Why Revisiting The '80s Is The 'Most Fun' Era On Young Rock, According To Ana Tuisila – Exclusive
On "Young Rock," which airs Friday nights on NBC, fans get to see Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson in four stages of life: as elementary school-age "Dewey" in the early 1980s, as an overgrown teenager in the late-'80s, as an ambitious young adult in the 1990s, and as a futuristic version of himself who ran for president in 2032.
Starring Johnson as his middle-aged self, the series also features relative newcomers Joseph Lee Anderson as Johnson's wrestling-legend father Rocky Johnson, Stacey Leilua as his grounded mother Ata Johnson, and Ana Tuisila as his business-savvy grandmother Lia Maivia, one of wrestling's first female promotors.
Loosely based on Johnson's real life, "Young Rock" tells reminiscent stories from Johnson's youth and early career as a professional wrestler, skipping around from decade to decade in each episode. During an exclusive interview with Looper, Tuisila reflected upon why the retro 1980s era is her favorite time period to step back into on the show.
The '80s feel the 'most authentic' to Tuisila
From the clothes to the music to the politics, the 1980s were one of history's most memorable eras — and it also happened to be a very influential time in Johnson's life. During the indelible decade, young Johnson moved from place to place and watched the rise and fall of his famous father, which all helped make him the man he is today. For Tuisila, harkening back to the 1980s is "the most" fun she has on "Young Rock."
"It's Dwayne's beginnings," she says. "The '80s were more exciting and more colorful, and it's set in Hawaii. So that era I can relate to because that's when it first started. I can relate to the '80s, the dress, the atmosphere in Hawaii. Although [it was] not filmed there, I can relate to that. I feel it is most authentic in terms of Lia starting off the business."
In general, though, Tuisila is thrilled to be part of "Young Rock," no matter the decade. "Just being involved in Dwayne Johnson's life and wrestling [career] — because I grew up in the [heyday of the] wrestling era — being in this whole production is beyond words. I can't pinpoint one or two [things]. It's been surreal, everything."
Season 3 of "Young Rock" airs Fridays at 8:30 p.m. ET/PT on NBC. Episodes are then available for streaming the next day on Peacock.