Three Social Anxiety Scenes from Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson with Social Anxiety?! I don’t buy it.

Lets be real about something here: The Rock is the most electrifying man in all of entertainment. He is as cool as the other side of the pillow and has been a global phenomenon for over the past decade. It seems like he is in celebrity all the time, and even recently, has made mainstream political news with rumors of a presidential run. The guy is a straight up machine and is at the top of his game.

Being in the spotlight as long as he has, it’d be hard to imagine that Dwayne Johnson has Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD). Talk shows, Instagram videos, WWE appearances, and the countless number of movies he makes would have been too difficult to continue if he really had SAD. I’m sure we would have noticed some signs of SAD throughout the years. Since we haven’t, it seems obvious enough that The Rock doesn’t have SAD or even a degree of social anxiety.

I know what you’re thinking:

“Dude, his name is The Rock! How can someone named The Rock have social anxiety?”

I actually agree with that. No one named The Rock can have any kind of anxiety, let alone social anxiety.

But the characters he plays on the silver screen are another story. Especially if they are put into a social situation which can elicit the social anxiety.

Lets look at three scenes from three different movies in which Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson could have developed social anxiety. But before we do, make sure you check out what social anxiety disorder is by clicking here.

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson Social Anxiety Scene 1

Movie: The Rundown (2003)

Scene: Collecting collateral from client at a popular nightclub

Anxiety Provoking Event: Interrupting/disturbing a famous athlete in front of all his guests while everyone is watching on. The athlete insults and mocks The Rock making everyone laugh at him. This leads to a fight in front of everyone there.

Something to know about Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD): Being in front of a bunch of people who are looking and laughing at you will trigger social anxiety for anyone. But Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) sufferer’s have it so much worse. In fact, just being inside a night club with so many people there is a huge SAD trigger alone. Even if no one is talking to you, the anticipation of social interactions can trigger the dreaded Red Face.

Nightclub Scene Breakdown

In this night club scene from The Rundown, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson confronts an arrogant professional athlete to collect collateral from him until he pays off his $50G debt. The athlete is dismissive and insulting, mocking The Rock by giving him an autograph and then throwing alcohol in his face. People watched and laughed as the Johnson was publicly humiliated. The Rock then goes the bathroom, cleans himself off, and then returns to put boots to asses. It was awesome!

But if The Rock had Social Anxiety Disorder, he would have undoubtedly developed SAD symptoms even before confronting the d-bag athlete. Just going inside a highly social environment, like a night club, builds up anticipation in the mind of an SAD sufferer. That anticipation is so strong, that it leads to social anxiety symptoms, including heavy sweating and blushing (Red Face). Then obviously, being publicly insulted in front of everyone is anxiety provoking for anyone and would just amplify Red Face even more.

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson Social Anxiety Scene 2

Movie: Red Notice (2021)

Scene: The dance at the masquerade party between Dwayne Johnson’s, John Hartley and Gal Gadot’s, “The Bishop.”

Anxiety Provoking Event: All eyes are on him and his dance partner, the highly attractive Gal Gadot.

Something to know about Social Anxiety Disorder: All eyes being on an SAD sufferer causes a whole lot of anxiety. And when publicly dancing with someone who radiates beauty, like Gal Gadot, social anxiety goes from bad to worse. Red Face is inevitable.

*Click here to read the full post originally written about this scene.

Dance Scene Breakdown

Although The Rock is known for laying the smackdown all over town, he is also quite the ballroom dancer as we saw in Netflix’s 2021 film, Red Notice. While attending a major criminal’s masquerade party, Johnson ends up dancing with the stunning Gal Gadot. She commands attention as she flashes a bright red dress and jewelry on the dance floor. So, by extension, since Johnson was dancing with her, eyes would be all over him too.

A beautiful woman can make any man nervous. But a man who has Social Anxiety Disorder will actually manifest visibly physical symptoms with a woman like Gal Gadot’s Bishop from Red Notice. What symptoms am I talking about? Red Face of course. Bright red facial blushing, profuse sweating, pounding heart, trembling hands, and rigid body posture. So although sharing the dance floor with Gadot is a dream come true for The Rock, the effects of Red Face would be too humiliating.

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson Social Anxiety Scene 3

Movie: Fast and Furious 6 (2013)

Scene: The Rock and Ludacris are at a car auction in London. A snobby, uppity salesman approaches the two and makes fun of them for not being able to afford any of the cars.

Anxiety Provoking Event: Being made fun of by someone for how you look, and worse, not having enough money.

Something to know about Social Anxiety Disorder: Being insulted is always difficult for anyone, especially SAD sufferers as they are more sensitive to insults. But when someone insults your physical appearance, it puts more attention and more eyes on you. Physical appearance insults are always the worst type of insults.

Look, anyone would get social anxiety if someone makes fun of you. That is just normal, mental behavior. But there are varying degrees of social anxiety, with the worst kinds being that which leads to Red Face. This would only come from Social Anxiety Disorder.

Scene Breakdwown

In this Fast and Furious 6 scene, The Rock and Luda are talked down to and made fun of by a rich, upperclass salesman. He mocks Johnson by telling him that his shoes, shirt, and trousers are “functional”, implying that he has no style or class. Then he continues by saying that his posture is “too rigid” with “no swagger.” Finally, this snobby eff’in guy attacks Rock’s finances by saying that he takes home only $50,000.

So if DJ had SAD and this snobby salesman attacked his physical appearance, this would lead to some serious Red Face. Insulting someone’s appearance leads to more people noticing and auditing your look. SAD sufferer’s cannot tolerate being observed for every detail. It creates severe social anxiety.

Then by attacking Rock’s salary, it would make him feel inferior and unworthy. People with SAD are already sensitive to insults, so when you make them feel unworthy, it becomes not just embarrassing, but humiliating.

Lets just say that it’s a good thing Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson does not have Social Anxiety! It would be smackdown on his confidence.