Dwayne Johnson wears bodysuit in live-action Moana film

Dwayne Johnson has revealed he is wearing a bodysuit to play the live-action version of his Moana character Maui.

After voicing the demigod Maui in the Disney animations Moana and Moana 2, the former wrestler is now bringing him to life in a live-action version.

Production is currently underway on the live-action film and Johnson was recently photographed by paparazzi on the set in a Maui costume featuring a long brown wig, a grass skirt and a heavily tattooed torso.

Johnson revealed in an interview with Extra that his torso is not real because he is actually wearing a bodysuit.

“That’s a suit that took a long time to put on. So, I’m so happy you said, ‘You bulked up,’ because when you say, ‘You bulked up,’ that means you couldn’t tell,” he said. “That is a couple of hours every day of transforming, putting that on.”

The Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle actor noted that the filmmaking team tried hard to keep his appearance under wraps.

“We shot outside and when those pictures surfaced, I was like, ‘S**t, we got caught, ’cause we were putting up, like, walls so there was no paparazzi. But they got into boats and started shooting pictures,” he shared.

Johnson also discussed the difference between voicing Maui in a recording booth and playing him in real life.

“The moment I stepped on set as live-action Maui, I realised right away, ‘Oh, wow, this is different,’ in terms of this is real flesh-and-blood and skin-and-bones,” he told the outlet. “It becomes real all of the sudden. It was almost like getting in my grandfather’s skin and what that was like.”

Johnson recently reprised his Maui voice role for Moana 2, which will be released in cinemas on Friday.

Auli’i Cravalho, who voices Moana in the animations, decided not to play the character in the live-action production and was replaced by Catherine Laga’aia. The new film is set to be released in July 2026.