Dwayne Johnson felt a "real strong foundation of gratitude" when he returned to his hometown in Hawaii to film ‘Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle’.
The 45-year-old actor – who plays Dr. Smolder Bravestone in the hit movie – felt lucky to be returning to the island for his most recent movie as he remembers being forced to leave when he was in his teens because his family couldn’t pay their rent and it spurred him on to make sure he was never in that position again.
He said: "We [his family] were forced to leave the island because we couldn’t pay the rent, so I was 13 or 14 years old, and I remember thinking I will do everything I can to make sure we’re never in this position again so the irony is not lost on me that we’re here in Hawaii, but it also gives me a real strong foundation of gratitude."
And Johnson is excited that ‘Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle’ is coming out at Christmas time and quipped that he felt a "responsibility" to make sure it is a great movie because of this.
Speaking on Good Morning America, he added: "I’ve never had the privilege of having a movie come out during Christmas and when you have a Christmas movie come out, I feel like you have a responsibility to make sure it’s good."
Meanwhile, Johnson previously revealed how he hopes the late Robin Williams is "proud" of ‘Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle’.
He said: "It’s an honour. I don’t say that lightly, we all feel that way. The first one is a beloved title and we really wanted to make a movie that the world will hopefully enjoy and that we had a great time making it and you know, not to sound over earnest about it, but we truly mean this, is something that would make Robin proud. Robin influenced us tremendously, and his family as well."
Dwayne Johnson’s Jumanji gratitude
