Vanity Fair<\/a>. \u201cI had not experienced that in a very, very, very long time, where I was really scared and thinking, I don\u2019t know if I can do this. Can I do this? I realized that maybe these opportunities weren\u2019t coming my way because I was too scared to explore this stuff.\u201d<\/p>\nTo portray a former MMA champion, Johnson trained extensively to ensure the action sequences played out properly but the real trick as actually making his own physical transformation into Kerr.<\/p>\n
Johnson revealed he underwent several hours of makeup every single day on set but that time allowed him to get in the mental headspace where he was playing a real person and not some scripted character from a screenplay.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just sat in front of that mirror for three to four hours and watched it all change,\u201d Johnson said about the process to look like Kerr. \u201cThere were about 13 or 14 different prosthetics. Subtle, yet I think very impactful. By the time I got to set, I was Mark Kerr and I felt it, from how he walked to how he talked and how he looked at life.\u201d<\/p>\n
That physical transformation made him look like Kerr but Johnson admits the real test was actually playing the part, especially the emotionally charged scenes he shared with close friend Emily Blunt, who plays Dawn Staples, Kerr\u2019s real life girlfriend who also appeared in the documentary.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf Emily and I weren\u2019t best friends, I don\u2019t know that we could\u2019ve gone to the places we went to,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cThat closeness created the trust, which then allowed for the vulnerability, which then allowed for [us to] go anywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n
Blunt, who was just recently nominated for an Academy Award for her work in the film Oppenheimer, praised Johnson\u2019s acting skills where they really had to trust each other for some heavy scenes.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt seemed to be an effortless immersion\u2014like a full disappearance, spooky,\u201d Blunt said about Johnson\u2019s performance. \u201cFrom day one, he was elsewhere. He has absorbed and borne witness to so much of what Mark has experienced that it was such a beautiful thing to watch this person let go of having to be an image, of having to be The Rock, and crack himself in half for this role.\u201d<\/p>\n
The hype around The Smashing Machine could potentially lead to the award circuit in 2026, especially considering the film is being produced by A24 \u2014 a boutique, independent studio known for collecting trophies.<\/p>\n
For the first time in his career, Johnson is finding himself in those conversations as well.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a song from George Strait called \u2018Where Have I Been All My Life?\u2019 This reminded me of that,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cWhere have I been? The thing I was fearing is the thing that actually gives me the greatest peace\u2014a safe place to explore all this stuff that I\u2019ve experienced over the years. I have a place to put it.\u201d<\/p>\n
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