Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson was honored with the Generation Award during the MTV Movie & TV Awards.
It marked his first time visiting the show since hosting with Kevin Hart in 2016.
Host Zachary Levi introduced the actor and former wrestler by mentioning his big accomplishments. 47-year-old Johnson then made his grand entrance with dancers performing a Samoan dance to Queen’s ‘We Will Rock You.’
As he accepted the award, the actor remembered his early days in Hollywood. He said he was always told he would have to change himself before he could be accepted.
Johnson told the audience: “When I first got to Hollywood, Hollywood — they didn’t know what the hell to do with me. I was this half-black, half-Samoan, 6 foot 4, 275-pound wrestler.”
He recalled: “I was told at that time, you’ve gotta be a certain way. You’ve gotta drop some weight, you’ve gotta be somebody different, you’ve gotta stop working out, stop doing the things that I love, you’ve gotta stop calling yourself ‘The Rock.’”
The actor also admitted: “For years, I actually bought into it because you think, ‘Oh, that’s what I’m supposed to do.’”
But when he realized he became ‘miserable,’ the actor decided to just be himself.
“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,” he expressed. “What you saw up here tonight, that’s who I am. I’m proudly half-black and half-Samoan, and I wanted to bring those cultures up here for the world to see.”
Johnson also thanked his family and fans. “I’ve got a house full of strong-ass women,” he said.
Recalling his favorite quote from when he was 15 years old, he said: “It’s nice to be important, but it’s more important to be nice.” He also mentioned the importance of being good to people because “that matters.”
“That’s when you become powerful, that’s when you become intellectual,” he explained. “That’s when you can have real global influence in a positive way.”
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