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The Scorpion King

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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.'"

The Rock has already proven he's no one-note wonder. In two nimble Saturday Night Live appearances, he showed off great gams in a drag skit and hit a high note, literally, crooning the Ice Castles theme, "Through the Eyes of Love." Moreover, his April 13 stint boasted the show's biggest rating among 18- to 49-year-old viewers since September's season premiere.

Like his surprise 2000 bestselling memoir, The Rock Says..., Johnson's comic performance made a lot of industry types take notice. "Dwayne has a long movie career ahead of him with all degrees of action-adventure and comedy," says Scorpion King producer Sean Daniel. "He could absolutely do what Schwarzenegger did," adds Billy Hopkins, casting director for such romantic comedies as Kate & Leopold and Someone Like You. "They should be looking right now for a vehicle where he can be funny. Think about Kindergarten Cop and Twins."

Still, even admirers admit there are limits to his range as a performer. "I wouldn't exactly cast him in the sequel to Kramer vs. Kramer right now," notes Hopkins. Guess that big-screen smackdown with Meryl Streep will just have to wait. (Additional reporting by Jennifer Armstrong)

Originally posted May 03, 2002 Published in issue #652 May 03, 2002 Order article reprints
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