Director Bryan Storkel says he tried to humanize Hulk Hogan as much as possible in the new Netflix documentary that features the WWE legend’s final interview.
Hulk Hogan: Real American is streaming now on Netflix. The four-part documentary series focuses on the life of Hulk Hogan, highlighted by sports entertainment highs and personal lows. Storkel spoke with WrestleZone Managing Editor Bill Pritchard about his role as director, sharing how his goal was present a project that entertained Hogan’s fans and critics, while also getting Hogan to open up as much as he could.
“I think it was twofold. One, I wanted to make a really entertaining film for people to watch. And then two, I wanted to humanize him in some way and hopefully be able to get as much from him as he would give us, to go as deep as he would,” Storkel said. “People have a lot of strong feelings about Hulk Hogan, about Terry, and I knew going into it that he was polarizing.
“I knew there were still a good amount of people who loved him and a good amount of people who hated him,” he added. “I wanted people to at least give him a chance and look at him as a human, and maybe forget about that for a minute. Hopefully, sink into the man as much as possible and get to know him as much as possible.”
Hulk Hogan: Real American shows a more vulnerable side of the WWE legend
Hogan struggled when the topic of his brother Allan’s death came up. Overall, however, Hogan seemed more vulnerable during the show, especially in the latter episodes.
“I think one thing that was tough is we did a long master interview with him. It was over five days that we split up. We had him sitting in that chair for the one interview for about five hours a day, and then he was beat.
Storkel hoped to press Hogan on some topics more during a final interview. However, that never materialized due to Hogan’s sudden death in July 2025.
“My plan was always to come back for one more interview where I would push him a little harder. I think when you’re working with him and have his cooperation, you’re still feeling him out. You don’t want to piss him off at any point,” Storkel said. “But I did want to push on some of the issues a little more and try to get him to break down even more and see if he would be more honest or vulnerable about things he hadn’t been.
“So the plan was always to come back and do one more day, maybe even two more days, about a month later. Then he went into the hospital, and we never got that. So we still had about 80 to 90% of what I had intended to get. But I think that would have taken us one step further, especially once I had gone out and interviewed everyone else. I could have come back with all the information I learned from Bret Hart, Kevin Nash, and others, and talked to him in more detail about those things.”
Netflix’s Hulk Hogan featured some genuine surprise guests, and a notable omission
Hulk Hogan: Real American featured interviews from some surprising names like Hogan’s ex-wife, Linda and Donald Trump. Those names made the cut, but one name that wasn’t involved was Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, who was ultimately featured in archived voiceover content.
Storkel says they tried to get Johnson involved since his WrestleMania 18 match with Hogan is such a focal point, but his busy schedule wouldn’t allow any time to do it.
“Yeah, there were quite a few actually,” Storkel explained. “The Rock was a huge one. I really wanted him, especially since he had the childhood perspective of watching Hogan as a kid and then being part of WrestleMania 18, which was a massive moment. Hogan says it was probably the biggest moment of his career, and he remembers that match.
“So I really wanted The Rock. We had some old interviews of him where we were able to use a couple of soundbites,” he pointed out. “But I would have loved to get him, and his schedule just didn’t allow it. He’s obviously very busy.”
Main takeaways from Hulk Hogan: Real American
Storkel also said he didn’t expect Jesse Ventura to participate either. However, Hogan’s death was the catalyst that allowed him to open up about the WWE legend. Storkel shared that Ventura had a great interview about trying to start a wrestling union, but it ultimately ended up on the cutting room floor.
“We had the full story of Jesse talking about how Hogan told on him when he was trying to form the union, but that ended up on the cutting room floor. Bret Hart was also a surprise,” he said. “I thought maybe he would do it, but the fact that he was willing to be so open was huge. He said a lot of good things about Hogan. Then he said a lot of bad things, so he was a surprise as well.”
Storkel says he’s fine with viewers making up their own minds about Hulk Hogan. He knows Hogan is polarizing for a reason, but he hopes everyone will at least give the documentary a chance. If anything, he hopes the documentary shows them something new.
“I hope they’re able to look at it and put aside their preconceived notions just for a small four-hour chunk of time,” he said. “I do think by the time you get to that fourth episode, there is a lot more there to digest. A lot of it is subtle as well if you lean into it. There are things we weren’t able to hammer over the head, but there are some things in there that we are trying to say.”
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