Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson opens up about the cause of his father's death

Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson has opened up about the death of his father Rocky, telling fans of the pain he is suffering.

The Fast and Furious star took to Instagram at the weekend to pay tribute to his late father, who passed away last week at the age of 75.

He said, "I lost him just like that, didn't get a chance to say goodbye to him. I'd give anything right now to give him a big ol' hug and a big ol' kiss before he crossed over and just say thank you and I love you and I respect you. But I didn't get a chance to say that, but such is life, as many of you know."

He revealed his father had been "battling a cold and infection" and had deep vein thrombosis in the leg.

"It was a big ol' blood clot that broke free, traveled up his body, and went right to his lung, clotted his lung and he died very quickly from a massive heart attack, just like that," he told followers.

He added that he got "great comfort" from knowing that his father's suffering "wasn't prolonged" as he "had been in a lot of pain for a very, very long time."

Johnson also posted another emotional tribute featuring a clip of Rocky Johnson in the ring.

He wrote: "I love you. You broke colour barriers, became a ring legend and trail blazed your way thru this world. I was the boy sitting in the seats, watching and adoring you, my hero from afar. The boy you raised to always be proud of our cultures and proud of who and what I am. The boy you raised with the toughest of love. The intense work. The hard hand. The adoring boy who wanted to know only your best qualities. Who then grew to become a man realising you had other deep complex sides that needed to be held and understood. Son to father. Man to man.

"That's when my adoration turned to respect. And my empathy turned to gratitude. Grateful that you gave me life. Grateful you gave me life's invaluable lessons. Dad, I wish I had one more shot to tell you, I love you, before you crossed over to the other side. But you were ripped away from me so fast without warning. Gone in an instant and no coming back. I'm in pain. But we both know it's just pain and it'll pass. Now I'll carry your mana and work ethic with me, as it's time to move on because I have my family to feed and work to accomplish.

"Finally, I want you to rest your trailblazing soul, Soulman. Pain free, regret free, satisfied and at ease. You lived a very full, very hard, barrier breaking life and left it all in the ring. I love you dad and I'll always be your proud and grateful son. Go rest high. #ripsoulman #rockyjohnson"