Tearful Dwayne Johnson Reflects on His Message to Rob Delaney After Son's 2018 Death

Alexandra Bellusci
·2 min read

Dwayne Johnson got emotional as he spoke to Rob Delaney about the comedian's late son.

During an Oct. 17 appearance on The One Show, Dwayne shared how he felt when he learned about the passing of Rob's son Henry, who died from a brain tumor at the age 2 in 2018. "I have babies at home, all girls: 21, 6 and 4," he said. "That story, hearing that rocked us in our household."

Rob acknowledged Dwayne's sentiments, calling the way the actor reached out to him as "a good template."

"He said Henry's name and said something sweet, and he just did it," Rob added. "It made me feel nice."

At the time of Henry's death, the Red Notice actor sent his condolences to Rob via Twitter as well, saying, "Stay strong my friend. My ohana sends our love and light to you and your ohana."

The two had yet to work together at that point. They went on to co-star in 2019's Hobbs and Shaw.

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While speaking with Dwayne, Rob also explained why he decided to write about losing Henry in his new book A Heart That Works, which aims to help other bereaved parents.

"It's not courageous, it's just what other bereaved people did for me and my wife," he said. "If I can write a book that can reach someone in a suburb of Yorkshire who can't get to a London bereaved parents meeting, then I've gotta do it."

Six months after the tragedy, the 45-year-old and his wife Leah welcomed their fourth child.

Dwayne Johnson, Rob Delaney, The One Show
BBC

On Oct. 16, Rob thanked his supporters for their "staggering response" after The Sunday Times published an excerpt from his book.

"I feel numerous things but one is that people have only seen the tiniest, tiniest sliver of Henry and our family's experience," he wrote on Instagram. "I want to yell "Wait! You have to read the rest immediately!" I feel like people have walked into a tunnel and are stuck in there and need to read the rest of the book to get out."

Rob continued, "I would also like to say that 100% of the money I earn from this book will be donated to children's hospices. Thanks to everyone reading."

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