“Listen. I’m his cousin”: Dwayne Johnson’s Stunt Double Couldn’t Tarnish Black Adam Star’s Image After Getting Harassed On Streets
Wrestler-turned-actor Dwayne Johnson is a popular face in the entertainment industry. He proved his mettle in Hollywood as a leading star with The Scorpion King in 2002, after his The Mummy Returns debut. The larger-than-life celebrity status of Dwayne Johnson needs no introduction around the world.
Dwayne Johnson is primarily known for his action stunts and fight sequences in his projects. Not many people know that his cousin has been working as his stunt double in his projects. During an interview, the actor’s cousin spoke about being harassed on the streets for the striking resemblance with his brother.
Dwayne Johnson’s Stunt Double Tanoai Reed On Being Harassed For His Resemblance To The Actor
Many actors in Hollywood use a stunt double to execute intense fight sequences in their movies. Former wrestler Dwayne Johnson is also one of them, but the best part about his stunt double is that, Tanoai Reed is his cousin too. There have been multiple instances when Tanoai Reed has been mistaken for the Fast And Furious actor.
During an interview with Netflix Tudum, Tanoai Reed was asked if he has ever been mistaken for Dwayne Johnson on the streets, he recalled an incident that happened in Budapest and said-
“It happened in Budapest. I got chased down by somebody. I was on a bicycle, and my wife told me, “You better turn around and acknowledge them because they’re gonna think that you’re Dwayne and you’re just ignoring them.” I don’t want to give him a bad name!”
He further said-
“So, I turn around and say, “Listen. I’m his cousin, I’m his stunt double, we look alike.” And the guy would not believe me. He was like, “Oh yeah, sure, whatever.” I showed him my driver’s license, and he looks at it and goes, “Ah, very tricky. You’ve got a fake ID to trick people.”
The striking physical similarity between Tanoai Reed with Dwayne Johnson eventually led to the former being harassed on the streets of Budapest.
Dwayne Johnson’s Cousin Tanoai Reed On Working With The Actor
During an interview with Netflix Tudum, Dwayne Johnson’s cousin Tanoai Reed spoke about being a stunt double for the Jumanji star in The Scorpion King. He said-
“I first got into stunts on a movie called Waterworld, with Kevin Costner, back in 1994. Six years later, I ran into some guys who were working on The Scorpion King, and they were looking for a stunt double [for Dwayne Johnson].”
He further mentioned-
“They asked me to come into the production office and try the costume on, and the wardrobe fit perfect. So, they asked me if I could start the next day. Literally, right place, right time.”
On addressing the oft-repeated question of being related to The Rock, he said yes they are cousins. He went on to explain-
Yeah, [but] we found out later! I knew we were related somewhere down the line because I have uncles with the same last name. His mom knew my dad — that generation knew each other, but we never met until the set of Scorpion King. A lot of people assume that he was like, “Oh, I have a cousin that looks like me, bring him on.” But I was already doing stunt work before he was in the ring, I think. I started in ’94. He started wrestling in ’96, ’97.
With an IMDb rating of 6.3 out of 10, Black Adam is currently available on Amazon Prime.
Source: Netflix Tudum
