Auli’i Cravalho Recalls Funny First Meeting with Dwayne Johnson at 14: ‘I Was So Embarrassed’ (Exclusive)

Auliʻi Cravalho’s collaboration with Dwayne Johnson in Moana got off to a lovely — if slightly embarrassing — start.

“I remember when I first met him he brought me flowers and he enveloped me in the largest hug,” says the actress, now 24, behind the title role in the Polynesian-inspired 2016 Disney film and its new sequel. Johnson, 52, voices the demigod Maui.

Cravalho, who was 14 when she was cast and 15 when she recorded as Moana, recalls the awkward part of that first meeting: her mother, Puanani.

Johnson “hugged my mom,” she says. “And my mom was like, ‘Ooh, I’m going to go Rock climbing.’”

“I was so embarrassed because who says that?” adds Cravalho with a laugh. “Who says that? Oh my God. That’s a memory that will never get out of my head.”

Johnson and his younger costar bonded during the recording and promotion of the first Moana and have remained close in the decade since. As the sequel takes audiences back to Motunui, they’re also both executive-producing Disney’s live-action adaptation of the original film, which will again star Johnson, alongside newcomer Catherine Laga’aia as Moana.

As an adult, does Cravalho now see Johnson as more of a peer? “Now we’re on text chains and email chains and Zooms together, which feels different from our first film, certainly,” she says.

“But I think this is also a cultural thing in that I still see him as an all-knowing uncle. I still see him as someone who’s older than me to be respected.… [He is] in his own right an uncle to all of us, it feels like, in the islands.”

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During her whirlwind introduction to the industry, it was Johnson who helped guide Cravalho toward Hollywood representation. “Dwayne called me and he was like, ‘Listen, these are the people that I work with. These are the people that I trust on my team.’ And that was a kindness that I could have never expected from someone of his caliber.”

These days, she adds, “I appreciate that he always has time to send a voice note or to connect via text: ‘Okay, tell me how you’re feeling. How did you feel about that Zoom?’ Those connections, those simple one- to two-minute check-ins make all the difference.”

Fun fact: Cravalho’s father is also named Dwayne. “Yes,” confirms the actress. “Whenever I text ‘Dwayne,’ I have to make sure that I select the Dwayne Johnson or Dwayne Cravalho.”

Moana 2 is in theaters now. Cravalho can also be seen in her Broadway debut as Sally Bowles in Broadway’s Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club.