For as long as pro wrestling icon-turned-actor Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has been acting in Hollywood, he’s been dogged by the same shade of complaint: That he has perpetually played one-note characters getting by on the performer’s well-honed charisma, all of whom are essentially extensions of his already existing persona. This has been the case through countless blockbusters in the vein of Skyscraper, or franchises like the Fast & Furious saga, and even his voiceover work as Maui in Moana. But in director Benny Safdie’s upcoming A24 biographical sports drama The Smashing Machine, there can be no doubt that Dwayne Johnson is attempting to turn over a new leaf. With the help of one of Hollywood’s most prescient directors when it comes to uncovering award-winning dramatic performances in sometimes underutilized stars, Johnson finally looks to disappear into a role in this biographical film about the life of early UFC mixed martial arts champion Mark Kerr.
That disappearing act is aided greatly by the top-notch makeup and prosthetics work of designer Kazu Hiro, an Oscar winner in the Best Makeup and Hairstyling category for 2017’s Darkest Hour and 2019’s Bombshell. Here, Hiro’s team has transformed Johnson’s face into a more weathered visage, perhaps evoking the leathery, tanned appearance of Mickey Rourke in Darren Aronofsky’s The Wrestler. He’s portraying Mark Kerr, a two-time UFC Heavyweight Tournament Champion in the early days of mixed martial arts in the USA. The film will actually be quite a time capsule for MMA fans, with appearances from legendary figures such as Ryan Bader and Bas Rutten (playing himself!) and actors portraying many other notable early MMA icons such as Mark Coleman, Kazuyuki Fujita, Igor Vovchanchyn and Masaaki Satake. Actress Emily Blunt factors in prominently as Kerr’s then-wife Dawn Staples, although one hopes her role extends beyond the conventional “stuck on the sidelines hoping husband doesn’t get pummeled” that is endemic to boxing/combat sports movies.
Regardless, the footage below of The Smashing Machine looks like a gritty sports drama in a relatively unexplored niche–the hardscrabble early days of MMA, before the sport had been built into a slick and vaguely respectable American pastime. Johnson’s warmth still seems to shine through the callouses, but it’s genuinely refreshing to see the A-lister leaning into a new dramatic direction, even if “combat sports” is hardly a leap from his own past. Still, could this be the start of a renaissance that sees Johnson embracing dramatic roles in the days to come? Could he potentially earn the kind of unexpected legitimate acting credentials now afforded to Dave Bautista? We’ll see on Oct. 3, 2025 as The Smashing Machine hits theaters. Meanwhile, you can check out the first footage below.
