Dwayne Johnson Says His Mom Attempted Suicide When He Was 15: 'I Grabbed Her and Pulled Her Back'
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s show, Ballers, isn’t always a laugh.
The 45-year-old actor opened up on Instagram about a particularly tough scene he had to do shoot for the HBO show. Sharing a photo of himself on set at a gravesite, Johnson got candid about the scene and its effect on him.
“Not your typical scene on our comedy #ballers, as I cracked a beer open toasting my brother, William, who committed suicide,” he wrote on Friday morning. “Got me thinkin’ though bout how many of us have been affected by suicide of our friends, family. Struggle and pain is real. We’ve all been there on some level or another.”
Johnson went on to share his own terrifying story about his mom Ata Johnson’s suicide attempt 30 years ago.
A post shared by therock (@therock) on Feb 1, 2018 at 12:45am PST
“My mom tried to check out when I was 15,” he wrote. “She got outta the car on Interstate 65 in Nashville and walked into oncoming traffic. Big rigs and cars swerving outta the way not to hit her.”
He noted that he was the one who saved his mom’s life, adding, “I grabbed her and pulled her back on the gravel shoulder of the road. What’s crazy about that suicide attempt is to this day, she has no recollection of it whatsoever. Probably best she doesn’t.”
The actor noted that he didn’t enjoy filming the scene, but added that it was his duty to shed light on suicide and the pain it brings.
“We got lucky that day when I was 15 and that ain’t always the case,” he wrote.
