Wrestler turned actor Dwayne Johnson on his return to the ring

From The Scorpion King to The Tooth Fairy he’s proved a popular action star, but 2013 is his busiest year to date, with both a return to the ring for a Wrestlemania Showdown with his old rival John Cena, and five films in the pipeline.

‘GI Joe: Retaliation’ gives the movie Hercules some heavy lifting. The 2009 action movie has been suited and rebooted with Johnson as Roadblock, the new leader of the Joes, tasked with taking out their enemy, Cobra.

The trailer already suggests that London gets caught in the crossfire, but when the president (Jonathan Pryce) is replaced by an evil doppelganger, the facade of the White House also gets a little makeover - a couple of black and red curtains with snake eyes.

Q. Your character Roadblock is famous in the GI Joe lore for his skill in the kitchen. If we were lucky enough to be at your place on a Saturday night, what would we smell the Rock cooking?

Dwayne Johnson: Good question! Usually, some kind of sea bass with pineapple... Nah. Egg whites. I don’t cook that well unfortunately. But I do egg whites very well.

Q. How was working with Scots actor Ray Park in in GI Joe? He’s been in X-Men and of course he was Darth Maul in Star Wars. Was he a hero for you?

Dwayne Johnson: Ray’s a very special guy. He has a personality that lights up the room. He’s so incredibly warm and happy. He’s had this tough life and he’s had to overcome a lot of challenges. But he’s turned into this tough guy who has a heart of gold and he trains his butt off. The most insane thing about it is that we spent a lot of time in New Orleans and we went out a couple of times publicly, and no one quite knew who he was. And I would be like: “If you only knew, you’d go crazy!” But he’s a great guy.

Q. Was that easy or difficult to step into the shoes of a sequel like GI Joe?

Dwayne Johnson: I love Stephen Sommers, who directed the first movie - he was my first director and he gave me my break in Hollywood with The Mummy Returns. But the new director Jon Chu is passionate about GI Joe - plus the studio, Paramount, realised that there was room to make a better movie the second time around.

Q. After GI Joe, we have another four movies from you this year. Are you the busiest man in Hollywood?

Dwayne Johnson: I’ve been called the hardest working man in Hollywood – by myself [laughs]! I’m also preparing for WrestleMania and for Hercules 2 at the same time, so it’s a delicate balance.

Q. You’re just the right age to be a Star Wars fan. Have you put a mention in to your agent now that they’re making a new movie?

Dwayne Johnson: There’s been a lot of chatter about Star Wars and myself. It sort of blossomed out of me saying that I was into GI Joe and Star Wars as a kid. A journalist said: “Hey, you should call JJ Abrams.” And I said: “Yeah, sure, I’ll call him.” And all of a sudden I was going to be in the new Star Wars. But I would love to do it. Jedi, Sith... you got it.

Q. There’s another franchise that has a Rock-shaped hole in it and that’s The Expendables. Have you been approached?

Dwayne Johnson: Statham and Stallone are good friends of mine. As a matter of fact, I just saw The Expendables 2 last night and I can honestly tell you that they’re not ready for me because they are still hunting people down. And what’s a Rock-sized hole anyway? I like that.

Q. If you pitched all the characters you’ve ever played, including The Rock, into a battle against each other, who would be the last man standing?

Dwayne Johnson: My character from Be Cool, Elliott Wilhelm, because he was probably the toughest son of a bitch I’ve ever played who happened to be gay.

Q. Do you think your GI Joe upstages John Cena’s film The Marine?

Dwayne Johnson: John Cena was the last thing I was thinking of!

Q. Do you ever think of him away from WrestleMania?

Dwayne Johnson: Not as much as I think you do [laughs]. Only when I’m getting ready to kick his ass!

• GI JOE: Retaliation is in cenemas nationwide from 27 March