Making a name for himself in 'Game Plan'

What's in a name?

For Dwayne Johnson, it is the phasing out of one name and making a smooth transition to another.

For nearly a decade, Johnson has been known by the name he used in the wrestling ring: "The Rock." He's been billed as such in several of his films, including "The Mummy Returns" and "The Scorpion King."

But with his last few movies -- including "The Gridiron Gang" and the Disney family comedy "The Game Plan," which opens Friday -- the 35-year-old entertainer is credited as Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson.

Johnson, who is a charmer in person, didn't have a specific plan for changing his moniker.

"I just wanted it to happen naturally," he says. "And it kind of just happened naturally. It happened through the media. They started to say a couple of years ago Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson, and before you know it. . . ."

And in his next three films -- the comedy "Get Smart," the indie "Southland Tales" and the remake of the 1975 Disney fantasy "Escape to Witch Mountain," which he'll shoot next year -- "The Rock" will totally disappear. Johnson will be billed by his given name only.

"Everybody calls me Dwayne," he says, flashing his smile.

"The Game Plan" is Johnson's first completely family-friendly film. A broad comedy, it is the latest riff on the tried-and-true movie genre in which a single man or woman suddenly is saddled with taking care of a child.

Johnson's Joe Kingman is a swinging bachelor who loves Elvis Presley -- Johnson too is a devoted fan of the King -- almost as much as he loves dating top fashion models. A legendary NFL quarterback, Kingman is also as tough as they come.

But he more than meets his match when Peyton (Madison Pettis), an adorable 8-year-old girl, arrives at his door -- the daughter he never knew he had from a brief marriage years earlier. She naturally puts a crimp in Joe's style, yet just as naturally, he is enchanted by her, even going so far as to appear in her ballet recital.

The film gives Johnson, who first showed his comedic chops as a guest host on "Saturday Night Live" in 2000, a chance to do some slapstick -- especially when he gets an allergic reaction to the cinnamon cookies Peyton makes -- and to perform a lovely rendition of the Elvis hit, "Are You Lonesome Tonight?," which he also briefly reprises during the interview.

"I think there is something inherently charming about a guy who is finding his way through being a dad and a caregiver, especially when he has no idea how to do that before," he says.