WWE legend and Hollywood megastar Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson provided some insight this week into the body transformation he underwent to play the role of Mark Kerr in the upcoming movie The Smashing Machine.
During an interview on CBS Sunday Morning (beginning at the 29-minute mark of the video), The Rock discussed the challenges he faced to make his physique look like that of Kerr, and explained why it was unlike anything he had done before:
While The Rock has long been among the fittest and most muscular actors in the world, he revealed that The Smashing Machine director Benny Safdie tasked him with becoming “bigger” and “puffier” in order to more accurately portray Kerr’s unique body type.
Safdie also expressed to The Rock that he would prefer to not have to use a stunt double, and since The Rock agreed with that assessment, he went to great lengths to evolve his look.
The Rock called Kerr a “unicorn athlete,” before adding: “I had to transform my body, which was a massive challenge for me. I’m a workout nut, I like working out and just being physical and sweating every morning. But this was different. … It’s different if you put on size and put on muscle. I’ve done that in the past for some roles. But this is the kind of muscle that you have to put on that has real fast-twitch fibers to it.”
Johnson noted that he put on 30 pounds overall, and further explained that it was “quality muscle,” since it was the type of muscle that had to allow for him to still be athletic in order to effectively act out the fight scenes in the movie.
In The Smashing Machine, The Rock plays the role of one of the most iconic MMA fighters of all time in Kerr.
After starring as a collegiate wrestling at Syracuse University, Kerr became one of the first major stars in MMA, winning the heavyweight tournaments at UFC 14 and UFC 15 in 1997, and later enjoying success in Pride Fighting Championships.
While The Rock went to great lengths to become the best version of Kerr possible, he has already transformed his body again in anticipation of his next role.
According to Parade and US Weekly (h/t Megan Cartwright of Newsweek), The Rock has shed 60 pounds in anticipation of his next movie.
Per Borys Kit of The Hollywood Reporter, the film is a crime thriller set in Hawai’i and directed by Martin Scorsese, and it also stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Emily Blunt.
Before that, The Smashing Machine will hit theaters in the United States on Oct. 3.
