Ever since its debut in 2020, Dwayne Johnson’s biographical comedy series Young Rock has featured its fair share of depictions of wrestlers, which is no surprise considering The Rock is a multi-time WWE Champion and a shoe-in for the WWE Hall of Fame. The hilarious, and sometimes emotional series showing three stages in the former Hollywood superstar’s life — as a child, a teenager, and young adult — has shown the “Dewey” character cross paths with legends of the territory era, the “Rock and Wrestling Connection," and the incredibly popular Attitude Era, and the latest season will prove to be no different.
Upon the show’s November 4, 2022 return to NBC, the Young Rock Season 3 cast was bursting at the seams with new actors portraying some of professional wrestling and pop culture’s biggest icons. And while one new addition to the show’s cast should look awfully familiar to wrestling fans, the others might not. Let’s break it all down now…
Becky Lynch (Cyndi Lauper)
There have been multiple real-life wrestlers who have portrayed famous wrestling personalities throughout Young Rock’s first two seasons, but the show’s third season features one who is a league of her own. Starting off the new additions to the Young Rock Season 3 cast is Becky Lynch (real name Rebecca Quinn), the former WWE Women’s Champion and trailblazer also known as “The Man” and “Big Time Becks,” who portrays “Rock and Wrestling Connection” icon Cyndi Lauper.
Prior to playing the Grammy Award winner known for tracks like “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” and “Time After Time,” on the latest season of Dwayne Johnson’s popular comedy series, Lynch made appearances on shows like Vikings and Billions, as well as movies like The Marine 6: Close Quarters and Rumble. Lynch was injured at SummerSlam 2022, but it looks like she’ll go back to her babyface roots upon her return at some point in the near future.
Brock O’Hurn (Hulk Hogan)
Surprisingly enough, Hulk Hogan was not featured at any point during the first two seasons of Young Rock, but that all changes with the arrival of the show’s latest season. Taking on the role of the WWE Hall of Famer and leader of the Hulkamaniacs is Brock O’Hurn, who has made appearances on a few popular TV programs in recent years.
Prior to landing the role of the most recognizable wrestler in the history of the sport, O’Hurn took on roles of varying capacities on shows like The Righteous Gemstones, Euphoria, Too Close to Home, and The Real Bros of Simi Valley. He has also popped up in movies like The Resort and the Tyler Perry comedy Boo! A Madea Halloween.
Jason Jenkins (Mr. T)
Focusing on the “Rock and Wrestling Connection” without including Mr. T would be a disservice of epic proportions, but luckily the Young Rock Season 3 cast has someone taking on the role of the pop culture sensation who made Rocky III an all-time great boxing movie and added “I pity the fool” into the lexicon. Stepping in to play Mr. T is Jason Jenkins, who looks incredibly similar to the iconic figure in images released by NBCUniversal.
Unlike other new cast additions, information about Jenkins’ previous work is hard to come by. However, expect that to change following his debut as Mr. T.
Peter Gardner
One of the many high-profile celebrity guests at WrestleMania I in 1985, the legendary pianist and showman Liberace appeared as the guest timekeeper in the main even matchup between Hulk Hogan/Mr. T and “Rowdy” Roddy Piper/Paul Orndorff at Madison Square Garden. The iconic figure also shows up on Young Rock, this time portrayed by Peter Gardner.
Probably best known for his role as Darryl Whitefeather on Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, Gardner has also made appearances on shows like The Middle, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Malcolm in the Middle, and most recently, the HBO Max original comedy series Our Flag Means Death.
Nicholas Bernardi (Bret ‘Hitman’ Hart)
Another major figure of the wrestling world showing up on the Young Rock Season 3 cast is Bret “Hitman” Hart, who is portrayed by Nicholas Bernardi. Despite not having too many credits to his name at this point, the up-and-coming actor very much looks the part of “The best there is, the best there was, the best there ever will be,” in the NBC comedy’s return.
Prior to landing the role of one of the most decorated professional wrestlers, and one who was at the center of one of the sport’s biggest controversies, Bernadi appeared on shows like Soundtrack and Chicago Fire.
Benjamin VanderMey (‘Rowdy’ Roddy Piper)
The late, great “Rowdy” Roddy Piper, who passed away at the age of 61 in 2015, was previously portrayed by Jade Drane on Young Rock, but the legendary wrestler-turned-actor is played by a new actor in the show’s third season: Benjamin VanderMey (pictured on the right in the image above).
Throughout his career, VanderMey has appeared on shows like Sistas, The Game, Lovecraft Country, and House of Cards, in addition to landing small parts in everything from Spider-Man: No Way Home to Baby Driver.
Eddy Clinton (‘Classy’ Freddie Blassie)
“Classy” Freddie Blassie, who has gone down as one of the greatest heels in the history of professional wrestling, is portrayed by Eddy Clinton (second from right in image above) on the Young Rock Season 3 cast.
Clinton takes over the role first portrayed by Steven Tandy, who portrayed the legendary wrestling figure in Young Rock Season 2.
Joseph D. Reitman (Captain Lou Albano)
Taking on the role of Captain Lou Albano in Young Rock Season 3 is Joseph D. Reitman (far left on image above), who takes over the role from Paul Paice, who played the legendary wrestling figure who crossed over into general pop culture with roles like Mario on The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! and the “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” music video in the 1980s.
Over the years, Reitman has appeared on shows like Married… with Children, The Shield, Happy!, and Marvel’s The Punisher, to name just a few. He has also appeared in movies like Money Monster, Lady in the Water, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, and multiple others going back to the mid 1990s.
New episodes of Young Rock air Friday nights on NBC before becoming available for everyone with a Peacock Premium subscription shortly after. If you want to know what else is coming to the small screen in addition to Dwayne Johnson’s comedy series, take a quick look at the 2022 fall TV schedule.
