Fear is not something one typically associates with Dwayne Johnson. Certainly not in the ring, as the charismatic heel with the cocked eyebrow, and not in Hollywood, where he has cemented himself as one of the industry鈥檚 most bankable, and singular, action stars and producers.
By all accounts the formula was working. Yet for years he鈥檇 had a suspicion that he could do more, offer more, as an actor. But when it came time to dive into something more raw, more vulnerable for 鈥淭he Smashing Machine,鈥 a drama about Mark Kerr that he鈥檇 been thinking about for over a decade, he realized something: He was scared.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not easy to think, 鈥楬ey, I鈥檓 capable of doing this and I know I can do this,鈥欌 Johnson, 53, told The Associated Press in a recent interview. 鈥淵ou may seem, may have a veneer, that you鈥檙e capable of it and you鈥檙e confident. But I was very nervous and scared to do it because it鈥檚 something that I hadn鈥檛 done before.鈥
Johnson has been open about his difficult childhood, his turbulent relationship with his late father, and their financial insecurity. Yet as an entertainer, he鈥檇 kept all those old wounds out of the picture until now. For the first time in his career, he decided to take that trauma and channel it into something he loves: Performance and storytelling. And it’s already put him in the Oscar conversation.
鈥淭he Smashing Machine,鈥 which opens in theaters Oct. 3, wasn鈥檛 just a leap into the unknown for Johnson. For his co-star and filmmaker Benny Safdie, directing a feature alone for the first time, it was a chance to express different sides of themselves as well.
鈥淚t鈥檚 hard for us to know what we鈥檙e capable of sometimes,鈥 Blunt said. 鈥淢aybe you need friends around you putting a jet pack on your back and saying, 鈥榊ou can鈥 and 鈥榶ou鈥檙e awesome鈥 and you have so much that you can delve into.鈥
The little voice grows louder
As an actor, Johnson never really did the indie thing. He didn鈥檛 have to. In 2001, he burst onto the scene in a blockbuster, 鈥淭he Mummy Returns,鈥 and never looked back. In less than 25 years of making movies, his films have made over $12.5 billion at the global box office and none of those are Marvel.
When he decided to sit down and watch John Hyams鈥 documentary about Kerr, his larger-than-life career was firmly on the ascent with Luke Hobbs and the 鈥淛umanji鈥 franchise still to come. It stuck with him, however, and a few years later when he founded his production company Seven Bucks, he acquired the rights.
More years would pass until another movie ignited the spark again: The thrillingly frenetic And he decided to bring 鈥淭he Smashing Machine鈥 to the filmmakers who鈥檇 had the vision to put an actor like in a role like Howard Ratner. What if they could see something different for him too?
鈥淚 think everybody has this certain idea of who he鈥檚 gonna be,鈥 said Safdie, who co-directed 鈥楿ncut Gems鈥 with . 鈥淲hen I met him, and he brings this story, I was just like, OK, I get it. There鈥檚 so much there that maybe he鈥檚 not being asked to show.鈥
Johnson even announced the . Then the pandemic hit, and 鈥淭he Smashing Machine鈥 went back in the cupboard.
Fusion on 鈥極ppenheimer鈥
Safdie, however, hadn鈥檛 stopped thinking about it. He鈥檇 even sent Johnson a version of a Nautica sweater Kerr had worn (size XXL), along with a handwritten letter saying no matter what happened, he hoped he could be involved in some way. Johnson never responded. And the obsession spiraled.
鈥淚t burrowed itself into my brain,鈥 Safdie said. 鈥淚magining Dwayne as Mark 鈥 it was like my imagination went crazy with it because I really just wanted to see it in existence.鈥
The truth is Johnson never got the letter, or the sweater. Who knows what might have happened if he had. But in reality, another, stranger door had opened when Safdie found himself acting alongside Blunt in Knowing that she鈥檇 become close with Johnson on 鈥淛ungle Cruise,鈥 he took a chance and told her about 鈥淭he Smashing Machine鈥 not only for Johnson, but for her too.
Blunt too had been eager to see Johnson push himself. When she met him on she thought he鈥檇 be closer to 鈥淭he Rock鈥 and quickly came to understand that was not only a character he played but 鈥渢he performance of a lifetime.鈥
鈥淭hat鈥檚 self-realized performance,鈥 Blunt said. 鈥淚 was like, 鈥橸ou wrote it? You saw it? How many more bonkers people have you got lurking inside of you?鈥欌
She started to wonder if Johnson was this great character actor who didn鈥檛 even realize it. In 鈥淭he Smashing Machine,鈥 she saw a 鈥渧isceral, exciting opportunity for all of us to put our feet to the fire.鈥
Blunt added: 鈥淎ll three of us felt that, you know? That moment of terror of what you鈥檙e trying to create is something very unique. This was going to be, especially for DJ, I realized, a very unique experience and a kind of launch into the unknown. But I think maybe Benny and I knew that he could do it.鈥
Flexing new muscles
Kerr was an early pioneer with UFC in its infancy well before the global MMA leader blossomed into a mainstream sport. While respected by core fight fans, Kerr鈥檚 popularity outside the cage never reached the heights or financial riches and endorsement deals enjoyed by modern UFC stars such as Ronda Rousey, Conor McGregor and Jon Jones.
He also struggled with addiction to painkillers and overdosed twice before getting sober. Then there was his sometimes-volatile long-term relationship with then girlfriend Dawn Staples (whom he would later marry, have a child with, and eventually separate from).
This would all require a different kind of preparation for Johnson, who had to shape his muscles into that of an MMA fighter instead of a wrestler. The transformation also included a new voice, new hair and facial prosthetics, overseen by Oscar-winning artist Kazu Hiro, which required nearly four hours in a makeup chair.
But by the time the cameras were rolling, both Dwayne Johnson and The Rock had effectively disappeared. This, Blunt said, was helpful during their domestic fight scenes, where punches may not have been thrown but the emotional wreckage is vast.
鈥淭he environment that Benny creates is one of such spontaneity that you really blur the lines between fiction and reality,鈥 Blunt said. 鈥淚t makes the scenes terribly exciting, but I think it makes them quite hard to come down from, because you鈥檙e really in a spell.鈥
Safdie decided to shoot their arguments in sections. Some they spent a lot of time on, shooting them over and over. But the final moment of their worst fight, they shot just once.
鈥淲hen you鈥檙e holding on to somebody for dear life, I do know what that feels like and it鈥檚 not fun,鈥 Safdie said. 鈥淪eeing that happen at such an intense level, it was like, 鈥楧one, we have it. We don鈥檛 need to do that again. I don鈥檛 want you guys to do it again.鈥欌
When Safdie called cut, they took a 90-minute break. Everyone was crying.
That whole Oscar thing 鈥
Blunt and Safdie have done a few times now. When asked what they鈥檝e told Johnson about the circus, Blunt groaned: 鈥淥h my God, we try not to discuss it really.鈥
Safdie, who won a at the just hopes that people connect with the story and maybe learn a little bit about themselves.
Whatever comes of it, Johnson is glad he overcame the fear and listened to that small voice 鈥 not the louder one with all the receipts telling him to stay in his lane.
鈥淭his has been the most challenging of my entire career, but also the most freeing of my career and the most gratifying because I knew what the opportunity was and that opportunity was for me to explore and access things that I hadn鈥檛 in the past, certainly not on film,鈥 Johnson said. 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 want to wake up tomorrow going, God 鈥 I really wish I got out of my comfort zone back then. I wanted to wake up and say, 鈥業鈥檓 so glad I got out of my comfort zone.’ And I鈥檓 so glad I did it.鈥
Blunt added: 鈥淪o are we.鈥
___
AP Sports Writer Dan Gelston contributed from Philadelphia.
To join the conversation set a first and last name in your user profile.
Sign in or register for free to join the Conversation