The Rock in hot water over casting himself as black folk hero John Henry

Ben Arnold
·Contributor
Dwayne Johnson (Credit: HBO)
Dwayne Johnson (Credit: HBO)

Dwayne Johnson has found himself in hot water over casting himself as the black folk hero John Henry.

Johnson announced the news of his new movie project yesterday, which will tell the story of the famed railroad engineer who was said to have worked himself to death.

Though Johnson described Henry as one of his ‘childhood heroes’, there have been questions about whether he’s the most appropriate actor for the job.

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WHEN THE MAN COMES AROUND. Inspired to bring to life one of my childhood heroes, John Henry, in JOHN HENRY & THE STATESMEN. In this movie, I’ll lead an ensemble of the most popular folklore figures and legends from different cultures around the world. @NETFLIX is the perfect partner & platform to bring these global folklore icons to life. The NETFLIX brand speaks directly to our @sevenbucksprod ethos of being bold, ambitious and game changing – and most importantly, always thinking “Audience first” in homes all around the world. The legend of JOHN HENRY’S strength, endurance, dignity and cultural pride was instilled in my DNA at a very young age. My dad would sing “Big John” to me every time he would put me to bed. At bedtime most children get loving nursery rhyme songs — I got this/ Every mornin’ at the mine, you could see him arrive. He stood 6 foot 6 and weighed 245. Kind of broad at the shoulder and narrow at the hip. And everybody knew you didn’t give no lip to Big John. Big John. Big Bad John. Directing this big ol’ tentpole is the talented and passionate, Jake Kasdan. Jake and I found nice success together in a little movie called, JUMANJI. Gonna be a lot of fun bringing these legends to life. My childhood hero. The steel driving man and his disruptive band of international folklore legends. JOHN HENRY & THE STATESMEN @sevenbucksprod @danygarciaco @hhgarcia41 @flynnpictureco @NETFLIX

A post shared by therock (@therock) on Oct 9, 2018 at 11:50am PDT

Henry, the ‘steel-driving man’, whose heart gave out while hammering steel piles into rock to build the railroads of Virginia, was depicted as a dark-skinned African American.

The Rock, meanwhile, is from Black Canadian and Polynesian heritage.

And as usual, Twitter has been swift with its judgement.

The movie, called John Henry and the Statesmen, is being made for Netflix (via The Rock’s own Seven Bucks production company), with his Jumanji collaborator Jake Kasdan also on board to direct.

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