When A-list actors take on biopics focused on portraying figures from niche audiences, they open themselves up to hardcore fans who will be highly critical of the performance if the film does not deliver an accurate tone. Dwayne Johnson, aka The Rock, is taking a break from over-the-top action movies to play his heaviest role yet in A24’s take on the life and career of early UFC star, Mark ‘The Smashing Machine’ Kerr. The 52-year-old looked totally unrecognisable in the first still from his upcoming film – which is set to be released next year.
Boxing movies have always been the standard when it comes to combat sports on the silver screen. Successful projects like Rocky, Raging Bull, The Fighter – and more recently – Creed have made their mark in cinema and the hearts of fight fans.
For MMA movies, there’s not much meat on the bone when it comes to variety. If director Benny Safdie can make an entertaining movie while pleasing all parties involved, his film could easily rank as #1 for the genre, and what we’re seeing so far is a sign of great things to come. To see the lengths to which The Rock is going to bring Kerr’s story to life on the big screen, check out below.
The Rock’s Roles and Career
Dwayne Johnson has been a megastar since leaving full-time WWE role
The first time we saw The Rock on the screen, which wasn’t a WWE event, came in 2002’s Scorpion King. His role was very limited, but his presence was impactful enough that studios took a chance on the novice actor. The Rock’s first few movies as a lead came in the form of the lower-budget films Walking Tall and The Rundown. Fast-forward 15 years later, and the former collegiate football player has become the biggest action star in the world.
With so many high-octane films under his belt at this point in his career, Johnson decided to keep playing a character that requires a physical presence on-screen, but The Smashing Machine is a dark tale of an elite athlete reaching great heights in his field while battling unbeatable demons. What the studio has shared so far on social media about the movie is reassuring as we’ve got a clip of The Rock training MMA as well as this still image below – which will leave fans stunned:
The image shared on social media shows ‘The Rock’ topless and sitting in the corner of a ring. He’s also pictured having a full head of hair – which is much different to his usual bald head.
The Smashing Machine is set to be released in 2025. Actress Emily Blunt – who famously starred in Oppenheimer – will co-star alongside Johnson.
Johnson was sensationally de-aged and transformed by two-time Oscar winner Kazu Hiro – the same prosthetic make-up designer who transformed Bradley Cooper in Maestro, Charlize Theron in Bombshell, and Gary Oldman in Darkest Hour.
Mark Kerr’s Life and Career
Kerr was a two-time UFC heavyweight champion
Mark Kerr had success in multiple combat sports categories that showcased just how special of an athlete he was. He was not only an NCAA Division 1 wrestling champion, the Ohio native was a four-time ADCC champion while training in MMA. What stands out most from Kerr’s long list of accomplishments were the back-to-back UFC heavyweight tournaments he won at UFC 14 and UFC 15 in 1997.
His style was not for the weak-hearted. Kerr earned his nickname because of his ability to take advantage of the UFC’s early days in which the promotion sold the sport as “no holds barred”. Kerr would smash his opponents with [now deemed illegal] knees, headbutts and digging his chin into a fellow competitor’s eye socket! Kerr’s bombastic fighting style was a reflection of his extreme personality. Following the lights and the glory came a severe addiction to pain meds that sent him downward. Luckily, Kerr is alive and in a much better place today than he was during his career.