'Maui means everything': Dwayne Johnson opens up about Moana's personal significance

Picture Courtesy/Dwayne Johnson`s Instagram account

Hollywood star Dwayne Johnson has talked about the personal connection he shared with his character Maui in the "Moana" franchise and called the upcoming live-action film one of the most meaningful experiences of his career, which represents "legacy, life, pride and soul," while also celebrating Polynesian culture and the importance of family.

Johnson in a collaborative post, shared a video montage talking about the film and that the character of Maui distinctly represents his grandfather, making the film ultra special for him.

In the clip, Johnson is heard saying: "The character of Maui means, in a word, everything. What makes Maui so meaningful to me is Maui distinctly represents my grandfather, the late High Chief Peter Maivia."

"When you hold up pictures of my grandfather with all his tattoos, and his massive build, and his long beautiful hair, and you hold that up to Maui, it's striking. So this live-action version was for him."

Johnson, who is also known as The Rock, talked about how he loves being on set.

"There's nothing like being on set. In live action, you step on set, it's time to come alive. We put my daughters and my mom in the movie. I mean, man, that was really special for me. It begins to sink in the enormity to have Polynesian culture represented in this way."

Revealing why it's his greatest experience, Johnson added: "It was one of the greatest experiences I've ever had in my career, because it means everything, legacy, life, pride. And so, are you ready to be the hero?"

The actor took to the caption section and mentioned: "As you can see and feel, MOANA is a massive, sweeping, beautiful, soul stirring, adventurous (and very funny) movie that's steeped in rich Polynesian culture - with values, ambitions, heartbreaks, and passions, that everyone can relate to. But as you can also see and feel, MOANA is so much more."

"Legacy, life, pride and soul. I'm excited for you and your families to see our movie!"

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