“If I hear anyone, especially a little kid voice — ‘Maui!’ — you know, I turn around,” Johnson tells PEOPLE
Credit: Don Arnold/WireImage
NEED TO KNOW
- Dwayne Johnson joins PEOPLE’s One Last Thing interview in this week’s issue
- At a recent event for his new movie, the live-action remake of Moana, he greeted kids attending as part of their Make-A-Wish Foundation wish
- Congratulating kids who had recently celebrated ringing the cancer bell was a “beautiful fan experience,” says Johnson
Dwayne Johnson doesn’t have to think long when asked for his last memorable fan encounter.
Greeting fans at a press event for Disney’s live-action remake of Moana (in theaters July 10), which stars Catherine Lagaʻaia in the title role and Johnson as the demigod Maui, the actor-producer was stopped by some adorable kids, whom he says he couldn’t walk past without stopping.
“I’m a sucker for kids,” the actor, 54, tells PEOPLE as part of his One Last Thing interview in this week’s issue of PEOPLE. “If I hear anyone, especially a little kid voice — ‘Maui!’ — you know, I turn around.”
Credit: Disney
Johnson was, in fact, “trying to leave” the Moana event when he heard his young fans and ended up “there for 30 minutes meeting a bunch of kids.” A lot of them, he says, were there “as part of their Make-A-Wish [Foundation] wish.”
A nonprofit that grants life-changing wishes to children ages 2 to 18 who are battling critical illnesses, Make-A-Wish often works to link celebrities with eager kids. Joining Johnson at the event, he says, were kids whose “parents brought them to celebrate” ringing the cancer bell — completing a triumphant journey with chemotherapy or radiation.
“They were so happy, like, ‘I rang the bell!’ I got down on one knee, and I was like, ‘You rang the bell?’ ” recalls Johnson. “They’re telling Maui that they rang the bell. I love that. That was a beautiful fan experience.”
Credit: Kevin Mazur/Getty
Johnson has worked with Make-A-Wish repeatedly in the past. In November 2024, he greeted five kids and their families at the Hawaii premiere of Moana 2, joined by two of his daughters, Jasmine and Tiana.
He wrote on Instagram at the time that it was an “honor” to “grant wishes” for the nonprofit, adding that it was “extra special” that his “two little tornadoes” wanted to accompany him.
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In the Thomas Kail-directed reimagining of the 2016 animated musical Moana, Johnson reprises his voice role as the rascally Polynesian demigod Maui. The live-action movie costars Lagaʻaia, Rena Owen, John Tui, Frankie Adams and the voice of Jemaine Clement. Lin-Manuel Miranda returns as the new movie’s composer.
Moana is in theaters Friday. For more on Johnson, pick up this week’s issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands now!
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