LOS ANGELES: Dwayne Johnson has revealed that he had auditioned for the part of popular character Jack Reacher but lost out to Hollywood star Tom Cruise.
During a Q&A session on Instagram, Johnson said he was confident about bagging the part as he believed his physical attributes are perfect for the character, created by author Lee Child.
"In Hollywood, actors are kind of like in-a-box. There are actors that can vie for a particular role because it allows for them to have a certain look, skin colour, size, etc.
"Fortunately, for me, there aren't a lot of guys at all who look like me. So, all of my roles, from the beginning of my career, I've been a lucky son of a b***h that they've been created and designed for me except Jack Reacher," he said.
Johnson said at the time Cruise was "biggest movie star in the world, and I was not".
"I got the call saying 'Hey, you didn't get the role'. Look, I didn't even know if I had a shot for it, but the people around me at that time made me think that I did.
"I felt like I did, I felt like 'Why not me?'" he added.
However, the actor later got the chance to play Luke Hobbs in fifth installment of the "Fast & Furious" franchise.
And today, Johnson is one of the highest-paid actors in Hollywood.
"I'm positive that the role of Jack Reacher, because it was an established character, an IP that was well known and beloved around the world, that I wouldn't have had the creative space to do what I wanted with the character, he said.
"I look back in gratitude that I didn't get Jack Reacher," he added.
Cruise had played the character in two films --2012's "Jack Reacher" and its 2016 sequel "Jack Reacher: Never Go Back".