Dwayne Johnson, the wrestler-turned-actor is always a part of fan conversations around the globe. The talks are majorly about his in-ring return or another Hollywood blockbuster. But in 2013, the story was something else. Johnson was facing a lot of criticism for one of his movies. That year, Dwayne Johnson played a lead character in the movie ‘Pain & Gain’. The movie was surrounded by controversies and it was also reported that Johnson has agreed to take a pay cut for it. But this is not the only thing he did to star in the movie.
The former WWE world champion also gained weight to be a part of Michael Bay’s film.
Dwayne Johnson gained several pounds for his most controversial project
Pain & Gain (2013) was undoubtedly Dwayne Johnson’s most controversial movie. The plot of the movie revolved around a man who was kidnapped and tortured by steroid-fueled gym rats. The movie was directed by Michael Bay and it was his lowest-budget movie since his debut film. The overall budget of the movie was just $26 million. For this, Dwayne Johnson and other leading actors even accepted a pay cut to maintain the budget.
Not only this but the former WWE world champion also increased his weight up to 300 pounds to look more bulky.
The movie was a huge hit at the box office and crossed over $86.2 million. But when it comes to the fans, then Pain & Gain got mixed reviews. Several fans were not happy with the way the movie portrayed the horrifying kidnapping of Marc Schiller. And even the real-life victim himself was not thrilled with it.
Why did the real-life victim sue over the movie?
The movie was based on a real-life incident of Marc Schiller, a Brooklyn-bred businessman, who was kidnapped and tortured. He stated that the movie treated him more as a culprit than the actual victim which damaged his image.
“They chose to portray me as a bad person and my assailants as nice guys who were just bumbling fools….The movie made a mockery of me and of the pain and suffering that I had endured. … The horrible person on the screen had no resemblance to who I was — or who I am now.”, said Schiller.
Not only Johnson, but the WWE legend Kurt Angle was also a part of it, which fetched more audience.