Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson  discusses his childhood in his new series Young Rock.

The NBC TV show, created by the wrestler-turned-actor, looks back on his “tough” upbringing, rebellious adolescence, and early success as a college American football player.

Dwayne made £70 million as the world’s highest-paid actor last year, but he grew up in a family where the next paycheck was never certain.

‘My life was incredibly complicated and it was incredibly tough growing up,’ the 48-year-old told The Sun on Tuesday.

Wayde Douglas Bowles – nicknamed Rocky – Johnson’s father – was a World Wrestling Federation champion before there was substantial money in the sport, and he sometimes struggled to pay the rent.

He’d move from place to place with his wife, Ata Maivia, now 72, with their young kid.

Johnson had lived in 13 different states by the time he was a teenager.

Dwayne’s dad Rocky Johnson would often struggle to pay the rent
Credit: private

While his father continued to compete, Ata and Dwayne migrated to Hawaii, but money was still scarce, and Dwayne turned to stealing.

‘Thirteen is when I started to veer off the tracks,’ Johnson said. ‘I started getting arrested for fighting, theft, all kinds of stupid [stuff] that I shouldn’t have been doing.’

He stated that he and a group of pals would target for affluent travelers outside luxury stores: “We would target the money, we would target the high-end clothes and we would target the jewellery – turn around and sell it.”

By the age of 17, he had been arrested “eight or nine times” for crimes such as stealing, fraud, and fights.

Dwayne’s life was turned around after he won a football scholarship to the University of Miami
Credit: private

The Ballers actor described himself as “a kid who had some anger issues but also thought he was really cool.”

Dwayne’s family was evicted from their one-bedroom flat when he was 15 years old.

He said: “We come home and there’s a padlock on the door and an eviction notice. My mum starts bawling. I’ll never forget the feeling.”

Dwayne hated the thought leaving Hawaii, where he felt most at home, but “the universe stepped in” and they were kicked off the island. “We had no choice,” he recounted.

Johnson also stated that as he grew up, he “clearly had an identity crisis.”

‘I didn’t want to be known as Dwayne when I moved from high school to high school. I called myself Tomas.

Dwayne with dad Rocky and mum Ata Maivia in 2015
Credit: Rex Features

“Girls used to call the house and ask for Tomas and my mum would go, ‘I’m sorry. There’s no Tomas here’.”

The series also recounts his father’s career as a professional wrestler in the territorial systems of the 1970s and 1980s, before Vince McMahon and Wrestlemania elevated the form of entertainment to a higher level.

He describes the program, which includes portrayals of other pro wrestling superstars such as Andre The Giant, Macho Man Randy Savage, the Junkyard Dog, and the Iron Sheik, as a “a love letter to professional wrestling, which is a business I grew up in and a business I’ve loved all of my life.’