9. NorthernGirl_20 says:

    I love this man so much .. He’s so humble and does so much for his fans.

  10. Green Girl says:

    This guy is just too good. I also love that he seems to be so grateful that his role as a celebrity helps him make others happy.

    • oliphant says:

      totally agree- he worked very hard to get where he is- not saying other celebs didn’t- just that he seems so constantly grateful for his life which is refreshing.

  11. Esmom says:

    “Having this platform to shine a little light on the path that these brave children walk – is by far the best part of fame.”

    This is the part that triggered the ugly cry in me. What a sweet and compassionate and humble man. I love his ease with the kids and his ease at admitting how much these children have touched him.

    • kaiko says:

      yes, I too am in mid ugly cry complete with high pitched whine and hiccups…he’s so amazing, and that adorable lil kid fighting cancer for so long…jeez, where’s my freakin’ kleenex! 🙂

  12. arock says:

    love The Rock. Home town shout out!! Tybee Time in the background in the last photos while theyre on the island. Ya’ll better enjoy dwayne you over served, dead beat, water rats MUAH!

    Ladies, if you ever want to wake up to the rock he has a new app alarm that has 20+ variations of him saying “get up” as an alarm. its actually really funny. Rock, you warm my cold, dark heart….

  13. vauvert says:

    You know how on the Lazy Katie posts some people were saying her job is so hard under the scrutiny?

    Nope, this is how you do the job: with love and compassion and gratitude, and by giving back. We should have a CB Hall of Fame of awesome stars – and I am not talking about the looks, let’s celebrate the people who use their fame and success for more than posing on the RC and smirking. The Rock would lead the way with Harry.

    • kaiko says:

      Seriously! This guy is the best of the best. You wanna see what a real “king” should look like?? Huh, Princey McWhiny William Pants? Right here.
      However, the Rock possesses that special something that the Cambridges could never hope to buy, borrow or steal…humility.

  14. Snowflake says:

    Omg, I love him so much! Honey, let the tears flow, nothing sextile than a big man with a big heart. 😚😚

  15. Lucy says:

    Imagine him meeting (and consequently working with) Prince Harry. You’re all very welcome.

  16. paranormalgirl says:

    He’s such a good man.

  17. antipodean says:

    He had me at “proceeded to continue”. Could this man BE more fabulous? Take note the poor put upon Cambridges, this is how it’s done. With grace, compassion, and sincere, deeply felt kinship. If there is a special place in heaven for true heroes, this man takes all the seats. I love him. Someone give him a medal, although he would probably say he doesn’t deserve it!

  18. kri says:

    Most of us cannot even imagine what world these kids and their families live in. I don’t know how they do it. You know…you see the commercials, you make what donations you can, and you empathize. I’m honest-I give thanks that it’s not my family, my kid. In the hospital where I work, I see them, and I try not to look too hard, or hear the crying, cause then I lose it. But this man. This guy who named himself The Rock-he walks in, he holds, he talks right to them, you can see him. He’s seeing them and he’s not showing any fear. A giant heart is in that granite body. It’s a beautiful thing.

  19. Biting Panda says:

    There are not enough complimentary words in the dictionary to cover it. I’ve been a fan of his for 20 years, and I have yet to read one negative story about him.

    Climbing The Rock is on my bucket list.

  20. Mia4s says:

    God help me I may see Baywatch just for this man. Ugh. Why so awesome Rock?! 😉

  21. Dragonlady sakura says:

    Not crying…it’s an eyelash in my eye.

  22. CrazyCatLady says:

    My ovaries just exploded. I freaking love him.

  23. Miss M says:

    How did I miss this post about The Rock awesomeness?! Sacrilege!
    I love The Rock! Thanks for covering this story, Hecate!

  24. Jen43 says:

    Aw. That’s how it’s done. It’s a great thing when someone uses their fame and privilege to help those less fortunate.