The Rock Talks About Gridiron Gang, Real-Life Experiences/Similarities

As always, The Rock is a busy man. He spent time last week greeting troops and holding a special screening of his new film, Gridiron Gang for our heroes.

Still, The Great One found time for an interview with MTV, in which he talks about the upcoming movie - hitting theaters September 15 - and how it relates to his real-life experiences.

In the flick, The Rock portrays probation officer Sean Porter. He leads a youth-football team typical in many ways ... except for the fact that its roster is made up entirely of offenders from a juvenile detention center.

The hard-nosed kids have been caught up in often gang-related crimes involving guns and store robbery. It may be a movie, but The Rock is adamant that such real-life offenders, such as himself growing up, deserve a shot at change.

"Every kid deserves a second chance," he said. "A lot of these kids, with their past, where they came from, they never even had a first chance. We've got to realize that. That's our responsibility as adults."

The former WWE wrestler got so into the role that he injured himself during shooting.

Porter must be proud. The ex-coach believed early on that football would be the ideal vehicle to instill core values into the kids, hopefully reversing the effects of negative and selfish thinking.

"In baseball, if the pitcher throws a no-hitter, what's your left fielder doing all day?" asked the real-life Porter, who was spending the day alongside his Hollywood alter ego. "But in football, if your left guard doesn't block anybody all day, you're in trouble. Football takes 11 people; [it] forces the kids to make different choices, to work together."

Hence, the microcosm of life that football exhibits. As far as making the story into a film went, The Rock couldn't wait.

"The script had been around for a little while," the former WWE champion recalled. "I watched the documentary at 2 in the morning [the night I got the script]. I called my agent and said, 'I love it — I'm in.' As a matter of fact, I told them it would be an honor to make this movie."

The Rock couldn't help but admire Porter, largely for his willingness to give the detainees a second chance by refusing to be influenced by their past cruelty and poor judgment.

"When they come in, he doesn't read their rap sheets," Johnson said. "That's amazing to me, because their life starts right [then]."

For The Rock, his movie life started awhile ago. It doesn't show any signs of slowing down.