The Rock Speaks with Sports Illustrated

Dwayne Johnson (aka "The Rock) stars in The Game Plan . It hits theaters this weekend. Below, the former WWE star speaks with Sports Illustrated...

SI: How was it putting the pads on for the first time in over 15 years?
Johnson: It doesn't take long to get up to speed. You lace up the cleats, strap on the helmet and then your head is squeezed and it all comes back to you. You're ready to get out there and ball.

SI: One week into shooting, you were injured badly. What happened?
Johnson: I rolled out, jumped up to throw and my Achilles. Two weeks later I was back, but I went from a scrambling quarterback to a somewhat scrambling, mainly drop-back pocket passer. I became Bernie Kosar.

SI: Just two weeks?
Johnson: Sometimes there's great momentum [on a film]. We had that, so I got on the phone with the director the day after surgery and said, "If you can shoot around this injury, you will see me on the set in eight weeks." Then I asked my doc. He said, "Draw an imaginary five-foot radius around you -- nobody can even come close to you"

SI: How did you spend the down time?
Johnson: There was very little, actually. The day after surgery I was an animal in the gym. You would have laughed your ass off. I was crunching, sweating, blood coming out of the gauze. It was crazy. Afterward, I did get to finally enjoy my favorite TV shows: America's Most Wanted and Family Guy.

Click here to read the full interview with The Rock.