Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is being praised for recently opening up about his battle with depression.
The man’s man Hollywood superstar spoke with The Express one month after posting on Instagram about his mother’s suicide attempt and the toll that took on his psyche.
“Struggle and pain is real,” the star of the upcoming Rampage said. “I was devastated and depressed. I reached a point where I didn’t want to do a thing or go anywhere. I was crying constantly.”
In his lengthy Instagram post from Feb. 1, Johnson revealed his mother tried to kill herself by walking into oncoming traffic as he watched. He was 15.
“Big rigs and cars swerving outta the way not to hit her. I grabbed her and pulled her back on the gravel shoulder of the road,” Johnson wrote. “What’s crazy about that suicide attempt is to this day, she has no recollection of it whatsoever. Probably best she doesn’t.”
Johnson decided to share his story after shooting a scene for the upcoming season of his hit HBO series, Ballers, in which his character goes to visit the grave of a friend who committed suicide.
“Shits of a scene to shoot — didn’t like it — but it did reminder that we always gotta do our best to really pay attention when people are in pain,” he wrote on social media. “Help ‘em thru it, get ‘em talkin’ about the struggle and remind ‘em that they’re not alone. We got lucky that day when I was 15, and that ain’t always the case.”
That Instagram post has more than one million likes. Johnson was also lavished with praise from fans and some in Hollywood for opening up about his struggle.
“Got tons of responses to this. Thank you,” Johnson wrote Sunday night on Twitter, accompanied by a story covering his comments. “We all go thru the sludge/shit and depression never discriminates. Took me a long time to realize it but the key is to not be afraid to open up. Especially us dudes have a tendency to keep it in. You’re not alone.”
