The Rock

Name at birth: Dwayne Johnson

Burly, snarly and yet lovable, The Rock turned his pro wrestling popularity into a budding acting career with a starring role in The Scorpion King in 2002. The son of pro wrestler Rocky Johnson, he attended the University of Miami on a football scholarship. After a back injury cut short a career in the Canadian Football League, Johnson went into the family business. Early in his pro wrestling days he played off his Samoan heritage with stage names like Flex Kavana and Rocky Maivia, before settling on simply "The Rock." A giant of a man with chiseled features, he played both hero and heel before finally growing into a crowd favorite; by 2000 he had become the WWE's undisputed heavyweight star. He took the opportunity to jump into acting, where his Schwarzenegger-like physique won him a small part in The Mummy Returns (2001, with Brendan Fraser). He was rewarded with the lead in the spinoff film The Scorpion King the next year. A bona fide leading man and action hero, he has appeared in Walking Tall (2004), Doom (2005) and Gridiron Gang (2006). Johnson also turned in a terrific comedic performance in the John Travolta flop Be Cool (2005), and starred as a befuddled dad in the family comedy The Game Plan (2007, billed as Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson).