Dwayne Johnson could be essentially the most bodily recognizable film star on this planet. However his flip as MMA fighter Mark Kerr in Benny Safdie’s upcoming A24 movie “The Smashing Machine” might see the wrestler-turned-actor do one thing that has evaded him till now: disappear into a job.
In a brand new interview with GQ, Johnson mirrored on the extraordinary make-up course of that allowed him to change his look for the function. He defined that dropping the distinctive tattoos and bald head gave him the liberty to be any person aside from himself.
“I look what I appear like,” Johnson mentioned. “I’m what I’m. There is no such thing as a: ‘Oh, Rock is simply gonna disappear.’ what I imply? Nonetheless, to have the ability to do this in ‘Smashing Machine,‘ with the best of make-up artists — in a approach, it was actually liberating for me.”
Safdie recalled that Johnson’s transformation was so placing that a few of the movie‘s extras didn’t acknowledge him on set.
“It was simply humorous as a result of I keep in mind him strolling round and also you’d hear individuals saying, ‘When’s The Rock going to get right here? I’m wondering when he’s going to get right here,’” Safdie mentioned. “You’d hear all these individuals speaking, and in the meantime he’s strolling amongst them.”
Safdie added that this transformation is proof that Johnson is a extra critical artist who deserves some extra credit score.
“You actually perceive the fears, the love, the unhappiness, the happiness,” Safdie mentioned. “If any person’s open to doing that and speaking about that stuff, then they’re going to have the ability to give a fantastic efficiency. Due to how bodily robust he’s, I don’t know if lots of people give him that chance.”
Johnson additionally teased that “The Smashing Machine” received’t be the final artistic threat he takes, and although he hasn’t sworn off blockbusters, one other reunion with Safdie or A24 might all the time be one thing the Rock is cooking.
“It’s such a psychological factor right here,” Johnson mentioned. “However , from the second I stroll out of my home, I can’t conceal. However in a approach, after I might disappear in a film like ‘Smashing Machine,’ and a few of the different issues now that we’re growing, the place it’ll enable me to vanish, with a Benny once more or an A24… Man, I like it.”
An A24 launch, “The Smashing Machine” is ready to open in theaters in 2025.