Live-action Moana stars on their ancestry, family and ‘seeing my grandfather’ on set

For Seiuli Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, the live-action Moana is not just a film role. It is a deeply personal connection to family, ancestry and identity.

Speaking with The Morning Shack’s Gaby Solomona ahead of the film’s premiere in Sydney last weekend, Johnson said the experience of stepping into Maui in live-action form carried a sense of responsibility and selflessness shaped by the women in his life.

“Selflessness”. That is the defining element striking Johnson ahead of the premiere, he said.

He spoke about the influence of his daughters, saying they helped shift his perspective on life and family.

“For sure my three daughters, Simone, Jasmine, and Tia. They are my Moanas,” Johnson told Solomona.

“They are the ones who taught me what real selflessness is about. Growing up as an only child… I was always very 'me first.' But I would say my daughters, and of course my mom, Ata, and my wife, Lauren.”

That sense of family connection is also central for his co-star, 17-year-old Catherine Laga’aia, who takes on the role of Moana.

She said the character has helped her reflect on her family, including a grandmother she never met.

“Unfortunately, I never got to meet her, but through my dad and through the stories that I hear about her, I can only imagine that she would have been quite the Grandma Tala… and in her day, quite the Moana,” Laga’aia told Solomona.

Catherine Laga'aia arrives on the blue carpet at the Sydney premiere of Moana. Photo/Supplied/Redeemer Visuals

The live-action remake builds on the success of the original 2016 animated film, which became a global favourite and a cultural milestone for Pacific storytelling on screen.

For Johnson, moving from voice recording in the studio to filming on set changed the entire experience.

He said the physical world of live-action filming made the story feel closer to home and more spiritually grounded, especially when reflecting on his own Sāmoan heritage.

“When I played the animated version of Maui, inspired by my grandfather, I loved it," Johnson shared. "But you are in a booth and it is voice, and I respect that process. But I love being on set. And I love action. I love real human beings and real connection.

"When I first dressed up as Maui for the first time… full hair, I looked at myself in the mirror and I was looking at my grandfather, and it really moved me. So in a way, every day, I felt like I was getting visited by my grandpa, my grandma, Uncle Nef... ancestors who I never knew, but we have pictures of them from back in Samoa. And it was very real."

Johnson has previously spoken about his ties to Sāmoa, including his grandfather Fanene Leifi Pita Maivia and uncle, former American Sāmoa wrestler Neff Maiava.

For Laga’aia, whose roots trace back to Fa’ala Palauli in Savai'i and Leulumoega-Tuai in Upolu, the experience also became a personal journey of growth.

She said stepping into the scale and pressure of a major international production forced her to push past fear and self-doubt.

“I learned how to be brave," she said. "There were so many opportunities in that kind of world that I was so nervous to take and so nervous to seize because you just don't know where you're going to end up.

“But I think coming off the back of it, coming out of that on the other side, I feel I'm so much more likely to seize something or go for something that maybe seems too far away or seems too hard.”

The Disney live-action Moana is set to premiere in New Zealand cinemas on 8 July, 2026.