Rocking the football field in a theater near you

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s latest film, “Gridiron Gang” tells the true story of Sean Porter, a juvenile detention camp officer with a passion for changing the lives of young delinquents.

Based on the 1993 documentary of the same name, “Gridiron Gang” shows the heartwarming transformation of a group of boys, who have dedicated themselves to a life of crime and violence in the name of their gang, into dedicated athletes who learn to work together as a football team.

Today Sean Porter oversees five prisons for teen felons and continues to inspire those inside an outside the prison walls. Many of the players from Porter’s first football team went on to live successful, productive lives, including an NFL player. There are also team members who, after their release from Camp Kilpatrick, went back to a life of crime, ending up locked up for life or dead at a young age. It’s a harsh reality, but Porter’s work over the years has drastically improved the chances for many young men in the system.

I recently sat down with The Rock to discuss the message of “Gridiron Gang,” his experience with filming and how they managed to remain faithful to the true story of Sean Porter and the kids he made into a football team.

What is the message of “Gridiron Gang”?

“It’s great for the community and it’s great for the kids. Understand whether you’re white or black, Latin, Asian, whatever you are, rich or poor, the message is still the same. There’s no substitute for hard work. You’ve got to get out there and you’ve got to work your butt off every single day, you’ve got to apply yourself. Especially if you’re a kid, you’ve got to apply yourself to school. Apply yourself to something, whatever that is, whether it’s sports or not. Whether it’s sports, whether it’s band, whether it’s choir, whether it’s whatever it is. These activities are so important.

Specifically for these kids who are locked up, who have been locked up for a long time, who don’t see tomorrow, who come from a world of neglect, who come from a world of failure, who are in many ways disregarded, we’re able to throw them a rope. I say we’ll, as in Sean Porter, who still to this day oversees five prisons for kids, to give you an idea of how much he cares and he has dedicated his life to these kids. He says, ‘You’re in a hole right now, I’ll throw you a rope and you can either make a noose and hang yourself or I’ll pull you up and I’ll give you the tools to become a better person, a productive person, in society, a better man. And these things are invaluable.”

You are the most experienced cast member of this film, what was that like?

“The real world relationship carried onscreen. In the interest of authenticity and in the interest of doing right by Sean Porter, who was watching intensely, how, not specifically how my performance was, but specifically how this was gonna affect these kids’ lives. I mean he was really concerned about that. You know, him saying, ‘Listen I have a concern, I just want to make sure that if you’re going to tell the story you’re going to tell it right, you’re gonna tell it honest and brutal. This world is dark, it’s violent. It does end in a positive way.’ And he goes, ‘I want to make sure that happens.’

So the relationship I had with the kid actors when we first got together, when we first started shooting, I made sure that they all referred to me as Mr. Porter. Nobody called me Dwayne, nobody certainly didn’t call me Rock, nobody’s playing video games on my watch, we’re not all getting together telling jokes. It’s none of that, cause that kind of stuff had to be earned. And in talking to Sean, that respect that was earned between himself and those prisoners was earned all the time, and when you watch the documentary, you watch that unfold. So I wanted to make sure that that happened too, and we shot in sequence so it made it a little easier to get that relationship going with the kids. So by midseason things start to gel more onscreen and frankly that’s how it was offscreen as well.”

Did you find it difficult portraying someone who is real?

Portraying someone who is alive is, and not only alive, but someone who really did incredible things- in his world, in his small, uncelebrity-like world, he really changed lives, he saved lives, to this day he does- so that’s a pretty good responsibility as I found out. And then you get a guy who’s not wondering ‘Well when are we all going to sit down for the print round table in Atlanta or all these these cities, or are we going to Oprah when we go to Chicago or Access Hollywood.’ None of that. Just saying, ‘I want you to get it right. That’s all I care about. And, by the way, these kids who you’re portraying...these guys live productive lives now and they’re dads and they’re productive citizens, responsible citizens. When people see this, I don’t want them losing their jobs, all the sudden they didn’t know their background, they didn’t know these guys were locked up. How are you going to make sure that doesn’t happen?’

He’s a tough guy. So it was an added great responsibility, but one that was welcomed. And I appreciate that in him. Just making sure that ‘I want it to be positive for these kids, not only the kids who you’re portraying,’ and he goes, ‘I get that, I know a couple of kids have died, I was there. A couple of kids are serving life for like triple murder and awful stuff, but at the same time it’s still, it’s all positive, and I want these kids to see the light at the end of the tunnel.’

When you get that guy who is alive and who you’re portraying him who is sitting opposite from you across the table...I appreciate that because he kept me on my toes and I’m thankful.

What’s next for you?

“The Game Plan” is the only one that is absolutely for sure. “Southland Tales” will come out at some point. You just can’t be lazy when you’re watching that movie, you’ve got to be always thinking. “Johnny Bravo,” we’re still working on that, there are some things that have got to be worked out, “Spy Hunter” as well. “The Game Plan” is the next one that we’re concentrating on.

“Gridiron Gang” is now in theaters. It is rated PG-13 for scenes of violence, mature thematic material and language.

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