Today, Dwayne Johnson is a global superstar, but he had to start somewhere, and one of his earliest screen roles was a guest appearance on Star Trek: Voyager. This small but memorable role marked his transition from the wrestling ring to Hollywood. At that time, Johnson had only a few minor TV credits, but it was Star Trek that first made him feel genuinely welcomed into the acting world.
Dwayne Johnson Thought Jeri Ryan Was Amazing
Johnson appeared in Tsunkatse, an episode from the sixth season of Voyager. The story followed Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan) after she was abducted during a survey mission and forced by her captors to fight in an arena for the entertainment of others. Johnson’s character was one of the champions, and he even showcased a few of The Rock’s classic moves.
In an interview with Moovy TV, Johnson reflected on his time on Voyager. “At that time, I wanted experience as an actor,” he explained. “And I was taking these roles, these cameos on these television shows, and they had come to me and said, ‘Hey, are you interested in doing Star Trek: Voyager?’ I said, ‘Yeah! I would love to. Let’s do it.’“
Johnson singled out Jeri Ryan as being particularly welcoming. “And the crew, the cast, everybody was so awesome, but very specifically, Jeri Ryan was AMAZING,” he said. “She was so welcoming and warm. I had never done anything before in terms of acting. You know, I come from the world of wrestling, and in a way, that is performance, but cues, marks, dialogue and all that was still very new to me. But Jeri was so amazing and so cool and gorgeous and blew me away how just wonderfully welcoming she was.“
Other Shows Weren’t as Welcoming to Johnson
In some other shows Johnson appeared in, he sensed that the cast was a little annoyed that this wrestler was trying to become an actor. “At that time in my career, I’d do this show and that show. It was just cameo after cameo. And these shows were pretty popular shows with popular stars,” he said. “And so a lot of times they knew, ‘Oh, we’re going to get this person coming in from the world of wrestling.’ Sometimes I would show up on these sets and it felt like a bit of ‘Here we go again; another guy who’s never acted before; gotta carry the baggage.’‘”
He continued, “And I would feel that energy from some of these folks. I got it; I’d just try to get through the day and learn as much as I could. But Jeri was never like that; she was f***ing cool. Moments like that I don’t forget because it’s a great reminder: People always remember how you treat them.” They certainly do.
I recall watching that episode back in the day. I wasn’t much of a wrestling fan at the time and wasn’t overly aware of Johnson’s impact in the ring. However, who would have thought he’d become an action superstar and even headline acclaimed (yet commercially unsuccessful) dramas like The Smashing Machine?
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