The Smashing Machine casts Dwayne Johnson in the role of pioneering MMA fighter Mark Kerr as he rose in the sport while waging his own battle with drugs and alcohol abuse.
“There’s a brutal fight in the film where Dwayne said to me, ‘I have to get punched in the face,’” filmmaker Benny Safdie told Postmedia in an interview at the Toronto International Film Festival. “And when it came time to shoot the scene, I said to myself, ‘I’m not going to remind him,’ but he said it again.”
To play Kerr, Johnson wanted to craft his most realistic performance yet. So in addition to getting whacked for real, he packed on more muscle than ever to completely transform his body.
“I asked him to get bigger for the role, so he put on 30, 40 pounds of muscle,” Safdie said.
Oscar-winning artist Kazu Hiro went further, transforming Johnson by having him sit in the makeup chair for nearly four hours.
The Smashing Machine wasn’t just a leap of faith for Johnson. Safdie, who made a name for himself co-directing Good Time and Uncut Gems with his brother, Josh, was also taking a risk. Could Johnson, a proven box office force who makes four-quadrant movies, handle a demanding role?
“Here, you have this strong man, who is dealing with so much struggle on the inside. I thought it was amazing that Dwayne wanted to tell that story,” Safdie said, recalling their 2019 meeting.
The pandemic delayed the project and even threatened to sideline it permanently as Johnson kept churning out blockbusters.
Safdie sent Johnson a handwritten letter and received no response. He revived the idea of telling Kerr’s story during his stint as an actor shooting Oppenheimer with Emily Blunt, who bonded with Johnson while they made 2021s Jungle Cruise.
“They’re rooting for each other. There’s a real friendship there,” Safdie said.
Despite being an early pioneer with UFC, Kerr never achieved the household-name status of the sport’s modern-day stars. He battled addiction and struggled to balance his relationship with his girlfriend (played by Blunt), and the rigours of the ring.
Blunt was intrigued to see Johnson tackle a more emotionally complex role.
“I tried to reassure (him), it’s good to be scared,” she said ahead of the film’s premiere at TIFF. “I think, like Benny, I felt there was a very deep well of experience, from his childhood to how he looks at the world and how he walks through life. It’s very unique and very full and I felt that because he’s so curious about the world he had an ability to tap into all of that and maybe have a place to put it in a role like this.”
Safdie, who won a Silver Lion for directing at the Venice Film Festival, hopes audiences appreciate seeing a different side of Johnson.
“Here’s this guy who appears to be invincible, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have struggles and emotions …”
Johnson is already earning raves for his performance and there’s talk of an Oscar nod.
“I’ve been lucky to have the career that I have been able to have over the years, but I wanted something like this for such a long time,” Johnson said. “You know how we all have that little voice behind the rib cage that tells us there’s more and what-if and go for it … When you listen to your gut … I believe the universe will meet you halfway and believe in you and say, ‘You can do it.’ For me, that, ‘Hey, you can do it,’ was Benny Safdie.”
mdaniell@postmedia.com
