For now, Johnson's film career will be somewhat dictated by WWF chairman Vince McMahon. That's because The Rock's contract has him kicking candy, uh, tush, till 2005 -- and wrestling stars can be on the road up to 250 days a year. Still, the WWF gave The Rock time off for the ''Scorpion King'' shoot, as well as six weeks to promote the film -- a smart move, since the organization gets an undisclosed cut of all his Hollywood deals. Given that The Rock is the current lord of the ring, that latitude is understandable. Last year, the WWF collected $120.4 million from sales of merchandise, including Rock-y T-shirts, posters, and goodies like the Danbury Mint's $110 porcelain ''Little Rock'' doll. Says Jim Ross, the WWF's senior VP of talent relations, ''His royalty checks are staggering.''
The challenge for Johnson will be to build on his high-testosterone fan base while still working the WWF circuit. But even his ''Scorpion King'' acting coach -- yes, you read that right -- thinks he's on the right path. ''The action roles were obviously what he was commercially designed to do in the beginning, but he can play real comedy, and I hope he does after the action-star stuff,'' says Larry Moss, who also advised Duncan on his Oscar-nominated turn in 1999's ''The Green Mile.'' Duncan himself cautions his costar against being pigeonholed into roles that focus only on his Conanesque, 6'5'', 270-pound frame. ''If he goes down the action route, it's hard to get out,'' he says. ''After you do two or three big action movies, if a love story comes along you gotta say, 'I'm going to do that.'''
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