Dwayne Johnson on how post-divorce depression shaped his role choices

Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson has revealed that the end of his first marriage left him struggling with depression. The actor and former wrestler was married to Dany Garcia from 1997 until 2008.

Speaking on The Hollywood Reporter’s Awards Chatter podcast, Johnson said the split “rocked” him and made him question his purpose in life.

“When you get married, you sign up for the long haul, but then it doesn’t always work out like that, and then it rocks you like it rocked me,” he said.

Johnson also admitted that fatherhood added to the emotional challenge.

“I was really going through it. That was another bout of depression. I was trying to figure my stuff out,” he said.

Johnson went on to reveal that his struggles affected his role choices in movies. He looked for movies with happy endings, avoiding roles that would push him to confront difficult emotions.

“That was the only thing I really wanted to do artistically; I didn’t want anything that was going to challenge me to rip my guts out,” The wrestler-turned-actor concluded.