Young Rock Cast Reveals What's Surprisingly Real About The Show - Exclusive

Young Rock thrives on the simple fact that Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson has great stories to tell. Johnson described his life to USA Today as "Forrest Gump-ian" and it's hard to find a better descriptor: he spent his childhood around wrestling icons, his rebellious teenage years stealing clothes, and his college years playing football alongside legends like Warren Sapp. If his wrestling career flamed out after his failed run as bland babyface Rocky Maivia, he'd still have one of the most interesting lives in history. Even so, it's hard not to wonder: how much of this is real, and how much if this is the Rock just working the gimmick? There are records of some of what he said — for example, he revealed to Extra in 2013 that he was mistaken at school for an undercover cop — but some of it just feels too outlandish to be true.

Looper spoke with several members of the Young Rock cast, including Ata Johnson actress Stacey Leilua. She confirmed some parts that were indeed true, and dropped a hint about what's coming soon to the show.

According to Stacey Leilua, "The stuff around Waffle, the homeless guy and the crackhead in the boot of the car, all that was real." Indeed, the Rock recalled a similar version of the story to journalist Kjersti Flaa in 2013. Aside from the fact that the real event really took place in Nashville, the story is almost identical. Leilua also revealed that an upcoming episode will delve into the Rock's "love of country music" — a fact she herself found surprising.

Leilua is also quick to point out that "part of the reason why the show works so well, because you're sort of like, 'I don't know if that's real or not.'" As an example, she cites "all this stuff about him running for president. You see people kind of online going, 'I'm pretty sure this is the beginning of his bid for the presidency' and other people are like 'No, no, it's made up' and they're like, 'Well, I don't know.' And I think it's part of the aspect that kind of keeps the audience on their toes, like 'what's going to happen next?' It's unpredictable. And it works."

Catch Young Rock Tuesdays at 8PM on NBC.