Dwayne Johnson says his string of early career flops was because he shied away from a challenge: "I don't think I was ready for anything other than easy, light, family films"

Dwayne Johnson in Tooth Fairy.

Dwayne Johnson may now be known as action hero extraordinaire and, lately, as a bonafide dramatic actor thanks to his turn as MMA star Mark Kerr in The Smashing Machine, but it didn't always used to be that way.

On his way up in Hollywood, Johnson became attached to an unfortunate string of box office failures or family-friendly movies that were savaged by critics.