‘Holy cow’: Wild moment Dwayne Johnson gatecrashes stars’ interview

“This is crazy!”: It’s hard to tell who was the most shocked in the press room by Dwayne Johnson’s sudden — and unplanned — appearance.

“Oh my god! What are you doing? This is crazy!”

There aren’t a lot of “firsts” left when you’ve been in a job for almost a decade, but Dwayne Johnson gatecrashing my interview with his Red One co-stars definitely makes the cut.

Actors Kiernan Shipka (who plays nasty witch Gryla in the action-comedy Christmas film) and Lucy Liu (aka director of security operations, Zoe) were detailing the tricky logistics involved in their high-intensity scenes, when I noticed a huge figure slowly looming behind them.

I assumed it was a publicist asking me to wrap things up. Actually, it was The Rock.

Both Liu and Shipka shrieked and jumped in shock as their Red One co-star quietly leaned down between them.

The unexpected guest caused a bit of chaos. Picture: Supplied

He gushed over his co-stars’ performance in the film. Picture: Supplied

Johnson had just one question for me as he flashed a huge grin: “How amazing are these two in it, right?”

“So … this is what happens. This is crazy … My temperature just went up, like, 20 degrees,” Liu giggled, before greeting Johnson: “Hi, sweetheart! How are you so big and stealthy? Holy cow!”

The actor – who plays Callum Drift, head of security for Saint Nicholas (Santa Claus) in the festive movie – roasted Shipka for snort-laughing at his prank, before giving a jaunty wave and heading off again in a fit of laughter.

“Love you!” Shipka called after him.

So, was this a typical Johnson stunt?

“That’s the first time that’s happened, by the way – in all of the press,” Liu told me. “You’re the only one!”

It may have been an unexpected cameo, but it also appeared to answer one of my not-yet-asked questions regarding a report that surfaced earlier this year of tension on the Red One set, centred on since-disputed allegations of difficult behaviour by Johnson.

Johnson as Callum Drift, head of North Pole security. Picture: Supplied

J.K Simmons appears alongside him as an unbelievably ripped Santa. Picture: Supplied

In Red One, which hits cinemas this week, Santa Claus (played by J.K. Simmons) is kidnapped, prompting the North Pole’s Head of Security (Johnson) to reluctantly team up with the world’s most infamous bounty hunter (Chris Evans) in an action-packed, world-spanning mission to save Christmas.

Along with Liu and Shipka, the film stars Bonnie Hunt as Mrs Claus, Game of Thrones’ Kristofer Hivju as Krampus, Nick Kroll and Mary Elizabeth Ellis.

For Liu, decades into her career, it was a relief to have a break from playing the bad guy.

“I was thrilled not to be playing the [villain] because normally they come at me with the antagonist, and here I am, kind of part of the team that’s saving the world, and saving Christmas,” the Kill Bill star told news.com.au.

“A holiday movie is generally filled with heart, but it doesn’t have much adventure – and this has both.”

Liu as the no-nonsense Zoe. Picture: Supplied

Liu, 55, famously does a lot of her own stunts – usually in towering stilettos – and Red One proved no different.

“When I was offered the part, [I asked], ‘is there any fighting that I need to prepare for in training?’ And they said, ‘no, no … Maybe you’ll throw a punch and a kick, that’s it’,” she recalled.

“And then I got to the set with the stunt co-ordinators, they were like, ‘OK, we’re just going to show you a little bit of what’s going to happen’ … And it was a full-on action scene.”

Simmons, who plays the unbelievably ripped Saint Nick, also found himself in the midst of a nailbiting stunt sequence and “hanging on for dear life” during one particularly action-packed scene involving his sleigh and a giant runway.

“We spent at least one full day, into the night, on the sleigh, out at a parking lot somewhere,” he told news.com.au.

“And the technology had not quite been perfected, so we were hanging on for dear life a few times there, Wesley [Kimmel] and Chris [Evans] and [Dwayne Johnson] and I.”

Simmons also praised Johnson, as well as Red One’s executive crew, for fostering such a “fun” atmosphere on set during filming in Atlanta, which took place in 2022.

“As usual, that vibe comes from the top down. So [director] Jake [Kasdan] and [producer] Hiram [Garcia] and DJ [Dwayne Johnson] really, really set the tone for a really good, fun environment for all of us,” he said.

Red One premieres in Australian cinemas this Thursday, November 7.

Originally published as ‘Holy cow’: Wild moment Dwayne Johnson gatecrashes stars’ interview