The MTV Generation Award is given to anyone who “has shown us a variety of impressive roles, a personal and professional flair, and of course, an awesome level of talent.” And who is more impressive and awesome and showcases more flair than the Rock? During Monday’s 2019 MTV Movie & TV Awards, Dwayne Johnson took home the coveted golden popcorn trophy (previous winners include Tom Cruise, Sandra Bullock, and Robert Downey, Jr.) for all the years he’s entertained us, as a wrestler, as an actor, as a singer, and as the Favorite Male Butt Kicker at the 2013 Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards.
“When I first got to Hollywood — Hollywood, they didn’t know what the hell to do with me. I was this half-black, half-Samoan, 6-foot-4, 275-pound pro wrestler,” he said during his speech. “You know, I was told at that time, ‘You’ve got to be a certain way. You’ve got to drop some weight… You’ve got to stop working out.’ Stop doing the things that I love. ‘You’ve got to stop calling yourself the Rock’… And for years, I actually bought into it.” Johnson was miserable doing that, though, so he made a choice that he wasn’t going to conform to Hollywood, “Hollywood was going to conform to me,” the Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle star said (that’s how we get beefcake Chris Pratt). “So, Hollywood conformed to me, and here I am with all of you getting the Generation Award… It’s important that you are your most authentic self. I’m a walking example of that.”
Johnson ended his speech with a quote that he first heard when he was 15 years old, and “I will never forget it and I bring it with me everywhere I go, and it’s ingrained in my DNA.” That quote: “It’s nice to be important, but it’s more important to be nice.” You can watch the entire thing below.
(Via Entertainment Weekly)
