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Yahoo
01-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Dwayne Johnson is unrecognizable as a buff and bloodied MMA legend in 'The Smashing Machine' trailer
The Rock, is that you? The new trailer for A24 drama The Smashing Machine is out now, and it reveals star Dwayne Johnson's total transformation into legendary mixed martial arts and UFC fighter Mark Kerr. If not for the hulking physique, which the wrestler-turned-actor is, of course, known for, it'd be hard to tell it's Johnson under that wig and prosthetics. The trailer, below, first introduces us to Johnson's bloodied Mark in a doctor's office waiting room, where an elderly woman asks him, "Do you hate each other when you fight?" "Absolutely not," he tells her, as we see brutal shots of him in the ring, both past and present. The glitz and glamour of the UFC is shown, as is the obvious physical, mental, and emotional toll fighting takes on Kerr. At one point, he's shown punching a wooden door, and his relationship with girlfriend Dawn Staples, played by Emily Blunt, seems tense. The film promises to tell the no-holds-barred story of the two-time UFC Heavyweight Tournament Champion at the peak of his career and explore his struggles with addiction. (Kerr was previously the subject of the 2002 HBO documentary of the same name, which refers to the nickname he earned due to his fighting style in the ring.) It wasn't just Kerr getting banged up on camera; Johnson revealed some real-life battle wounds from filming the biographical drama on his social media accounts last summer. 'Look at that sucker right there,' he said in the video, poking an injured area on his arm. 'It looks like I have a cantaloupe in the bottom of my elbow. I got banged up pretty good today in our scenes. And there might be some soft tissue damage in there. That's a lot of fluid. We'll see. I gotta get it out of there first before I get any kind of MRI.' The elbow injury was a bit of art imitating life, of course. Kerr once famously won the World Vale Tudo Championship with a fractured hand and was later forbidden from competing in American Championship Fighting due to a different hand injury. The Smashing Machine sees Johnson reunite with his Jungle Cruise costar Blunt. Ryan Bader, Bas Rutten, and Oleksandr Usyk also star in the film, which is written, directed, and edited by Benny Safdie (Uncut Gems, Good Time). Johnson also produces alongside David Koplan, Hiram Garcia, Dany Garcia, Safdie, and Eli to becoming a major movie star, Johnson, who went by The Rock in the ring, made his WWE debut in 1996 and became an eight-time WWE Championship and two-time WCW Championship winner. The Smashing Machine hits theaters nationwide on October 3, 2025. Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly
News18
30-04-2025
- Entertainment
- News18
Dwayne Johnson's Transformation For The Smashing Machine Leaves Fans Impressed
Last Updated: Dwayne Johnson appears quite unrecognisable as renowned two-time UFC heavyweight champion Mark Kerr. Dwayne Johnson's highly anticipated biography, The Smashing Machine, has released its first trailer. While the trailer has created a lot of buzz, fans are astonished by the actor's drastic on-screen transformation. Dwayne Johnson appears quite unrecognisable as renowned two-time UFC heavyweight champion Mark Kerr. The teaser depicts Kerr's tremendous highs and devastating lows in his career as well as his personal troubles outside the ring. The trailer opens with a bruised Dwayne as Mark sitting in a doctor's clinic with puffy eyes. The video transitions to ring flashbacks and vicious beatdowns, with Mark asking, 'Have you heard of the Ultimate Fighting Championship? The UFC?" The teaser also gives a summary of the film's plot, as Mark explores his life as a UFC fighter while navigating his relationship with Dawn (Emily Blunt). The trailer implies that the film would also address Mark's struggles with opioid addiction. Dwayne's fans are amazed by his drastic makeover for the production. They're eagerly waiting for the release and took to the comments section to express their delight. One of them wrote, 'You know it's not just the physical transformation, it sounds like Dwayne is trying a different cadence in his voice, a different delivery, than what he's done for most of his other movies," while another stated, 'It's a unique compliment for the Rock when no one recognises him in a film. I'm glad he challenged himself for this role. He is phenomenal in this trailer and I can't wait to see it." A fan also noted, 'the prostheses in the nose and brow are so subtle and yet he really does look like another person – and the body transformation, too." Mark Kerr was a two-time UFC Heavyweight Tournament Champion and four-time ADCC World Champion, and was one of the most well-known MMA fighters in the late 1990s. The Smashing Machine will look at both his domination in the cage and his psychological troubles, which were first covered in a 2002 HBO documentary. The film is expected to release on October 3. First Published:
India Today
30-04-2025
- Entertainment
- India Today
First Look: Dwayne Johnson unrecognizable as Mark Kerr in The Smashing Machine
Dwayne Johnson stunned fans on Sunday night by revealing a new look for his upcoming film The Smashing Machine. The biographical sports drama, directed by Benny Safdie and produced by A24, casts Johnson as legendary MMA fighter Mark Kerr. The film is set for theatrical release on October 3, 2025. View this post on Instagram A post shared by A24 (@a24)advertisementThe first poster, shared by Johnson on April 28 via his social media accounts, shows a radical transformation. Wearing cropped black hair, covered-up tattoos, and subtle prosthetic makeup, Johnson is unrecognizable. The rough-and-tumble image suggests at the film's emotionally intense nature, documenting Kerr's rise in MMA and his battles with addiction and the pressures of Kerr, a two-time UFC Heavyweight Tournament Champion and four-time ADCC World Champion, was one of the MMA's biggest name in the late 1990s. The Smashing Machine will explore his dominance in the cage but also his personal demons—material initially explored in the 2002 HBO documentary. As reported by Social News, the movie also stars Emily Blunt as Kerr's then-wife Dawn Staples, and includes cameos by MMA personalities Oleksandr Usyk and Bas A24's support, The Smashing Machine is poised to be more than a sports film - offering a deep exploration of the intricacies of fame, pain, and the official trailer set to premiere today, anticipation is high. Both fans and critics are eager to see how Johnson navigates this challenging role, which is expected to be a game-changer in his career."Also Read: Ken Carson announces 2025 Arena tour after 'More Chaos' tops Billboard 200
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
1st look at Dwayne ‘The Rock' Johnson in ‘The Smashing Machine'
Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson is taking on a different form of fighting for his upcoming movie 'The Smashing Machine.' The first trailer for the A24 film was released on Tuesday, with Johnson looking unrecognizable as former UFC champion Mark Kerr. The role is a more dramatic one for the WWE superstar turned actor. He reunites with his 'Jungle Cruise' co-star Emily Blunt, who plays Kerr's wife Dawn Staples. In 2002, Kerr was the subject of an HBO documentary, 'The Smashing Machine: The Life and Times of Extreme Fighter Mark Kerr.' The doc followed Kerr's life within the sport and touched on his use of painkillers and narcotics as well as his relationship with Staples. Kerr is a former collegiate wrestler, two-time UFC Heavyweight Tournament Champion and World Vale Tudo Champion. Ben Safdie of 'Uncut Gems' and 'Good Time' is the film's director and writer. Johnson posted the two-and-a-half-minute trailer to his YouTube page, and fans quickly weighed in on how this role differs from the many he's played in past films. 'FINALLY The Rock has come back…to not playing the same character & escaped the jungle, wrote one fan in the comment section. 'Finally a serious movie from The Rock. It looks and feels fantastic,' wrote another. 'Holy s–t, DJ actually looks like he put on an Oscar-worthy performance,' another weighed in. 'The Smashing Machine' is set to be released in theaters on Oct. 3. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
