Those who saw Crazy Heart or Country Strong and were somewhat disappointed by the lack of massive pectorals, this news is for you: Dwayne “Only A Fool Would Call Me The Rock” Johnson is producing and starring in a biopic of pioneering black country star Charley Pride, whose success in a mostly white-dominated genre can be credited to his smooth baritone and the fact that he can bench press over 400 pounds. To be fair, Johnson has proved that he can sing before, picking up an acoustic guitar and doing Sam Cooke’s “You Send Me” for a Jay Leno audience last year, singing a rendition of “Are You Lonesome Tonight?” in The Game Plan—even getting a WWE audience to listen to a parody song dissing Sacramento.
Still, despite Johnson’s efforts to diversify over the years and prove that he’s capable of more than just kicking the shit out of people, it’s somewhat difficult to picture Johnson cramming his hulking frame into a ruffled shirt to play Pride and not having the whole thing come off like a bizarre Saturday Night Live sketch. But hey, what do we know? People said Sylvester Stallone couldn’t play a country singer in Rhinestone, and… Actually, that’s probably not the best example.