Dwayne Johnson reflects on fear and vulnerability in taking on The Smashing Machine, details revealed

The Smashing Machine is the forthcoming biographical sports drama film written and helmed by Benny Safdie. The film had been nominated for the Golden Lion, which is the highest honor of the Venice International Film Festival. It will also premiere at the festival's 82nd edition this year. The film will release theatrically on October 3, 2025. Here's the official synopsis as per IMDb:

The story of mixed-martial arts and UFC champion Mark Kerr.

Wrestler-turned-actor Dwayne Johnson, who is playing the role of Mark Kerr, recently spoke about his vulnerability and fear while doing the film. Let's find out what he said.

Dwayne Johnson spoke about The Smashing Machine

The Smashing Machine features Dwayne Johnson portraying real-life wrestler and MMA fighter Mark Kerr. Johnson recently spoke to Vanity Fair about his experience of making the film. He said that he was unsure if he could do the film.

“It was very real. I had not experienced that in a very, very, very long time, where I was really scared and thinking, I don’t know if I can do this. Can I do this? I realized that maybe these opportunities weren’t coming my way because I was too scared to explore this stuff.”

He continued,

“I was so hungry for an opportunity to do something raw and gritty and rip myself open. And all of a sudden, Smashing Machine comes along.”

Johnson then said that he had to sit through hours of prosthetics to get the look of the character.

“I just sat in front of that mirror for three to four hours and watched it all change. There were about 13 or 14 different prosthetics. Subtle, yet I think very impactful. By the time I got to set, I was Mark Kerr and I felt it, from how he walked to how he talked and how he looked at life.”

The film is produced by Johnson along with Benny Safdie, Eli Bush, David Koplan, Hiram Garcia, and Dany Garcia. Besides Johnson, the film also stars Emily Blunt, Ryan Bader, Bas Rutten, Oleksandr Usyk, Lyndsey Gavin, Satoshi Ishii, James Moontasri, and Yoko Hamamura, as well as Stephen Quadros.

The movie will have its world premiere at the 82nd Venice International Film Festival in the main competition section. A24 will release the film theatrically on October 3, 2025.

Are you looking forward to The Smashing Machine?