Dwayne Johnson is ready to prove to moviegoers that he is more than a charming box office star with what is said to be a transformative performance in The Smashing Machine, which hits screens this weekend. It’s a different direction for the wrestler-turned-actor, and it has yet to be determined if his fans will embrace his decision to take on more serious work, but what can’t be denied is that Johnson has starred in some pretty entertaining films that have helped make him one of the biggest stars working in the industry today. As he makes a return to the big screen this weekend, what better time than to rank his top five best performances to date.

Honorable Mention: Get Smart (2008) as Agent 23

Once upon a time, Johnson wasn’t always the star of the show and took on more supporting roles during the earlier part of his acting career. What this proved was that the actor had enough star quality to stand out among more established performers, and 2008’s Get Smart is a glowing example of this. Directed by Peter Segal, Get Smart is based on the Mel Brooks and Buck Henry TV show of the same name and follows an analyst named Maxwell Smart (Steve Carell) who has a desire to be a real field agent. Johnson is surrounded by big names, including Carell, Anne Hathaway, Alan Arkin, and James Caan, and he serves as an excellent foil, particularly to Carell’s Smart, as a more polished agent.

While Get Smart received mixed reviews at the time of its release, it proved to be a huge success, grossing $230 million worldwide on a $80 million budget. As action comedies go, Get Smart more than gets the job done, and Johnson more than holds his own surrounded by some acting heavyweights.

5. Be Cool (2005) as Elliot Wilhelm

Despite Be Cool receiving negative reviews compared to its 1995 predecessor Get Shorty, Johnson remains one of he best things about a film that is stacked with talent. While John Travolta, Uma Thurman, Vince Vaughn, and more offered more star power at the time, Johnson turned a supporting role into a comedic highlight as a muscleman who dreams of becoming a successful actor. Based on the Elmore Leonard novel of the same name, Be Cool follows Travolta’s Chili Palmer as he makes his way into the rap music industry in Los Angeles. The movie is significant for Johnson because he was still breaking into acting following a tremendous wrestling career in the WWE, and his role in Be Cool was seen as some to be an unwise show.

Johnson’s character is openly gay in the film, and while the actor has said that some influential people told him to turn it down because it would derail his acting aspirations before they really got started, Johnson’s desire to take chances overshadowed all the naysayers, which led to him being arguably the best part of the film. Johnson doesn’t portray Elliot as a walking joke or caricature, and even though the typical gay jokes that were commonplace in the mid-00s are present and accounted for, it’s Johnson’s full commitment to the character that shines through. A true highlight is watching Johnson perform a monologue from Bring It On, in which he switches between the characters portrayed by Kirsten Dunst and Gabrielle Union in that film. It’s a wonderful comedic turn that showcased early on that Johnson wasn’t afraid to step away from his macho man personality.

4. Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (2017) as Spencer/Dr. Xander “Smolder” Bravestone

Johnson’s career has been shaped by a mix of action-driven material and comedic work, and while some might think he’s defined by the former, he always seems to be at his best when he’s willing to get a laugh by poking fun at himself. In the adventure comedy Jumani: Welcome to the Jungle, Johnson gets to dabble in the two things that have become his wheelhouse. The film is filled with light adventure action and a plethora of laughs, many of which come courtesy Johnson himself.

Directed by Jake Kasdan, the movie is a direct sequel to the 1995 film starring Robin Williams and takes place twenty-two years after the events of the first film. Jumanji is now a video game, and a group of teenagers find themselves trapped inside of it as adult avatars. The film allowed Johnson to poke fun at his own persona and once again proved he has no problem doing so.

In teenage form, Spencer (Alex Wolff) is an intelligent but meek and neurotic high school student, but in the game of Jumanji, he’s Dr. Xander “Smolder” Bravestone (Johnson), a confident archaeologist who possesses no weaknesses. Even though Johnson transforms into a hero when in the game, it’s a twist on his reputation as a personality and actor that illicits some of the film’s biggest laughs. The film was a critical and financial success, going on to gross $962.5 million on a $90 million budget, which spawned a sequel with another one on the way. Alongside Kevin Hart, Jack Black, and Karen Gillan, Johnson proved once again that he can share the wealth with an ensemble that only benefited their effortless chemistry throughout the film.

3. Fast Five (2011) as Luke Hobbs

As the Fast & Furious IP was transitioning from street racing action film to a much bigger action movie space, the powers that be wanted to bring in the big guns to prove that the franchise was evolving. In addition to bringing back names like Tyrese Gibson and Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, Johnson was added as DSS agent Luke Hobbs in Fast Five to add tension with the established character, particularly Vin Diesel’s Dominic Toretto.

Directed by Justin Lin, Dom (Diesel) and Brian O’Connor (Paul Walker) set out to steal $100 million from Hernan Reyes (Joaquim de Almeida), a drug-lord moonlighting as a proper businessman. Hot on their trail is Luke Hobbs, whose team is sent out to apprehend Dom and his crew when they are framed for murdering DEA agents. Johnson utilizes all of his machismo charm and action presence to bring Hobbs to life and, in doing so, manages to overshadow Diesel.

Legend has it that this role was originally intended for Tommy Lee Jones, but when fans expressed that they wanted to see Diesel and Johnson go head-to-head in a Fast film, the role was recalibrated to be a better fit for Johnson. As an actor, Johnson has taken on many action roles, but what he does as Hobbs personifies what he does best when called upon to deliver on all action fronts. He commands your attention and never lets go of it. Since Fast Five, Johnson has appeared as Hobbs in a few Fast sequels and the spinoff Hobbs & Shaw, and it has only helped evolve one of his best characters.

2. The Rundown (2003) as Beck

At the start of Johnson’s acting career, when he was still going by The Rock, several comparisons were made between Johnson and the early action career of Arnold Schwarzenegger. That comparison is not more prevalent than in 2003’s action comedy The Rundown, directed by Peter Berg. In the film, Johnson portrays an aspiring chef who works as a debt collector for loan shark Billy Walker (William Lucking). Beck’s latest job has him in search of the loan shark’s son, Travis (Seann William Scott), who travled to Brazil to search for a lost artifact. Johnson had only been in a few films before landing The Rundown, but he more than proved that he could lead a film effectively with a mix of effortless charm and a screen presence that simply couldn’t be denied.

The movie proved that Johson was a more than capable action star and set the tone for his action roles to follow. Oddly enough, despite good reviews, The Rundown wasn’t a huge success, grossing $80.9 million on an $85 million budget. However, in the years since its release, it has developed a bit of a cult following and stands tall as one of Johnson’s best pieces of work before he became a true Hollywood heavyweight.

1. Pain & Gain (2013) as Paul Doyle

Pain & Gain works because it’s not exactly what you would expect from director Michael Bay and Johnson joining forces for a film. Instead of senseless explosions and non-stop bombastic action, Pain & Gain is a stellar black comedy/crime story that is based on a real, bizarre tale involving bodybuilders, extortion, kidnapping, and ultimately murder. Based on the 1999 series of Miami New Times articles written by Pete Collins about the treacherous activities at the Sun Gym in Miami during the mid-1990s, Johnson stars alongside Mark Wahlberg and Anthony Mackie as a member of the Sun Gym gang involved in a plot of extortion and kidnapping that goes completely off the rails. Johnson is at his very best here as Doyle, who starts the film looking to restart his life in a positive way, only to grow more unstable as he gets more involved in a life of crime.

As an actor, Johnson typically portrays characters who are in a bit more control of their emotions, but Pain & Gain allowed him to flex his acting muscles by letting him go completely unhinged in a way that was remarkable and memorable. The movie received mixed reviews upon release, but it was successful, grossing $86 million globally on a $26 million budget. While the movie has been viewed as inappropriate by some due to the tragedy and severity of its subject matter, others have found that its dark satirical edge makes it one of Bay’s best films, while others believe it showcases Johnson’s best turn as an actor to date.

The Smashing Machine opens nationwide this Friday.

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