The Rock Reveals Why Movie Roles Like The Smashing Machine Scared Him
The Rock admitted he felt nervous to take on roles like The Smashing Machine, fearing he avoided them out of hesitation to explore.
The Rock, known for leading billion-dollar blockbusters and major franchises. He is now stepping into a very different role. The Final Boss will star in A24’s upcoming Mark Kerr biopic The Smashing Machine, alongside his Jungle Cruise co-star Emily Blunt. The movie is set to release on October 3, 2025.
Speaking with Vanity Fair, The Rock admitted that this project challenged him in ways he hadn’t experienced for a long time. He said, “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.”
Emily Blunt, who plays Mark Kerr’s wife, Dawn Staples, in The Smashing Machine, said, “DJ has been pigeonholed into the image of the big hero who’s got all the answers and he’s going to fix everything and he’s invincible. I think until this moment, maybe he thought that was the only lane that people wanted to see him in.”
The Rock said he had been waiting for a chance to prove himself. The Smashing Machine gave him that opportunity. “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.”
The Rock waited decades to bring The Smashing Machine to life
The Rock first watched the HBO documentary, The Smashing Machine, when it was released in 2002. It showed MMA champion Mark Kerr battling painkiller addiction. The Great One recalled losing many friends to addiction.
He said, “I lost a lot of my friends to addiction and to suicide in the late ‘90s, early to mid 2000s. There were a lot of untimely, very early deaths.” Back in 2019 at UFC 244, The Rock announced The Smashing Machine and set his sights on bringing Mark Kerr’s story to the screen.
That same year, he reached out to co-director Benny Safdie about developing the project. Although the pandemic stalled many Hollywood productions, The Final Boss kept pushing for it. Safdie said, “Dwayne felt so deeply about it, it was something I couldn’t shake.”
Read More: The Rock Comments On Intense MMA Training Camp For ‘The Smashing Machine’
The post The Rock Reveals Why Movie Roles Like The Smashing Machine Scared Him appeared first on Wrestlezone.
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