Dwayne Johnson shares Jelly Roll lyric that helped him through a depressive period: “That really moved me and touched me”

Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson has opened up about the impact one of Jelly Roll‘s song had on him during a rough mental health patch.

• READ MORE: In praise of The Rock: why Dwayne Johnson is the hero we all need

The Red One actor appeared on The Kelly Clarkson Show on Friday (November 15), and said he had discovered the ‘Need a Favor’ singer’s work when he was “going through a hard time”.

“That was one of my bouts with depression, and I was struggling, and I was really wobbly,” he said. He has been candid about mental health before, having previously discussed his battle with depression, recalling witnessing his mother attempt suicide and the devasting effect it had on him in 2018.

“I was trying to balance a lot, we were pregnant with our second baby,” he continued on Clarkson’s show. “My older daughter, she was long distance, I was trying to film a movie. There was a lot going on.”

He went on to share lyrics to 2017’s ‘Only’: “What if the darkness inside of me has finally taken my soul/ What if the angels in heaven were sent to take me home/ Would they fight through the demons that I have in my life/ Lord, I’m believing eventually see the light.”

“That really moved me and touched me,” he said of the lyrics. “We got in contact with each other and I told him what it meant to me. We didn’t know each other but became really good friends. That’s my boy, and I love that guy.”

Clarkson also showed a clip of a previous Jelly Roll (real name Jason DeFord) appearance on the show, in which the country singer nodded to his friendship with Johnson.

“He was a fan when I wasn’t worth being a fan of,” he said. “By him being a fan, I was like, ‘If one of the greatest personalities of this generation, one of the greatest actors and entertainers, if he sees something in this music, maybe I’m on to something.”

He has been equally frank about his mental health, making an emotional plea to congress for anti-fentanyl legislation earlier this year, explaining that he overcame his own drug addiction now wanted to be “part of the solution”.

Elsewhere earlier on in the year, Johnson signalled his intention to work on more dramatic films, in a move away from the action blockbusters that made him famous.

For help and advice on mental health:

• ‘Am I depressed?‘ – Help and advice on mental health and what to do next
• Help Musicians UK – Around the clock mental health support and advice for musicians
• Music Support Org – Help and support for musicians struggling with alcoholism, addiction, or mental health issues
• YOUNG MINDS – The voice for young people’s health and wellbeing
• CALM – The Campaign Against Living Miserably for young men
• Time To Change – Let’s end mental health discrimination
• The Samaritans – Confidential support 24 hours a day