Dwayne Johnson stars as a rescue helicopter pilot in San Andreas. Photo / Supplied
Dwayne Johnson stars as a rescue helicopter pilot in San Andreas. Photo / Supplied
Life gets faster and more furious for Dwayne Johnson as he plays a rescue pilot in earthquake movie ‘San Andreas’. He chats to Dominic Corry.
Australia's Gold Coast is witnessing the effects of a major Californian earthquake. A fictional earthquake, that is, courtesy of the blockbuster San Andreas, which is staging its grand-scale destruction at Queensland's Village Roadshow Studios.
Dwayne Johnson (Fast and Furious 5-7) stars as Ray Gaines, a rescue helicopter pilot desperately trying to reach his estranged wife and daughter after the largest magnitude earthquake ever recorded rocks America's West Coast.
In one of the many gargantuan sound stages the production is occupying, Johnson is high above us in an inflatable motor boat which is trying to outrun rising tide waters. The inflatable is being rocked about by a "gimbal", a huge platform of industrial-sized pistons which are used to tilt and shift movie sets.
Inside the shaking boat, Johnson and his co-stars are being pelted with water and wind to simulate the environment as he frantically tries to revive an almost-dead loved one, whose identity we are forbidden from revealing.
It's an intense, emotional scene and Johnson is clearly committed to the moment despite the almost comical amount of big-budget distractions being flung his way.
Now more than enough of a megastar to no longer necessitate using his scissor-smashing wrestling moniker, Johnson is perhaps the one Hollywood leading man who could convincingly take on a natural disaster.
"What always intrigued me is that Mother Nature is the bad guy," Johnson tells Living after the scene is finished. "There is no winning. You just hope to survive it some way."
In stark contrast to most of his films, in San Andreas Johnson faces a real-world threat, and one with which he has some experience.
"It touches all of us at some point. I've lived in Florida since I was 18. We deal with hurricanes every year. I went there when Hurricane Andrew hit and it was devastating. I've been out in LA during certain earthquakes."
In addition to his own experience with natural disasters, Johnson felt a connection to the story through Ray's relationship with his daughter, played by rising star Alexandra Daddario (True Detective).
Watch the trailer for San Andreas here:
"There's a unique relationship between a dad and his little girl. I'm a proud dad of a beautiful girl and I understand that bond. So the idea that this man will do anything he possibly can to save his daughter - as we all would - is very special."
The personal connection extended to the family dynamic Ray faces.
"I'm divorced in my real life - things can be very challenging. But much like in my real life - where I'm very happy that, post-divorce, my relationship with my daughter got stronger - the same thing was in the script.
"No one signs up for divorce but, when you go through it, you try and make the best of it. We did not stay together for our daughter. I'm not saying there's a right way and wrong way but I know that was the best way for us.
"And we felt that if we were going to go through the sludge of divorce, then out the other end of it we were going to be better.
"We were and the relationship with my daughter got even stronger. I wanted to make sure that in divorce I was there for her and that she felt my presence."
The responsibility of playing a rescue worker was another aspect of the film that Johnson took seriously.
"The notion that during people's worst, most tragic times is when these men and women shine makes the role special. Even though their job is daunting and their tasks are challenging, there's a design in their DNA that says 'I have faith, I have heart, I am going to get through the trauma and tragedy and hopefully save this person's life'. It's an honour to play the role."
Although Johnson's superhuman physique is a defining aspect of his fruitful career, it has undoubtedly precluded him from being in the running for some roles.
"I don't worry about that and I can't. When I came to Hollywood 14 or 15 years ago, I broke in with The Mummy Returns, and there was a time when I felt I had to lose weight and that I couldn't work out as much and that I had to look a certain way.
"When I look back, I realise that I had to go through that to get to a point where I felt like 'Well, I'm gonna be me. I need to be me'.
"There's a certain way I look that I can't do anything about," he laughs.
Being true to himself has led to the kind of success that means he can now call the shots.
"I've reached a point where I have a good amount of control. So I'm selective with projects. Life's too short, especially in our world of Hollywood - there's good people and there's not-so-good people.
"Now I only work with good ones. You try your best to work with as many good people as possible and weed out the assholes. I've worked with a few too many."
San Andreas' producer Beau Flynn previously collaborated with Johnson on Journey 2: The Mysterious Island and Hercules.
Dwayne Johnson, left, as Ray, and Carla Gugino as Emma, in a scene from San Andreas. Photo / Supplied
"This is my Irwin Allen film," Flynn tells Living, referring to the Hollywood legend nicknamed "The Master of Disaster" for producing such big-screen "classics" as The Towering Inferno, The Swarm and When Time Ran Out. "I grew up on his movies. Him and Steven Spielberg and James Cameron and Roland Emmerich - they are the masters of the genre."
Carla Gugino, who plays Ray's estranged wife, says her past experiences with Johnson informed their work together in this movie.
"This is a completely different relationship than we've ever played, but the fact that we know each other allows for a level of trust that meant it took a shorter amount of time to get to where we needed to go emotionally - that stuff really does make a difference."
Although born in America, Johnson's Auckland childhood and Samoan heritage practically renders him a hometown hero in our country, and his superlatively charming physical presence bears that status easily. "I was raised in Grey Lynn. Tell my friends in New Zealand that I said 'Hello'. I miss it."
