‘Moana’ Star Auliʻi Cravalho Reveals Her Reaction to First Meeting Co-Star Dwayne Johnson

It was a remarkable, but a little awkward, first meeting between Auliʻi Cravalho and Dwayne Johnson during their work on Moana. The 24-year-old actress, who provided the voice of ‘Moana’ in the 2016 Disney movie and its recent follow-up, remembers that Johnson, 52, gave her a big hug and flowers when she first arrived. But when Johnson also gave Puanani, Cravalho’s mother, a hug, and she made the awkward joke, “Ooh, I’m going to go Rock climbing,” the occasion grew a little awkward.

Cravalho, who was only 14 when she was chosen to play ‘Moana’, acknowledges that her mother’s remark still haunts her and chuckles at it now. In spite of this, Johnson and Cravalho’s relationship deepened during the ‘Moana’ filming and has stayed close throughout time. Together with Catherine Laga’aia as Moana, the two are now executive producers of Disney’s live-action version of the movie, which will once more feature Johnson.

Image Courtesy: People

Cravalho considers how their relationship has changed over time. “We’re on text chains, email chains, and Zooms together, which feels different from our first film,” she says. “I still see him as an all-knowing uncle… someone older to be respected,” she said, expressing her continued admiration for Johnson. Cravalho also remembers how Johnson introduced her to his reliable Hollywood crew early in her career.

Johnson still keeps in touch with Cravalho now, sending her kind voice messages or SMS to inquire about her well-being or the progress of a project. According to Cravalho, these small actions have a significant impact. Fun fact: Cravalho frequently needs to clarify whether she is texting Dwayne Johnson or Dwayne Cravalho because her father is also named Dwayne.

Cravalho is making her Broadway debut in ‘Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club’ as Sally Bowles.

–Farheen Ali