"The Rock" Dwayne Johnson says he would like President Barack Obama to play him in a biography movie about Johnson's life. Johnson played the role of Obama's alter-ego, "The Rock Obama," on a Saturday Night Live sketch this past weekend.

"I hear that we sound a like all the time," Johnson told Moviefone in an interview promoting his new movie coming out Friday. "I've gotten to know him and he's a big time athlete and loves athletics, so I'm sure he could bulk up."

The former WWE star Johnson says he talked to Obama prior to the U.S. presidential election in November and he is honored by comparisons between the two of them. He says Obama validated his work as a family movie actor.

"He did tell me that I was one of Michelle Obama's favorite actors," Johnson said. "We also talked about the importance of making family movies - he was telling me that his daughters were big fans of 'The Game Plan.'"

(pwtorch.com)

A funny thing happened on the way to "supporting roles only" in Dwayne Johnson's movie career: Kids.

The struggling action star did The Game Plan, a comedy for Disney, and all of a sudden he's big box office and every child's best bud. He did Cory in the House on the Disney Channel. He's starring in Disney's Race to Witch Mountain, opening Friday3/13, and has an animated film (Planet 51) and another kid-friendly comedy (Tooth Fairy) due out this year. He's hosting Nickelodeon's "Kid's Choice Awards" at the end of March.

"He doesn't take himself seriously," says AnnaSophia Robb, one of his teen Witch Mountain co-stars.

"He's a dynamic personality with this self-deprecating sense of humor," says another co-star, Carla Gugino. "Kids respond to that."

Johnson laughs at the notion. But he owns it. The former wrestler is as canny as anybody in the biz about finding a niche. He's not wrestling anymore. He's no longer going by "The Rock." And he didn't really discover his big-screen appeal to kids until he tested those waters.

"I started to examine family movies, what makes them work, what makes them not work," he says. "I realized that when a family movie is done right, everybody in the family has some character they can relate to on screen. If they're done right, the lead character in the movie becomes a better person by the end of the movie and makes everybody around them better, too. That's what family is all about -- struggle, perseverance, staying together. And that's what a family movie has to have going for it, too."

The divorced father of a 7-year-old knows what kids like, which may be why he's fast becoming Disney's go-to guy for kid-friendly action. Johnson, like Disney, knows "branding."

"Disney gets that," he says. "It's a cool thing when you can make movies that everyone can go see. I love the partnership I have with Disney. I recognize the power that the brand has, its impact on families all over the world. We had great success with The Game Plan, and when they came to me with this, I was ready."

"This" is a re-boot of one of Disney's popular franchises from the 70s, the Witch Mountain movies about kids with mysterious powers. Race to Witch Mountain revives the series, with Johnson playing an ex mob "wheel man" now driving a taxi, a regular Joe named Jack Bruno who finds himself transporting two alien teens on their quest to find their way back home. The film ratchets up the action to a level not usually seen in a family film. And it lets Johnson show off his timing, his way with a funny line. That was evident even back in his days in the ring.

"As far back as when I was 8, I used to memorize monologues from Rocky II, Indiana Jones movies. And I'd memorize these Richard Pryor monologues. I know I was too young to listen to them, no business at all listening to what he was doing. I'd sneak the tapes off and commit these long, vulgarity-laced monologues to memory. You memorize Richard and you learn timing."

Johnson is the first to admit that in making his family friendly move he hadn't taken into account the old W.C. Fields maxim about the perils of working with children and dogs. He's done just that -- twice -- now.

With child actors, "you have to be super efficient in your planning, so that you do your scenes with them in the short day that they're allowed to work," he says. And dogs?

"It is a HUMBLING experience, working with animals," Johnson says, laughing. "You have to remember that no matter how poignant your acting is in a scene, or how great you think you are in the scene, if you're in that scene with a DOG you have to know that all eyes are on the dog. You could be doing Gone with the Wind. But if there's a dog and Vivien ?Leigh, nobody's watching Vivien."

(orlandosentinel.com)

Dwayne Johnson ('The Rock') will step up for hosting duties on the March 7 Saturday Night Live, with musical guest Ray LaMontagne. The appearance, his third as host, will help Johnson promote his new Disney movie, "Race to Witch Mountain."

Actor Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson has separated from his wife of 10 years.

The "Scorpion King" star, 35, and Dany Johnson, who have a 5-year-old daughter, Simone, have parted amicably after 17 years together.

The couple, in a statement released to People.com, says, "While certain aspects of our relationship have changed, we are both vitally important to each other's lives.

"We will continue to advance and manage our business interests, our philanthropic efforts and most importantly the raising of our child together, as a loving team.

"We've been fortunate enough to spend the last 17 years together as a couple and look forward to spending the rest our lives together as best friends and business partners."

(people.com)

NOT MANY FILMS can make a big, tough guy like Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson get teary-eyed. But the former Canadian football player turned World Wrestling champion — now box office movie star — says after watching the documentary "Gridiron Gang," he got all choked up.

"The film really touched every emotion in me," he said during a recent interview in a San Francisco hotel.

The Rock stars in a new feature film of the same name that's based the documentary. "Gridiron Gang" is the inspirational story of juvenile detention camp probation officer Sean Porter ("The Rock") and his partner, who turn hardcore teenage criminals at a Southern California facility into a winning high school football team.

Johnson, who also stars in the upcoming football movie "The Game Plan," says the opportunity to play a unique role fell into his lap.