Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has been famous for a couple of decades now, and he’s practically a beloved national treasure. His wrestling catchphrase (back when the WWE was the WWF) was practically the foundation of my own childhood memories, and anyone who knew him from the WWF first probably has a soft spot for him now as an action movie star.
Just Jared
And, if you’ve ever looked into Johnson and who he is as a person, then you might not be so surprised to find out that he’s actually got an extreme devotion to his family. Johnson talks about his heritage often and how he’s proud to be both Samoan and Black. His love for his Samoan grandmother also knows no bounds, but his love goes out to his extended family, too.
Tanoai Reed is Dwayne Johnson’s Hawaiian-born cousin who shares a striking resemblance to his more famous family member. Reed and Johnson both come from the Anao’is gene pool in Samoa, which is known for producing dozens of athletes.
The hardest part about being a stunt double according to Reed is the fact that he has to physically keep up with his cousin on the regular. If Dwayne needs to put on 30lbs for a role then so does Reed and if Johnson needs to slim down for one? Then Reed most certainly has to mimic that as well.
Reed has been Johnson’s stunt double since The Scorpion King and has been working in the stunt business since 1995. Since The Scorpion King, Reed and Johnson have developed a tight bond and Reed has acted as his cousin’s double ever since. On Johnson’s 45th birthday, Reed put up a touching Instagram post filled with photos of the two of them, wishing his cousin all the best.
Right now, Reed isn’t too concerned about keeping up with Johnson as he has something bigger on his mind. Reed’s current goal is to raise enough money to repair his old high school gym, which is where he honed his body and learned his stunting craft.
The link to his gofundme page is located on his Instagram page @Samoanstuntman.
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