Dwayne Johnson Explains Why He Still Doesn’t Get Southland Tales—And What Went Wrong!

Dwayne Johnson is a Hollywood powerhouse known for his high-energy action roles, from Jumanji to Black Adam, and his more family-friendly endeavors in The Game Plan and Race to Witch Mountain. His career has often been characterized by an approachable, larger-than-life persona, but it wasn’t always as polished and predictable as it is today. In the early days of his transition from the world of professional wrestling to acting, Johnson took risks with some experimental projects, and one in particular stands out as a movie that still confounds him to this day—Southland Tales (2006).

In a recent interview with Film Ink, Johnson reflected on his experience working on Richard Kelly’s Southland Tales, a film that remains one of the most baffling and ambitious works in modern cinema. Directed by Kelly, who had previously garnered acclaim for his breakout film Donnie Darko, Southland Tales is a dystopian satire that blends politics, reality TV, and military-industrial commentary in a chaotic, often incomprehensible narrative. The film takes place in a fractured version of Los Angeles, where the outbreak of World War III leads to total societal breakdown.

Johnson, who starred as Boxer Santoros, an amnesiac action movie star, admitted that even now, he’s not entirely sure what the film was about. “I’m still not quite too sure what that movie is about,” he confessed, laughing at the complexity of the plot. The film weaves together multiple, surreal storylines, including those of a porn star turned reality TV personality and twin brothers caught in a totalitarian regime. The result was a film that perplexed both critics and audiences alike. Southland Tales grossed a mere $374,743 at the box office, far from the commercial success Johnson would later experience with his other action-packed blockbusters.

Johnson’s confusion about Southland Tales isn’t unique—several of his co-stars, including Justin Timberlake, have also expressed their bewilderment at the film’s dense narrative. In 2011, Timberlake told The Hollywood Reporter, “To me, Southland Tales is performance art. I still don’t know what that movie is about.” Despite the film’s critical failure and the subsequent toll it took on Kelly’s career, Johnson remains fond of the director. “I love Richard Kelly. He’s one of my dear friends,” Johnson said, expressing his belief that Kelly would eventually create films that “will stand the test of time.”

The ambitious but perplexing nature of Southland Tales marked a turning point for Johnson’s career, as it led him to focus on roles with broader appeal and more straightforward narratives. After Southland Tales, Johnson found his niche in action-packed franchises like Fast & Furious and Jumanji, where he’s able to deliver the high-energy performances his fans adore.

However, Southland Tales is still an intriguing part of Johnson’s filmography. The film, with its apocalyptic satire and bizarre narrative, stands out as one of the most audacious projects he took on in his early years as an actor. Though the film’s meaning may remain elusive to both Johnson and audiences, it remains an example of Hollywood’s ability to experiment with unusual and visionary ideas—even if those ideas don’t always land.

As for Richard Kelly, the director’s future remains a mystery. After Southland Tales, Kelly’s career faltered, with his 2009 film The Box also receiving a lukewarm reception. Despite this, figures like Clerks director Kevin Smith have continued to praise Kelly’s creativity, drawing comparisons to Christopher Nolan’s rise in Hollywood. “He is insanely creative,” Smith said in 2016. “He can be one of our greatest filmmakers.”

In the years since, Johnson has continued to carve out a place for himself as a global action star, but Southland Tales remains an interesting footnote in his career—a bold, strange, and ultimately misunderstood project that he will always look back on with a mix of affection and confusion.