Jack Whitehall got "busted" by Dwayne Johnson for performing one of his wrestling moves on Emily Blunt on the set of their movie 'Jungle Cruise'.
The 36-year-old comedian-and-actor starred in the 2021 Disney film with Emily, 41, and the 52-year-old WWE Superstar turned actor - known as The Rock in the ring - caught Jack copying his manoeuvre the 'Rock Bottom'.
Jack told Tom Kerridge and Chris Stark on their podcast 'Proper Tasty Pub Quiz': "I was talking to Emily Blunt about how much I like wrestling, and then I was saying, ‘Oh yeah, Dwayne was one of my favourite wrestlers growing up.'
"She's like, ‘Really?’ And I was like, ‘Yeah, he was so cool [...] He had this finishing move called the 'Rock Bottom'. She was like, 'The 'Rock Bottom'? That sounds weird. What's that?’ And I was like, ‘Oh, it's like this move where he ... Let me demonstrate!’ I put her arm over my shoulder and I was sort of showing her what the 'Rock Bottom' was, and then he caught me. He was like, 'Are you, are you doing the 'Rock Bottom'?' And I was like, ‘Yeah, yeah, sorry...' So I was busted performing the 'Rock Bottom’ on Emily Blunt."
Jack has been a grappling fan since he was a child and has even had wrestling lessons to see what it is like to compete in the squared circle.
He said: "I'm pretty into my wrestling. I've always liked wrestling [...] I also had a couple of wrestling lessons when I was in my early 20s with a British wrestler called ‘Terry the Mean Machine Fraser’ because I wanted to try out what it was like to be in the ring. So I am genuinely quite passionate about it."
Jack is friends with 'Black Bird' star Paul Walter Hauser who has made appearances on wrestling company AEW's TV shows and he would love to follow in his footsteps and get the chance to actually be part of a wrestling storyline.
Whitehall said: "My friend Paul Walter Hauser, who I did this show with last year, he's a really great actor, won a Golden Globe for that show 'Black Bird'. He's obsessed with wrestling and that's something that we bonded over.
"He has actually started wrestling and will go and has a persona and goes to like, wrestling meets and actually wrestles semi pro now."
Asked if he would one day become a semi-pro wrestler, the funnyman said: "I'd love to do what he did!
"He once after – he won a Golden Globe – he went straight to AEW Wrestling at the Forum in Los Angeles, and they put a chair through his head, which was great.
"He went in the ring and had a whole bit. I'd like to do that at some point, if I ever win an award!
"Maybe, like, go and get on stage and get put through a table or something."
'Proper Tasty Pub Quiz' podcast with Tom Kerridge and Chris Stark is available on all major podcast platforms, brought to listeners by M+S.
