Dwayne Johnson Says Maui’s Hook in Live-Action “Moana” ‘Was So F---ing Heavy’: ‘I Act Like I’m Strong’ (Exclusive)

Jack SmartTue, July 7, 2026 at 3:12 PM UTC

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Dwayne Johnson in MoanaCredit: Disney/Youtube -

Dwayne Johnson joins PEOPLE’s One Last Thing interview in this week’s issue

The superstar recalls how “f---ing heavy” his fishhook prop was on the set of the live-action remake of Moana

“I look strong, maybe. I act like I’m tough and strong, but Jesus,” quips Johnson, who returns as the Polynesian demigod Maui

Dwayne Johnson is like his Moana character Maui in many ways. Except for the demigod’s super-strength.

“The very first time props brought the very first Maui hook on the set, that thing was so f---ing heavy,” recalls Johnson, 54, as part of his One Last Thing interview in this week’s issue of PEOPLE.

Maui’s giant magical fishhook is one of the iconic aspects of 2016’s animated musical Moana that is rendered in live-action in Disney’s new remake (in theaters July 10) starring Catherine Lagaʻaia. Reprising his voice role from the original film and its 2024 sequel, Johnson makes the rascally Polynesian demigod flesh-and-blood, aided too by a muscled prosthetic bodysuit and luscious wig.

Dwayne Johnson in MoanaCredit: Disney

“The joke was on me,” quips the former Sexiest Man Alive, when he tried lifting the first hook offered on the set. Was the prop made extra heavy as a prank? “No!” he says.

“I think the legend of maybe how strong I am,” continues Johnson, led the Moana team to think he could handle a hefty hook. “‘He’s a strong man.’ I look strong, maybe. I act like I’m tough and strong, but Jesus.”

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As Moana expands into a full franchise (with, per Johnson, a rumored third animated film in the works), the Thomas Kail-directed live-action version has enabled the actor-producer the rare chance to further bring authentic representations of his Samoan heritage to the big screen.

Dwayne Johnson in MoanaCredit: Disney/YouTube

Asked for a last memorable fan encounter, Johnson recalls greeting kids joining a Moana event as part of their Make-a-Wish Foundation wish. “Their parents brought them here to celebrate the fact that these little kids rang the cancer bell,” he says. “They’re telling Maui that they rang the bell. I love that.”

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Also part of the Jumanji star’s One Last Thing interview are the last time he was starstruck (Clint Eastwood, “one of my heroes for a very long time”); last time he felt outside his comfort zone (day one of filming The Smashing Machine with Emily Blunt); and his last tattoo (a skull of a bull with horns, “representing our scars that we all carry”).

Moana is in theaters Friday. For more on Johnson, pick up this week’s issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands now!

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”