Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson revealed to fans that his “Moana” character was loosely based off of his grandfather, WWE star and Samoan High Chief Peter Maivia.
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In the 2016 animated Disney film, Johnson gave voice to Maui, a mythical and powerful demigod who meets the title character, Moana — voiced by Auli’i Cravalho — during her quest to save her island home of Motonui.
Johnson shared the news in a response to a post featuring a side-by-side photo of his character and his grandfather on Twitter.
“A lil’ Disney gem of a secret, my character Maui was partly inspired by my late grandfather, High Chief Peter Maivia of Samoa,” he wrote.
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a lil’ @Disney gem of a secret, my character Maui was partly inspired by my late grandfather, High Chief Peter Maivia of Samoa. #grateful https://t.co/VQgj8hJIcS
— Dwayne Johnson (@TheRock) October 3, 2017
Let’s just say that the news blew fans’ minds.
https://twitter.com/WestsideHoodrat/status/915087769055117312
You are the grandson of a great high chief
You are descended from warriors
Who made their way across the sea
He calls you… https://t.co/4pEvd2AykW— Lin-Manuel Miranda (@Lin_Manuel) October 3, 2017
https://twitter.com/lilyburana/status/915378308849766401