{"id":14080,"date":"2025-05-01T05:38:36","date_gmt":"2025-04-30T22:38:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/?p=14080"},"modified":"2025-05-01T05:38:36","modified_gmt":"2025-04-30T22:38:36","slug":"dwayne-johnson-shares-his-incredible-transformation-for-the-smashing-machine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/?p=14080","title":{"rendered":"Dwayne Johnson Shares His Incredible Transformation for The Smashing Machine"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Dwayne \u201cThe Rock\u201d Johnson\u2019s The Smashing Machine movie went into full hype mode this week with the release of the official trailer, but behind the cameras, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.muscleandfitness.com\/athletes-celebrities\/news\/rock-star-film-about-retired-ufc-fighter-mark-kerr\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">the former WWE Champion has put himself through brutal MMA training<\/a> and dealt with injury to portray Mark Kerr. Here\u2019s why <em>M&amp;F<\/em> is excited for DJ\u2019s most challenging role to date.<\/p>\n<p>Before principal photography for <em>The Smashing Machine<\/em> even began in May 2024, Johnson was balancing MMA training with a return to professional wrestling. As \u201cThe Final Boss,\u201d The Rock electrified WWE fans once again at WrestleMania 40 in Philadelphia, but soon pivoted his attention back on being Mark Kerr, the collegiate wrestling standout and two-time UFC Heavyweight Tournament Champion.\u00a0 The fighter, who also excelled in World Vale Tudo and Pride FC, would suffer the struggles of substance abuse and mental health issues, becoming the subject of a HBO documentary that helped to inspire the movie. Eerily, Kerr had childhood dreams of becoming a pro wrestler, while Johnson always wondered how he would fair in the Octagon.<\/p>\n<h2>Dwayne \u2018The Rock\u2019 Johnson Took on His Challenging Role Yet for \u2018The Smashing Machine\u2019<\/h2>\n<p>Immersing himself in his most mentally and physically challenging role yet, Johnson embarked on a training regime that included MMA staples like striking and grappling. In fact, the \u201cMost electrifying man in sports entertainment\u201d even got to mix it up with Kerr himself in order to channel the most authentic portrayal possible. It is also known that the actor spent many hours sweating it out at the renowned gym, Black House MMA in California.<\/p>\n<p>Johnson has admitted that the training was extremely tough, and that while he felt good about his progress, the pro wrestling star was \u201cfar from satisfied\u201d with his technique in the early going. Still, day by day, DJ remained a student of the game. He also worked with Kerr\u2019s former MMA rival and friend, Mark Coleman, further contributing to the authenticity of the story. \u201cWhat a pleasure,\u201d said Coleman of his interactions with the movie star. \u201cVery kind, humble man. The aura around him is something special. He\u2019s truly a giant in so many ways.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The shoot wasn\u2019t without its slip-ups, however. \u201cAny time your film is called \u2018The Smashing Machine\u2019, well, you\u2019re going to get smashed up,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/C8FRvn_JHvj\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">shared The Rock in an Instagram post<\/a> detailing a gruesome elbow injury sustained in combat. \u201cI got banged up pretty good today.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Fortunately, the hard work could well pay off for Johnson. The early buzz around his incredible transformation to play Kerr has got The Smashing Machine\u2019s publicity machine off to a great start. The project is also directed by the award-winning Benny Safdie, who was praised for his work on <em>Uncut Gems<\/em> starring Adam Sandler. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sportskeeda.com\/mma\/news-dwayne-johnson-receive-oscar-nomination-mark-kerr-biopic-the-smashing-machine-says-ufc-ceo-dana-white?\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">UFC President Dana White has also said<\/a> he believes Johnson should be up for an Oscar nomination based on his dedication to the role.<\/p>\n<p>While the movie itself is not set to be released until October 2025, many critics think that this could be a significant step in the evolution of DJ\u2019s acting career. Fortunately, the gravity of The Smashing Machine is not lost on the loveable movie star. \u201cA true honor for me to pay homage and respect to this legendary MMA Godfather, all MMA fighters, the MMA community, and all our athletes who\u2019ve struggled with mental health and addiction,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/TheRock\/status\/1789497834560958676\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">concludes Johnson of his lifechanging experience<\/a> making The Smashing Machine.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=uF3oMaN-MUQ\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Watch the official trailer for The Smashing Machine\u00a0<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.muscleandfitness.com\/athletes-celebrities\/news\/dwayne-johnsons-shares-his-incredible-transformation-for-the-smashing-machine\/\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Dwayne \u201cThe Rock\u201d Johnson\u2019s The Smashing Machine movie went into full hype mode this week with the release of the official trailer, but behind the cameras, the former WWE Champion has put himself through brutal MMA training and dealt with injury to portray Mark Kerr. Here\u2019s why M&amp;F is excited for DJ\u2019s most challenging role &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14080","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fitness"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14080","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=14080"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14080\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=14080"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=14080"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=14080"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}