{"id":15042,"date":"2025-09-03T02:25:59","date_gmt":"2025-09-02T19:25:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/?p=15042"},"modified":"2025-09-03T02:25:59","modified_gmt":"2025-09-02T19:25:59","slug":"dwayne-johnson-shows-his-shocking-transformation-at-the-smashing-machine-premiere","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/?p=15042","title":{"rendered":"Dwayne Johnson Shows His Shocking Transformation at &#8216;The Smashing Machine&#8217; Premiere"},"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>The internet went into overdrive this week as photos of Dwayne \u201cThe Rock\u201d Johnson showed how he leaned into his role as MMA legend Mark Kerr by leaning out, dropping 60 pounds for what many critics are hailing as his finest performance yet. In fact, the reception for The Smashing Machine has been so great that DJ even shed a tear during its recent premiere.<\/p>\n<p>As The Rock went viral for cutting a more svelte look while in Venice for the premier of his Mark Kerr biography, The Smashing Machine, the buzz was already beginning around a potentially career defining performance that could add an Oscar to his list of accomplishments. The film, directed by Benny Safde who is perhaps best known for Uncut Gems starring Adam Sandler, and also starring Emily Blunt, digs into the trials and tribulations of the two-time UFC Heavyweight Tournament Champion Mark Kerr, and is based on the 2009 HBO documentary, also called <em>The Smashing Machine<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>In contrast to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.muscleandfitness.com\/features\/active-lifestyle\/how-dwayne-rock-johnson-became-hollywood-sensation\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Johnson\u2019s lighter roles in box office behemoths<\/a> like <em>Jumanji<\/em> and<em> Jungle Cruise,<\/em> the former WWE Champion would need to channel a more vulnerable side of his character to deal with a story that encompasses the mental health and substance abuse issues that Kerr faced during his illustrious but challenging career. To become a believable MMA fighter, Johnson worked with Kerr\u2019s former rival-turned-friend, Mark Coleman. UFC\u2019s president, <a href=\"https:\/\/talksport.com\/mma\/1926941\/dana-white-dwayne-the-rock-johnson-oscar-ufc\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Dana White has praised the project, telling Collider<\/a>; \u201cI think that this could be the opportunity for The Rock to actually be nominated for an Oscar.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>Could Dwayne \u2018The Rock\u2019 Johnson Win an Oscar for \u2018The Smashing Machine\u2019?<\/h2>\n<p>While Johnson made headlines for his lean, mean, smashing machine of a figure in Venice, critics were weighing-in on the movie itself. \u201cIt\u2019s difficult to recall another time when the actor has been so outwardly vulnerable on screen,\u201d wrote Jack King of GQ Magazine. \u201cYou often forget it\u2019s Johnson at all, in part due to the prosthetics behind which he is subtly masked, but also because he is so emotionally transformed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Yasmine Kandil of <em>Discussing Film<\/em> wrote, \u201cThe Smashing Machine is more than just another sports biopic, examining what makes or breaks us as humans through a spectacular lead performance from Dwayne Johnson.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rottentomatoes.com\/m\/the_smashing_machine_2025\/reviews\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Some critics have been less convinced<\/a>, however. \u201cThe awards season equivalent of a \u201cfugazi\u201d diamond,\u201d wrote Kevin Maher of The Times. \u201cIt looks like an Oscar contender, it sparkles like an Oscar contender, but on closer inspection it\u2019s entirely plastic and mostly worthless.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Whether or not DJ gets his flowers come Oscar season, \u201cThe People\u2019s Champion\u201d has shown just how much this performance has mean to him. The gentle giant was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.indulgexpress.com\/entertainment\/celebs\/2025\/Sep\/02\/dwayne-johnson-breaks-down-as-his-film-receives-a-15-minute-standing-ovation\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">reduced to tears during the 15-minute standing ovation<\/a> that the film received in Venice.\u00a0 A vulnerable Johnson also got real while reflected on his acting resume, during a recent interview with Vanity Fair. \u201cI realized that maybe these opportunities weren\u2019t coming my way because I was too scared to explore this stuff,\u201d he explained. \u201cI was so hungry for an opportunity to do something raw and gritty and rip myself open. And, all of a sudden, <em>Smashing Machine<\/em> comes along.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><em>The Smashing Machine<\/em> hits theaters on Oct. 3, 2025. <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/therock\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">To follow The Rock on Instagram, click here.<\/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-johnson-shows-his-shocking-transformation-at-the-smashing-machine-premiere\/\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The internet went into overdrive this week as photos of Dwayne \u201cThe Rock\u201d Johnson showed how he leaned into his role as MMA legend Mark Kerr by leaning out, dropping 60 pounds for what many critics are hailing as his finest performance yet. In fact, the reception for The Smashing Machine has been so great &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-15042","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\/15042","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=15042"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15042\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=15042"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=15042"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=15042"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}