Dwayne Johnson is stepping out of his comfort zone and venturing into a new phase of his acting career.
Famous for his roles in films such as Jumanji, Moana, Black Adam, and the Fast & Furious series, Johnson has appeared in numerous movies throughout his career. However, he often portrays characters that are closely aligned with his real-life persona.
This is not the case with The Smashing Machine, Johnson’s latest film set for release on October 3.
In this eagerly awaited movie, Johnson takes on the role of former wrestler and MMA veteran Mark Kerr. While there are some resemblances between Johnson and the UFC legend, he had to don prosthetics for the role, rendering him nearly unrecognizable.
Johnson’s transformation extended beyond makeup, as he was required to gain 30 pounds to mirror Kerr’s physique, as requested by The Smashing Machine’s director, Benny Safdie.
Talking about the decision to ask Johnson to bulk up, Safdie revealed: “I was like, how do I ask Dwayne to get bigger? There’s a quality to Mark’s muscles that are just like, puffier. Then it was a long period of time [that it took to achieve] because that’s not easy muscle to put on, you know, that’s really difficult to do.”
Safdie, known for directing Uncut Gems and acting in films like Oppenheimer and Licorice Pizza, described Johnson’s transformation into Kerr as ‘insane’.
Johnson and Safdie are teaming up once more for another film named Lizard Music, inspired by the book by Daniel Pinkwater.
For this project, Johnson is again committed to embodying his character, having already lost a considerable amount of weight to portray a 70-year-old man.
Why opt for such demanding physical transformations instead of relying on CGI or taking on less challenging roles?
Johnson’s motivation is to ‘immerse’ himself fully into his characters and ‘disappear’.
Speaking about his physical changes, Johnson explained: “I gained 30 pounds to play Mark Kerr and then came back down after that to my normal weight of 250 or so.
“I’m in the process of slimming down now where I play a 70-year-old man, so the slimming down is happening.”
He elaborated: “We have time to do it, which is really nice. There’s nothing extreme about it.
“I can’t wait because, again, it’s the opportunity to completely immerse myself and disappear.”
Discussing the impact of these transformations on his career, Johnson noted that it enables him to move beyond his ‘comfort zone’ with films like The Smashing Machine and Lizard Music.
“I felt like I was ready to just break out and rip and tear it all away of any expectation or infrastructure,” he stated, “and I felt like Benny came along and we came into each other’s lives at the same time. It’s his time to rip it all away and go be him.”
Johnson continued: “It’s a new side to access and explore, but it’s been there the whole time. I just haven’t put myself in a position where I could do it. I felt like it converged in the way that it did.
“I had this little voice in behind my rib cage saying, ‘Hey, you can do more. There is more.'”
THE SMASHING MACHINE is set to premiere in theaters in the US and UK on October 3.