Dwayne Johnson Transforms into Mark Kerr for “The Smashing Machine”: A Physical and Emotional Challenge
In a recent interview, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson shared details about his intense transformation to play Mark Kerr in the movie “The Smashing Machine”. The actor revealed the arduous physical and emotional process that this role involved, which has been acclaimed by critics as one of his best works. Johnson spent almost three minutes explaining how he immersed himself in the mind and body of Mark Kerr. Kerr’s response was an emotional anecdote about his son’s reaction to seeing the film.Kerr’s son even went as far as to say: “Dad, he even has your heart.” This moment moved Kerr to tears. Preparing to portray Kerr, a former collegiate wrestling champion and MMA fighter who is 1.90 meters tall and weighs 117 kg, was an unprecedented process in Johnson’s career. The actor combined his participation in his first WWE match in 11 years with a rigorous month-long training for “The Smashing Machine”, an A24 production that was recently released. Each day on set involved three or four hours of makeup and 21 prosthetics, created by Oscar winner Kazu Hiro, to transform Johnson into Kerr. In addition, Johnson worked with a vocal coach to imitate Kerr’s soft and tender voice. The result has been a performance that critics have praised as one of Johnson’s best, who is almost unrecognizable on the big screen. The film explores a period similar to that of the 2002 documentary about Kerr, “The Smashing Machine: The Life and Times of Extreme Fighter Mark Kerr.” Director Benny Safdie felt a deep respect for the original documentary and wanted his film to directly engage with it.“Dad, he walks like you. He looks like you. He talks like you.” It was all this narrative of the confirmation of his transformation into someone who wasn’t Dwayne Johnson.”
Mark Kerr
Johnson explained that Safdie told him: “‘I don’t know how to tell you this and I don’t know if you’ve ever heard this before, but you’re going to have to get bigger… I don’t have the word, it’s more ‘bloated'”. Johnson asked Safdie for 24 hours and said he thought he knew what the director needed. The next day, he told Safdie that he would have to gain between 11 and 13 kg for the role (it was revealed that he gained approximately 13 kg).
Kerr has a “unique” body, Johnson explained. “Fast-twitch fibers, that different muscular quality of a fighter with a relentless engine that is always moving, shooting, lifting… That work, the deltoids and then the trapezius, the neck, the quadriceps… putting on that type of muscle is different. That’s why I went to an MMA camp, trained with real coaches, real MMA fighters, just to keep my movement.”
His training camp began in April 2024, a month before the film’s production began. Johnson had just concluded a 12-week camp for WrestleMania 40 before taking 10 days off and starting the training camp for “The Smashing Machine”.
The days began with cardio on an empty stomach, followed by a weightlifting session after lunch and then 15 to 20 minutes of additional cardio. Concluding the work in the cage for an hour or 90 minutes. The moments in the cage paid off during filming. Safdie told Johnson at the beginning of production that he would love to not move away from him during the fight scenes. Near the end of the film, while filming a fight scene in which Kerr’s character fought Kazuyuki Fujita, Johnson took a real hit, explaining that “it felt like when a real fighter hits you several times.” The team had to convince the scene partner, who is a real wrestler, to hit Johnson. At first, he refused, saying that he respected Johnson and that he wasn’t going to do it. Safdie approached and told the scene partner that he would have to hit Johnson because he wasn’t going to move. He marked one of the most important scenes in the film, recreating a moment from the Pride Grand Prix 2000 Finals, where Kerr is on his knees, being hit by Fujita and unable to defend himself, losing the fight. Finally, the partner hit Johnson, and Safdie later discovered that Bas Rutten, the legendary MMA fighter who played himself in the film, had been listening to the exchange. The moment highlighted Johnson and the team’s commitment to authenticity. It went as far as the way the actor prepared to act as Kerr. Kerr walks and talks in a certain way, Johnson said, and there is a confidence in him that Johnson tried to radiate on screen. Johnson prepared by getting to know Kerr as well as possible and understanding “everything that is going on” in Kerr’s mind. The film doesn’t just touch on the cage fight. The discussions between Kerr and his ex-wife, Dawn Staples, are a key part, with Emily Blunt playing the role of Staples. Safdie treated those scenes like fights themselves, filming them in sections. He participated in conversations with Johnson and Blunt, knowing how challenging those emotional moments would be. Those scenes “hurt” Johnson’s heart and offer some of the most emotional moments of his acting career. He called them “raw” and “intense”, and Safdie only did one take because he didn’t want the actors to go through them again. Johnson revealed that they were “emotionally wrecked” after the final argument scene. Throughout the film, Johnson was inspired by listening to his mother and father argue when he was a child. Johnson embraced the role with a deep respect for MMA and emerged with something even more: the ultimate validation of his performance. So, how did Johnson do it? When Kerr finished explaining the moment with his son, he explained why it moved him to tears. “It’s just one where, if anyone on the planet can validate [Johnson’s performance], it would be my son,” he said.
