Dwayne Johnson may be one of the most successful Hollywood blockbuster movie stars, but he’s rarely taken a turn at serious acting beyond popcorn entertainment, until now.
The Rock stars in The Smashing Machine as former wrestler and MMA fighter Mark Kerr, a two-time UFC Heavyweight champ during the 1990s and 2000s.
He was the subject of an HBO documentary of the same name, which charted his early “no-holds-barred” fighting and the addiction he later overcame.
Now his life has been dramatised in Benny Sadie’s biopic, which reunites The Rock with his Jungle Cruise co-star Emily Blunt playing Kerr’s wife.
Real-life undisputed heavyweight boxing champ Oleksandr Usyk is also featured as MMA’s Igor Vovchanchyn.
No doubt, Johnson, who appears unrecognisable in prosthetics and a wig, will get a Best Actor Academy Award nomination for this A24 film, if not a win. He’s certainly planning on more Oscar-bait, teaming up for Martin Scorsese’s upcoming Goodfellas meets The Departed film, with The Rock playing a real-life Hawaiian crime boss. Leonardo DiCaprio and Emily Blunt are set to co-star in the 1960s and 1970s set picture, respectively.
The Smashing Machine hits cinemas on October 3, 2025.