The Rock Says He 'Really Wanted' Role of Jack Reacher in Instagram Live Q&A

In a question-and-answer session with fans on Instagram, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson was asked if he ever lost out on an acting role that he "really wanted."

Johnson responded affirmatively and said he wanted to play Jack Reacher but lost out to Tom Cruise, who starred in the 2012 film and 2016 sequel.

"Business is business, and I'm happy he got it," Johnson wrote on Instagram. "Universe works in funny ways though, as when that door shut on me, another door opened with the opportunity to create a character from scratch that was of my DNA."

Johnson was referring to Luke Hobbs of the Fast and Furious series, which has grossed nearly $5 billion worldwide since Johnson's arrival in 2011's Fast Five, per The Numbers.

The Rock also provided some insightful commentary on his own Hollywood career (h/t Kellie Haulotte of Wrestling Inc.):

"In Hollywood, actors are kind of like in a box. There are actors that can vie for a particular role because it allows for them to have a certain look, skin color, size, etc. Fortunately, for me, there aren't a lot of guys at all who look like me. So, all of my roles, from the beginning of my career, I've been a lucky son of a bitch that they've been created and designed for me—except Jack Reacher."

It all worked out for Johnson in the end, and now he's arguably one of the biggest movie stars in the world.