Bob Newhart Joked He Wanted The Rock to Play Him in a Biopic Before His Death: 'I Get Mistaken for Him a Lot'

Before his untimely death, Bob Newhart named Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson as his top contender to play him in a biopic.

During an appearance on Conan in January 2021, host Conan O'Brien remarked on the late comedian's storied Hollywood career and asked who Newhart would like to play him if he were to make a movie about his life.

"I think The Rock," Newhart quipped. "I get mistaken for him a lot. People will say 'Hey Dwayne and I'll say 'No, I'm not Dwayne!' But there should be quite a fight over it."

After O'Brien joked that The Rock would do a great job portraying his "early football career," Newhart smiled and mused, "Brad Pitt is supposed to be very interested."

On Thursday, July 18, Newhart's publicist Jerry Digney announced in a press release obtained by PEOPLE that the actor died at his Los Angeles home following a series of short illnesses. He was 94.

In November 2020, the actor opened up about his illustrious career and his long-lasting impact, saying, "I have a theory that when it's all over ... and you go up — [if] I've been led to believe to heaven — and there's a God and he says, 'What did you do?' [And] I say, 'I made people laugh,' [He will say,] 'Yeah, get in that real short line over there.'"

"Comedy has given me a wonderful life. When I first started out in stand-up, I just remember the sound of laughter,” he once said, per his obituary. “It’s one of the great sounds of the world."

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His death comes after his wife Ginnie, whom he wed in 1963, died in April 2023. At the time, Newhart's publicist confirmed to PEOPLE that she died "after a long illness."

Newhart is survived by their four children, sons Robert and Timothy, and daughters Jennifer and Courtney, as well as 10 grandchildren.