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Dwayne Johnson spoke at a press conference at the Venice Film Festival about his new movie The Smashing Machine
The former wrestler said playing UFC heavyweight Mark Kerr in the biographical drama was a "dream" come true
“This transformation was something I was really hungry to do,” Johnson said
Dwayne Johnson grew emotional at the Venice Film Festival on Monday Sept. 1 while speaking about his career and his new movie The Smashing Machine.
At a press conference for the film, the Moana star, 53, who underwent a physical transformation to play former MMA fighter and UFC heavyweight champion Mark Kerr in the upcoming biographical movie, said the film offered him the opportunity to “live my dreams.”
“I looked around a few years ago and I started to think... am I living my dream or am I living other people's dreams?” said the former wrestler, who built his Hollywood career making action, comedy and family movies like Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle and Jungle Cruise.
“And, you know, you come to that recognition. And I think you could either fall in line and, well, it's status quo. Things are good. I don't want to rock the boat or go, you know what? I want to live my dreams now and do what I want and tap into the stuff that I want to tap into,” he continued.
Victor Boyko/Getty
Dwayne Johnson, Emily Blunt, Benny Safdie and Mark Kerr in VeniceThe Smashing Machine borrows its title from director John Hymas’s gritty 2003 documentary about Kerr, 56, an Ohio native of Irish and Puerto Rican descent. The athlete, who battled addiction to painkillers, earned the titular nickname due to his ability to quickly and easily dispense with his opponents.
The scripted film — directed by Bennie Safdie and costarring Emily Blunt as Kerr’s then-girlfriend Dawn Staples — marks a dramatic turn for actor Johnson, who wore more than a dozen prosthetics and sat in a makeup chair for up to four hours per day to become Kerr.
A24
Dwayne Johnson in The Smashing Machine“This transformation was something I was really hungry to do,” Johnson continued, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
“I had been very fortunate to have the career that I’ve had over the years and to make the films that I’ve made, but there was just a voice inside of me, a little voice that said, ‘Well, what if I could do more — I want to do more and what does that look like?'”
He previously told Vanity Fair he was nervous to take on the role of Kerr.
“It was very real. I had not experienced that in a very, very, very long time, where I was really scared and thinking, I don’t know if I can do this. Can I do this?” he told the outlet. “I realized that maybe these opportunities weren’t coming my way because I was too scared to explore this stuff.”
Victor Boyko/Getty
Mark Kerr in VeniceKerr himself also attended the press conference, creating more emotional moments. At one point, Johnson addressed him directly, saying, “I love you, brother.”
Johnson became teary when discussing Kerr’s own journey, according to The Hollywood Reporter: “Mark was the greatest fighter in the world at one point, but this film is not even really about fighting — it’s a love story.”
“It’s a love story about Mark and Dawn in this relationship, and it’s a love story about Mark and the love that he had for the thing that he did — his struggle with trying to deliver [in the ring], his challenges and his overcoming,” he said.
