Dwayne Johnson talks about getting rid of typecasting with the Smashing machine

Dwayne Johnson He built his career on the biggest heroes of life, but his latest project could be his most daring move. In Benny SafdieThe next biographical wrestling film A24 The Smashing machineJohnson enters the role of the UFC champion Mark Kerr, a complex figure whose life inside and outside the ring was modeled by triumph, dependence and personal struggle.

At the press conference of the Venice Film Festival, Johnson opened why this role is different from anything before.

“I wanted this,” said Johnson, sitting alongside the director Safdie and co-protagonist Emily Bluntwho plays Kerr Dawn Staples’s girlfriend.

“The three of us spoke for a long time, when you are in Hollywood – as we all know, it had become at the box office. And chase the box office, and the box office can be very strong and can become very sensational and can push you in a category and in a corner. This is your lane and this is what you do and this is what Hollywood wants to do.”

Johnson is better known for successes like Jumanji, Fast & Furious, Black Adamand the next The red one. While he admitted that he liked to make those films, he confessed to be hungry for something deeper.

“I had just had this desire and a burning voice that said:” What if there was more and what happens if I can? “Many times, it is more difficult for us – or at least for me – knowing what you are capable of when you have been enchanted in something.

The actor reflected on hitting a turning point in his career: “I looked at me around a few years ago and I started thinking, you know, I am living my dream or am I living the dreams of other people?

“Come to that recognition and I think you can get in line – ‘Well, it’s the status quo, things are fine, I don’t want to shake the boat’ – or go, I want to live my dreams now and do what I want to do and draw on the things that I have not had a place to this place to finally put this place to put a place to put the opportunities to the test.

The Smashing machine He does not only highlight Kerr’s domain in the ring. The film also dives into his battle with the dependence on painkillers and his complicated relationship with Dawn Staples. Johnson suffered heavy prostheses to embody the UFC champion, who was even present at the press conference.

“Mark’s life has changed our life and certainly changed my life,” Johnson said. “As we discovered with the film, it is not about victories or losses … it is also a film about what happens when the victory becomes an enemy. And I think we can all relate to that pressure.”

Johnson revealed that he had grown up very close to Kerr during the filming, while Blunt also spent time with the staples to authentically capture his role. “I knew Dawn well and it was very generous with his story with me,” said Blunt, praising the “deep love and profound devotion of the couple who had the other in an impossible environment”.

Blunt also admitted that looking at Johnson transforming into Kerr was a surreal experience: “It was one of the most extraordinary things that looked at him disappear completely,” he said. Johnson in turn defined Blunt his “best friend”, saying: “From the moment we worked together on the jungle, he really encouraged me and he said there is a place that you can put all the things you spent as a child … and that place is what you love to do, that he is acting.”

Safdie, known for Unrelated gems AND Good moment With his brother Josh, he makes his solo debut here. While it was long fascinated by the world of fighting, Safdie explained that the emotional core of history was what mattered most.

“It is a very exciting moment that he is going through,” said Safdie of Kerr’s struggles. “There is a relief; that pressure has disappeared. And I love it. You know, these things are ok – it’s okay to talk about your pain and it is ok feeling someone else’s feelings.”

The Smashing machine promises to be a raw and emotional showcase not only for Kerr’s story, but for Johnson as an actor who redefines his career. The film will arrive in the A24 cinemas on October 3rd.

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