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Earlier tonight at Disney's D23 gathering in Anaheim, CA, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson was inducted into the company's 2026 Class of Disney legends. Below is a complete transcript of Johnson's induction by actress Emily Blunt and his acceptance speech, which will air later tonight on Disney+ -
Emily Blunt:
"I think people... I can make the teleprompter work... oh yeah, okay. Hi, everyone. I'm so proud to be able to wax on about this awesome demigod that we're celebrating today. You know, when I first met Dwayne Johnson, I had assumed, wrongly, that he would have the energy of a man who was a sort of walking suplex. But the bravado of The Rock was actually nowhere to be seen. The Rock, in fact, is a performance. It's—it's the performance of a lifetime. What I was met with was someone who was so disarmingly wise, and gentle, curious, totally unpretentious, and not to say this one's an angel, all right, because he's not. [Laughter] He's a non-conforming, rule-breaking, mold-breaking rebel. He's funny as hell. He's filthy. [Laughter] And he's played some merciless pranks on me. And forget trying to keep up with him on the tequila. Don't do it. You will be absolutely legless, and it won't even put a dent in him, but the hangovers aside, I admire him. I admire him so much. You know, this is someone who came from great struggle, who had a hell of a lot to overcome. But I think someone who always felt that compass in his chest, and he listened to it. Well, he was right to follow that compass, and not to listen to the noise of those who told him he wouldn't make it in Hollywood. Those people were morons. Because he has—yeah, because he has in no uncertain terms redefined what it is to be the modern movie star. Yes! He has captivated the world with his ludicrous charisma and talent, which are as powerful as his kindness. I've been on the receiving end of his range in our two films together, from Jungle Cruise to his heart-stopping performance in The Smashing Machine. Yes. But don't get me started on his swaggering, fabulous demigod Maui. He just rules. You know, in Polynesian culture, mana is a sacred spiritual force, a power and a vital energy that guides us, and it represents authority, prestige, connection. This sounds a lot like the person I know. To me, this sounds like the stuff of a legend. So take a look."
After a video presention, Johnson stepped on stage to accept the award and gave the following speech:
Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson:
"Thank you for that beautiful "chee-hoo." That was incredible. Thank you so much. You know... You're welcome. [Laughter] From growing up a trailer park kid to being introduced on stage here today by one of my closest friends, Emily Blunt, as a Disney Legend and sharing it with all of you, this is a pretty damn cool day. So thank you so much. You know, all week long, this day has been... "Hey, call my publicist. We need his speech. We need his speech." And she kept—she kept telling them, "He doesn't actually write it down." And that's why there's nothing on the teleprompter, nor is there anything in my pockets that are written anything down to. I just figured, just for a moment, what I do like to do in moments like this is be as present as we possibly can and just share some thoughts with you from my heart. Can I do that? I... thank you, man. I want to—I want to thank all of you for being here, and I want to congratulate all the Disney Legends. What an honor this is to be a Disney... over 300, I think, Disney Legends. So what a day, what a moment. So thank you. I want to thank... I want to thank my friend and my mentor over the years, Bob Iger. Thank you, sir. I appreciate that. Bob Iger, Alan Bergman, Gary Marsh, Asad, of course, and all of Disney. You know... and I also want to take a moment to thank my team who's here. I also want to take a moment to thank my family who's here: Dany, Dave, Taty, Simone. My oldest daughter Simone, it's her birthday weekend! And right now she's like, "Oh sh**, don't embarrass me." But I won't. But I do want to say that—and you'll see where I tie all this in as I share my thoughts with you—is that there's a few things I think that connect all of us Disney Legends, but all of us here at Disney, is this idea that we all do what we can to create moments and experiences of joy for people and families around the world. And that means something. And that means something.
When I first went to Disney the very first time, we lived in Tampa, Florida. I was five or six years old... Yeah, Tampa! Okay! [Laughter] That's my mom. Thank you. [Laughter] I was five or six, I went to Disney in Orlando, and... and... and I never forgot that experience. And—and it was wonderment, and joy, And then, of course, went back years later when I was in my 20s. And also when we had Simone, we took her to Disney when she was five. And I'll never forget, we had the Disney—for those of you who have been to Disney, which is all of you—you know, you have like the—the—the breakfast with the princesses. You remember that? Yeah, and we were there, and I was a new dad, and she was five, and I was trying to figure my stuff out at that time, how I was going to be a father, how I was going to be a husband, a man, etc. You know, as us dudes, when we're in our 30s, we're trying to figure our sh** out. [Laughter] And we're still figuring it out, but I remember one of the princesses said, "Now close your eyes and make a wish." I'll never forget, she closed her eyes, and she made a wish. I might get emotional. She made a wish, and I just remember that moment looking at my daughter's face. I've never seen that before. She's so innocent, making a wish. I was telling Dany, I said, "God, I wonder what was going through her little mind at that time," and it's just experiences like that that create that—I know she'll never forget, and I'll never forget. That's the beauty of Disney. And that's the beauty also of being a Disney Legend, and how lucky we all are when that happens.
By the way, Dany was just talking about how lucky she is. We are all lucky to do what we do. But man, for everybody listening, especially our young folks out there, you get lucky when you work hard. And Dany works hard, by the way. So I'll never forget that, and I remember that, like, that's what life is all about: creating experiences for people. And since it's her birthday weekend... you guys want to have some fun? [Crowd cheers] Her name is Simone.
[Crowd sings Happy Birthday.]
Thank you for that. What you just did, you did the thing that was created years ago—20 years ago when she was five—and created... you just gave an experience she'll never forget. Yes. I love you, and my little daughters who are home, too—her sisters, Jasmine and Tia, back in Hawaii and watching right now. I know they are. Yes! And they—and they asked me, "Daddy, what does it mean to be a Disney Legend?" Like Alan's kids asked, "What does it mean to be a Disney Legend?" I said, "Well, it means we're going to get free tickets..." [Laughter] Big rock! [Laughter] I said, "You know what it means?" I said, "It means the thing that we talk about all the time." What we talk about, if you ask Jazzy and Tia, her sisters, "Hey, what's the best part of fame?" They'll say, "Making people feel good," and that's the thing you realize: that the world will spin, and they'll hit us, and they'll punch us, and they'll kick us, and they'll hug us, but what—what we do in this room, outside of this room, whether you're a Disney Legend or not, I'm a big advocate for: despite the noise in the world and despite how algorithms kind of emphasize sometimes noise and negativity and things like that, we can always control how we respond. And how Disney responds, Disney Legends, whether you're a Disney Legend or not, we respond with making people feel good and treating them with kindness. I'll wrap this up... Man, this thing's heavy! [Laughter] I love you too, thank you for saying that. [Laughter] Thank you. That's enough, Grandma. Listen! [Laughter] This is heavy, thank you. I—I do want to say this, that, you know, when it comes to our responsibility, I think of what it means to be a Disney Legend, which is amazing, but also I think what our responsibility is to be a human being, which is: treat—do our best. It's not easy, but do our best to make people feel good and treat them with kindness. Because you never know what they're going through. By the way, everybody's going through something. So with that in mind, trends will come and go, and algorithms will do what they do, but being kind and being good to people... and I heard this quote when I was 15, and I'll never forget it: "It's nice to be important, but it's more important to be nice, and with that, I want to thank you, and I love you. Happy Birthday, Simone!"
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