Dwayne Johnson faces his fears in “The Smashing Machine,” a drama about MMA fighter Mark Kerr.
‘It’s a sad thing’: Magic Beach Motel closing in Vilano Beach, redevelopment to include condos, retail Read full article: ‘It’s a sad thing’: Magic Beach Motel closing in Vilano Beach, redevelopment to include condos, retail Isabela Alonzo, owner of a beloved local boutique and cigar shop, began her entrepreneurial journey as a grade schooler in Cuba.
How one local woman went from selling roasted peanuts in Cuba to becoming a beloved St. Augustine entrepreneur Read full article: How one local woman went from selling roasted peanuts in Cuba to becoming a beloved St. Augustine entrepreneurRead full article: Walking through history: Exploring St. Augustine’s enduring legacy & heritage A marker designating the historically Black neighborhood of Lincolnville is one of the first things you’ll see when you enter the community.A stroll through Lincolnville: Take a trip back in time in St. Augustine’s historically Black neighborhood Read full article: A stroll through Lincolnville: Take a trip back in time in St. Augustine’s historically Black neighborhoodDwayne Johnson, from left, Benny Safdie and Emily Blunt pose to promote their film"The Smashing Machine" on Friday, Sept. 12, 2025, in Los Angeles. Dwayne Johnson, from left, Benny Safdie and Emily Blunt pose to promote their film"The Smashing Machine" on Friday, Sept. 12, 2025, in Los Angeles. This image released by A24 shows Emily Blunt, left, and Dwayne Johnson in a scene from"The Smashing Machine." Dwayne Johnson, from left, Benny Safdie and Emily Blunt pose to promote their film"The Smashing Machine" on Friday, Sept. 12, 2025, in Los Angeles. Dwayne Johnson, from left, Benny Safdie and Emily Blunt pose to promote their film"The Smashing Machine" on Friday, Sept. 12, 2025, in Los Angeles. Certainly not in the ring, as the charismatic heel with the cocked eyebrow, and not in Hollywood, where he has cemented himself as one of the industry’s most bankable, and singular, action stars and producers. By all accounts the formula was working. Yet for years he’d had a suspicion that he could do more, offer more, as an actor. But when it came time to dive into something more raw, more vulnerable for “The Smashing Machine,” a drama about“It’s not easy to think, ‘Hey, I’m capable of doing this and I know I can do this,’” Johnson, 53, told The Associated Press in a recent interview. “You may seem, may have a veneer, that you’re capable of it and you’re confident. But I was very nervous and scared to do it because it’s something that I hadn’t done before.”and their financial insecurity. Yet as an entertainer, he’d kept all those old wounds out of the picture until now. For the first time in his career, he decided to take that trauma and channel it into something he loves: Performance and storytelling. And it's already put him in the Oscar conversation. “The Smashing Machine,” which opens in theaters Oct. 3, wasn’t just a leap into the unknown for Johnson. For his co-starand filmmaker Benny Safdie, directing a feature alone for the first time, it was a chance to express different sides of themselves as well. “It’s hard for us to know what we’re capable of sometimes,” Blunt said. “Maybe you need friends around you putting a jet pack on your back and saying, ‘You can’ and ‘you’re awesome’ and you have so much that you can delve into.”As an actor, Johnson never really did the indie thing. He didn’t have to. In 2001, he burst onto the scene in a blockbuster, “The Mummy Returns,” and never looked back. In less than 25 years of making movies, his films have made over $12.5 billion at the global box office and none of those are Marvel. When he decided to sit down and watch John Hyams’ documentary about Kerr, his larger-than-life career was firmly on the ascent with Luke Hobbs and the “Jumanji” franchise still to come. It stuck with him, however, and a few years later when he founded his production company Seven Bucks, he acquired the rights.And he decided to bring “The Smashing Machine” to the filmmakers who’d had the vision to put an actor like“I think everybody has this certain idea of who he’s gonna be,” said Safdie, who co-directed ‘Uncut Gems’ with. “When I met him, and he brings this story, I was just like, OK, I get it. There’s so much there that maybe he’s not being asked to show.”Safdie, however, hadn’t stopped thinking about it. He’d even sent Johnson a version of a Nautica sweater Kerr had worn , along with a handwritten letter saying no matter what happened, he hoped he could be involved in some way. Johnson never responded. And the obsession spiraled. “It burrowed itself into my brain,” Safdie said. “Imagining Dwayne as Mark … it was like my imagination went crazy with it because I really just wanted to see it in existence.” The truth is Johnson never got the letter, or the sweater. Who knows what might have happened if he had. But in reality, another, stranger door had opened when Safdie found himself acting alongside Blunt inKnowing that she’d become close with Johnson on “Jungle Cruise,” he took a chance and told her about “The Smashing Machine” not only for Johnson, but for her too.she thought he’d be closer to “The Rock” and quickly came to understand that was not only a character he played but “the performance of a lifetime.” “That’s self-realized performance,” Blunt said. “I was like, ’You wrote it? You saw it? How many more bonkers people have you got lurking inside of you?’” She started to wonder if Johnson was this great character actor who didn’t even realize it. In “The Smashing Machine,” she saw a “visceral, exciting opportunity for all of us to put our feet to the fire.” Blunt added: “All three of us felt that, you know? That moment of terror of what you’re trying to create is something very unique. This was going to be, especially for DJ, I realized, a very unique experience and a kind of launch into the unknown. But I think maybe Benny and I knew that he could do it.”Kerr was an early pioneer with UFC in its infancy well before the global MMA leader blossomed into a mainstream sport. While respected by core fight fans, Kerr’s popularity outside the cage never reached the heights or financial riches and endorsement deals enjoyed by modern UFC stars such as Ronda Rousey, Conor McGregor and Jon Jones. He also struggled with addiction to painkillers and overdosed twice before getting sober. Then there was his sometimes-volatile long-term relationship with then girlfriend Dawn Staples . This would all require a different kind of preparation for Johnson, who had to shape his muscles into that of an MMA fighter instead of a wrestler. The transformation also included a new voice, new hair and facial prosthetics, overseen by Oscar-winning artist Kazu Hiro, which required nearly four hours in a makeup chair. But by the time the cameras were rolling, both Dwayne Johnson and The Rock had effectively disappeared. This, Blunt said, was helpful during their domestic fight scenes, where punches may not have been thrown but the emotional wreckage is vast. “The environment that Benny creates is one of such spontaneity that you really blur the lines between fiction and reality,” Blunt said. “It makes the scenes terribly exciting, but I think it makes them quite hard to come down from, because you’re really in a spell.” Safdie decided to shoot their arguments in sections. Some they spent a lot of time on, shooting them over and over. But the final moment of their worst fight, they shot just once. “When you’re holding on to somebody for dear life, I do know what that feels like and it’s not fun,” Safdie said. “Seeing that happen at such an intense level, it was like, ‘Done, we have it. We don’t need to do that again. I don’t want you guys to do it again.’”a few times now. When asked what they’ve told Johnson about the circus, Blunt groaned: “Oh my God, we try not to discuss it really.”Whatever comes of it, Johnson is glad he overcame the fear and listened to that small voice — not the louder one with all the receipts telling him to stay in his lane. “This has been the most challenging of my entire career, but also the most freeing of my career and the most gratifying because I knew what the opportunity was and that opportunity was for me to explore and access things that I hadn’t in the past, certainly not on film,” Johnson said. “I didn’t want to wake up tomorrow going, God … I really wish I got out of my comfort zone back then. I wanted to wake up and say, ‘I’m so glad I got out of my comfort zone.' And I’m so glad I did it.”Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Kazu Hiro Dawn Staples Adam Sandler Entertainment Jon Jones Mark Kerr Dwayne Johnson Jr. Emily Blunt Dwayne Johnson Benny Safdie Howard Ratner John Hyams
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