Dwayne Johnson may be big and tough, but in the fabulous new family film TOOTH FAIRY, the magnetic actor finds himself transformed into a tooth fairy … with wings and a wand.
He stars as ice hockey player Derek Thompson who has lost faith in himself and in everyone else. A good man at heart but nursing disappointments of his own, he dashes the hopes and dreams of children with discouraging words. As punishment, he is sentenced by Chief Tooth Fairy Julie Andrews to work as one of her minions, a task which turns out to be harder than he ever imagined. But it’s also a life-changing experience.
Q: Children all over the world will now see you as ‘the Tooth Fairy’, is that a big responsibility?
A: “It is, I have to be honest with you. It is a massive responsibility that very few men would ever dare to take on. I’m The Tooth Fairy with wings so I am a man and a half (laughs). It is very exciting for me because we have an opportunity to present something to the world that audiences have never seen before in a movie. I think children everywhere will relate to the story because every culture has its own version of the tooth fairy.”
Q: Can you talk about the story? You play a tough guy who is not very kind or diplomatic to children.
A: “He is a dream killer. I play a character by the name of Derek Thompson, an extraordinarily arrogant guy who fancies himself as an amazing celebrity, when in reality he is a caricature in some ways. He plays in a minor league hockey team; he has a unique ability to knock out the teeth of his opponents while he’s on the ice so he has been nicknamed ‘The Tooth Fairy’. The sad part about Derek Thompson is that he doesn’t believe in dreams. He doesn’t believe in possibility. He doesn’t believe in any of that. There are a lot of children out there who want to be in his shoes, who want to be professional athletes. But aside from this unique ability to knock out teeth, he has a very sad ability to crush the dreams of children. So for example when children say, ‘Hey, I want to be just like you,’ Derek’s response is, ‘Well to be quite honest with you, you should lower your expectations. That way you’ll never, ever be disappointed.’ Because of that tendency to crush dreams, he is forced to become the tooth fairy. As with any good story, the character goes on a journey and we bring the audience along on that journey.”
Q: What does he learn?
A: “Without giving anything away, he learns the power of belief and how important that is. He understands the important responsibility that he has to all the children. And he has this awesome responsibility to impact lives, especially the lives of children. It has a similar feeling to films like HEAVEN CAN WAIT and IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE, which is one of my favorite films of all time. All of those types of films are just lovely. You know, everybody can watch them and be entertained. They are classics. I hope this one will have that kind of appeal.”
Q: Did you enjoy making the film?
A: “The experience was phenomenal. The effects were great and the sets were built in such an incredible way, because a lot of the scenes required me to be shrunk down to six inches. So there’s a little six-inch tooth fairy running around, being chased by animals, doors almost slamming on him and being walked on and things like that. The sets were built to scale as if I were six inches tall. So you’re looking at a bed that’s a hundred feet tall; it’s really amazing. And working with the other actors was fantastic. When I finally go to (Tooth) Fairyland for the very first time, I meet the incomparable Julie Andrews. She is really the perfect Fairy Godmother (Lily); she just did such a wonderful job. Then I meet Jerry, the mad scientist tooth fairy if you will, who creates all these incredible concoctions for the tooth fairies to use, such as shrinking paste, fairy dust and amnesia dust and magic wands. He is played by the amazing Billy Crystal. Stephen Merchant, who’s a very talented comedic actor, plays my partner in crime throughout the movie.”
Q: Can you talk a little more about Julie Andrews because obviously she’s an icon. You actually hug her in one scene.
A: “Working with Julie Andrews – and hugging her - was really an honor. It was great not only to work with her and become friends with her, but to be in so many scenes together. The juxtaposition of Julie Andrews and me works well, I think. It is such a contrast, both generational and cultural. She is an icon. I’ve been very fortunate and lucky to work with actors and actresses who are considered icons today. But meeting Julie far exceeded any expectations I had. She blew me away with her kindness, and she was so sweet. She came to work on time and was always ready to work and put in long hours. We were shooting all night long; she was just there and she was fantastic.”
Q: Can you talk about the physical side of the film? You had to become a hockey player.
A: “Well, my character is a professional hockey player who’s been skating since he was probably five years old. I had approximately two weeks to prepare for the role in terms of the skating. The arrogant, egotistical athlete in me (laughs) was telling everyone: ‘No problem just give me two weeks. I’ll learn how to skate.’ But you know, skating is pretty difficult and I had to look like I had been skating for thirty years. So, eventually, I get on the ice for the very first time and literally within probably, ninety seconds, I take a spill and my legs go completely up in the air. I went vertical and landed on the back of my head. I thought I had ripped my entire spine away from my skull. So I made sure I was okay and that I was alive. Then I got up and I said, ‘Okay, well great, now I need you to help me over there to the side.’ That was my sobering ice skating experience (laughs). I learned instantly just how difficult it was. I discovered a new-found respect for ice skaters and hockey players and figure skaters. I was very fortunate that we had some great hockey doubles who were able to ice skate and make me look great.”
Q: What was it like working with visual effects and having to fly in the movie?
A: “I had done wirework in the past with some of the action movies that I’ve made, but never executing it like this. I was actually flying with wings. It was very freeing.”
Q: What was it like working with Ashley Judd who plays your girlfriend?
A: “I love Ashley. I’ve been such a big fan of her work and her entire family for a long time because I love traditional country music they are musicians. So I loved and admired Ashley then and admire her even more now after getting to know her. She did such a wonderful job in the movie. She was great. My character needed that female force in his life, someone who was strong enough to stand up to me and say, ‘Hey, this is the way it is, and you can’t keep treating my children like this. If we are going to be together, you’ve got to shape up and really take care of business and you’ve got to be a man.’ Derek needed that type of woman. She’s strong and independent and she has a great sense of self and she’s beautiful and smart and funny. Plus I got to kiss her.”
Q: What do you hope audiences get from this film?
A: “Well when I look at a script, whether it’s a comedy, family film, action film or drama, I think number one, ‘Can I be challenged? Am I going to have a great time making this movie?’ And just as importantly, I ask: ‘Is the audience going to have a great time?’ And with TOOTH FAIRY it was absolutely unequivocally ‘yes’ across the board. My hope as always is that the audience will go away happy and very entertained. I like the message and story of TOOTH FAIRY, the power believing in dreams, believing in possibilities and believing in yourself. I think that’s very important for all of us.”
Q: How embarrassing was it to be dressed up as a tooth fairy?
A: “I know there are going to be a lot of kids and teenagers and adults wondering what it was like wearing a powder blue, very tight tooth fairy outfit (laughs). It was a lot of fun. I think that when you sign up to become the TOOTH FAIRY, you really should prepare yourself to jump off the cliff so to speak and have a great time. I think in order to have a great time, in order for things to be funny; you can’t always look that cool. And that’s important. With something like this, it was all about the collision of worlds. So we had this tough athlete who considered himself to be the toughest, meanest guy in his sport. Then the collision and contrast of his becoming a fairy and what that means is very funny. There are the complications of wearing that blue outfit I have to wear and for one scene I am dressed in a pink tutu because there was a little mix up in the Fairyland wardrobe department. They gave me the female version of the tooth fairy outfit. But then I get the blue male costume.
Q: Can you talk about working with the director Michael Lembeck?
A: “I worked very closely with him. I think that’s important for me as an actor to become close to all my directors very early on, so we can go through the creative process together. I want to get in the director’s head. He gets in mine; I really want us to become close. Michael is a really great, passionate man who has a great sensibility for movies like this. You know, Michael had great success with THE SANTA CLAUSE movies with Tim Allen. He understands the importance of magic and delivering magic to a broad audience and delivering great comedy too. Michael was great to work with.”
Q: How poignant and interesting was this film for you, given that you didn’t come from a wealthy background, or a Hollywood background and have achieved so much for yourself? And now you’re making a film that looks at that theme?
A: “I love that part about our story. It’s one thing when we can have all the physical comedy, which I think plays throughout our movie. But also, the heart of the story is important. In this case it is all about the power of belief. For me it is a poignant theme because I didn’t come from a Hollywood family. I came into the business in an interesting way, in a roundabout way (laughs) so considering my past and where I had come from, the things that I had experienced and the trouble that I had got into, I would say in terms of percentages, I shouldn’t be here talking to you right now. So I’m very fortunate and therein lies the message: how important it is to believe in your dreams and believe in possibilities. It is also about equating that with hard work and understanding that they go hand in hand. In this film, we have great physical comedy. But you know, we have opportunities in movies to do something positive. I believe that, especially when you make a movie like this.”
Q: As a dad, how special is it for you now making family films and particularly this one? It must be just perfect for your daughter.
A: “I became a parent eight years ago and as a father you start to realize the importance of family movies. My goal when I first started acting ten years ago was to work in every different genre and hopefully find success in them all. I have made three or four movies in the family genre and I love it. When family comedies are done right, then generally every member of your family can relate to a character on the screen. It is great when there’s a good message in there too and everybody is sent home with a smile on his face. As far as my little girl is concerned, it’s great for me as a dad to be able to make movies like this that she can see with her friends. But I choose films for me. If I think that I’m going to have fun doing this and I can own and embrace it, then it’s going to be good for everyone else.”
Q: You have such a magnetic charisma both in the action genre and now in comedy. Are both equally enjoyable for you? Is this the kind of film that you want to continue making?
A: “Making this film was very rewarding. Well, making movies is very rewarding because you start to look at the overall picture. I love what I do, I love making movies. I've vacillated back and forth between family comedies and action. I love making people laugh and making them feel good. There’s nothing like kicking ass though. There is nothing like an action movie.”
Q: Is working out still a big part of your life?
A: “Sure, training is a big part of my life. It’s the foundation of my day. Training for a couple of hours in the morning anchors my day and allows me to do what I do. It is like a sanctuary for me, a time to get away from the madness and the craziness of life’s treadmill that is constantly going until you step off and take a break. So when I take a break, I usually go to train and I love it. I’m not a professional athlete anymore but these days I train harder and more intensely, but in a smarter way. I do a lot of cardio and I combine that with resistance training, weights and core training. What I mean by smarter is that I make sure I really listen to my body. As you get a little older, I just turned 37, you start to listen to your joints and your joints will start talking to you.”
Q: Having achieved your dreams, you are giving back to kids in the community. What are you doing with your foundation?
A: “I’m so proud of The Rock Foundation. I am proud of the lives we’ve been able to impact all around the world. That is such a cool thing. I’m equally proud of the people who work on behalf of The Rock Foundation, who’ve dedicated their lives to improving the lives of children. My team at the Foundation and I are blessed men and women. I was very lucky. When I was younger I had a couple people in my own life who saw the potential in me, even when I didn’t see that potential. I was running around trying to stay on the right path, getting arrested constantly, getting into all kinds of trouble. I had parental figures like my football coach in my life who said, ‘You have potential and you’re not going to waste your life.’ I didn’t even see that at the time. Now they’re no longer with us, they’ve since passed away. But I can really appreciate those figures in my life that I’ll never forget. They are my heroes and now this is my way of giving back and shedding some sunshine and hope into some lives.”
