He surprised the audience by opening his appearance with a haka, a Māori war dance.

Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson put on a fiery show before opening up at the 2019 MTV Movie and TV Awards.

The 47-year-old actor and wrestler urged his fans to be their ‘most authentic sel[ves]’ as he accepted the lifetime achievement award.

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Icon: Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, 47, put on a fiery show before opening up at the 2019 MTV Movie and TV Awards

‘The Rock’ was projected behind the action in fiery letters. 

After showing off his impressive moves with the set, the Hobbs & Shaw star accepted his golden popcorn.

The show’s host, Zachary Levi, bowed down in reverence as he presented the award. 

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Strutting his stuff: Following a montage of The Rock’s film roles that highlighted his bruising action roles and hilarious comedic turns, he was joined on stage by a throng of dancers

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Putting on a show: Their haka dance, set to Queen’s We Will Rock You, featured the dancers gyrating as billowing clouds of smoke shot up around the stage

After thanking the dancers and the choreographers, he gave a quick shout-out to his wife Lauren Hashian and his three daughters, Simone, 17, Jasmine, three, and Tiana, one.

‘I also want to thank my family at home, my girls. I’ve got a house full of strong-a** women at home!’ 

‘I want to thank you, the people, the fans. I thank you. All of you at home,’ he continued.

‘You are the reason I’m getting this, so I want to share a really quick lesson with you guys that I’ve learned over the years.’

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We’re not worthy! Host Zachary Levi bowed down in reverence as he presented the award

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Limiting: ‘I was told [when I first got to Hollywood], well, you gotta be a certain way. You gotta drop some weight. You gotta be somebody different. You gotta stop working out. Stop doing the things that I love. You gotta stop calling yourself The Rock’

He traveled back in time to his early years as he tried to transition from being a WWE superstar to a film superstar. 

‘When I first got to Hollywood, Hollywood, they didn’t know what the hell to do with me. I mean, I was half-black, half-Samoan, 6foot4, 275-pound pro wrestler,’ he said.

‘I was told at that time, well, you gotta be a certain way. You gotta drop some weight. You gotta be somebody different. You gotta stop working out. Stop doing the things that I love. You gotta stop calling yourself The Rock.

‘For years, I actually bought into it. You think, ‘oh, that’s what I’m supposed to do.’ And I was miserable doing that.

‘I made a choice, the choice was, I wasn’t gonna conform to Hollywood. Hollywood was gonna conform to me,’ he continued.

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Standing up: ‘I made a choice, the choice was, I wasn’t gonna conform to Hollywood. Hollywood was gonna conform to me,’ he continued

‘I’m proudly half-black and half-Samoan and I wanted to bring those cultures here, up here for the world to see. So, yes it’s important that you are your most authentic self.’

But the Southland Tales star left the audience with a dictate to also help other be their authentic selves. 

‘You’ve got to recognize the joy and responsibility of bringing everyone with you,’ he instructed.