Between your WWF schedule and the filming of The Scorpion King, your recent work load must have been brutal.

(ROCK)Yeah, I was doing double duty. On Monday morningss I would fly to whever the location would be for the WWF, wrestle Mondays and Tuesdays, and get on the jet about midnight on Tuesday. Then I'd be back in L.A. ready to film on Wednesday. There were mo- mentswhen the schedule was so drain- ing and so tough, I was feeling for Mariah Carey. [Laughs] I know what she went through.

How did you stay sane?

(ROCK)I just needed an hour to relax here and there. It was like, "I don't want anyone knocking on my trailer. I'm shutting my phone off. I need an hour to myself. The only phone call I'm going to accept is from Mariah, so she can talk me through this,"

The last time we saw him, the Scorpion King was about 14 feet high, half-man. half-bug and on his way to the underworld. What will he be like in the new movie?

(ROCK)As strong and tough as the Scorpion King is, he's still fragile-but not to the point where the fans wjll be disap- pointed. When you see the Rock kick ass, you're going to see the Rock kick ass like nobody else can kick ass, believe me.

How comfortable was the leather costume you had to wear in the film?

(ROCK)Pretty comfortable. It was easy to put on. The great thing about it is that it shows enough of my body, but not too much. 'Cause we all know I can be a little shy sometimes.

Is it true that you popped your huge costar Michael Darke Duncan [Planet of the Apesl a little too hard while filming one fight scene for The Scorpion King?

(ROCK)I did. I hauled off with the tip of my elbow and caught him right on the but- ton of the chin, knocking him out. He fell backward, and the whole set was completely silent. But he was such a trouper: Got up, shook it off, said, "Let's go." Thank God, because he could've killed me. Had we not been best friends, that would have been it for the Rock.

Do you ever read a WWF story line and say, "Oh, man, do I have to lose to that joker?"

(ROCK) [Laughs] Uh, sure, absolutely. It happens. I'm quick to speak up and say, "It's noth- ing personal, but..."

You have a new daughter. Simone. seven months; what's fatherhood like?

(ROCK) It's fantastic. It's something I never, ever fathomed. Everybody would tell me, "It's the best job you'll ever have- everything else doesn't matter," and I would be like, "Yeah, yeah, sure." Until you actually hold your baby. And a baby girl, Daddy's little girl? There is nothing like it.

When she gets older and starts bringing guys home, will you be intimidating to her dates?

(ROCK) Oh, I would think so. When she brings the boys over to the house, I'll be very cordial. I'll shake hands as soon as they come in. I'll have my Scorpion King sword out. And just so they don't forget, maybe I'll have my wrestling boots in the comer. [Laughs] But I think about that and cringe. Because I know how I was at r4, going over to girls' houses. I'm lucky I'm still alive, with all the dads I met.

Your original dream was to play in the NFL. Ever wonder what might have happened if you'd made it?

(ROCK)I think about that all the time: How would my life have been had I not been injured my senior year in college? I watch all my buddies on game day, and I think about the times we used to have at [the University of] Miami. I knew they were going to become dominant in the NFL. And if you ask them, they'll tell you that they knew I was going to get in the entertainment industry. I was always on camera, always talking to the press, always entertaining.

Any tips from your struggling. pre-fame days on how to cook on a budget?

(ROCK)The first rule of thumb: Never mix tuna fish and Hunt's Tomato Sauce. You eat tuna fish out of the can. You have spa- ghetti with Hunt's Tomato Sauce. You can, however-and this is only because I'm lowbrow at times-mix sushi with peanut butter. My palate is just as plain and bland as it was six years ago when I was broke as ajoke. There's no...what do you call those snails that people eat?

Escargot?

(ROCK) [Laughs] There's no escargot for the Rock.