{"id":182484,"date":"2025-10-01T12:15:10","date_gmt":"2025-10-01T12:15:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/182484\/"},"modified":"2025-10-01T12:15:10","modified_gmt":"2025-10-01T12:15:10","slug":"what-pushed-dwayne-the-rock-johnson-to-transform-into-mark-kerr-for-the-smashing-machine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/182484\/","title":{"rendered":"What Pushed Dwayne \u2018The Rock\u2019 Johnson to Transform Into Mark Kerr for \u2018The Smashing Machine\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

True to its name, The Smashing Machine is an exercise in brutality, full of crashes, fights and collisions leaving shards, both orthopedic and emotional. The 2002 documentary tour de force chronicles the rise and fall of Mark Kerr,<\/a> d\/b\/a the Smashing Machine, a hard-on-the-outside, soft-on-the-inside Ohio fighter. Now comes the scripted version. Dwayne Johnson, d\/b\/a The Rock, plays Kerr in the film of the same name, which releases on Oct. 3, and enters the fray carrying the distinct whiff of Oscar nominations.<\/p>\n

The movie tells the story of Kerr, a hulking college wrestler who then launched a career in the punk rock sport of mixed martial arts. All was going, well, smashingly\u2009\u2026\u2009until it wasn\u2019t. Until he went from smasher to smashee. In an arresting early scene, Kerr sits in a doctor\u2019s waiting room, alongside other patients seeking bunion removals and strep throat swabs and the like. Kerr is seeing the doctor for another reason: He needs his face put back together.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Grooming for Dwayne Johnson by Rachel Solow. Grooming for Mark Kerr by Nadia Hoechlin for Exclusive Artists using Danessa Myricks Beauty. Styling by Ilaria Urbinati at The Wall Group. On Johnson: Shirt by Isaia; Trousers by Luca Faloni; Belt by Brunello Cucinelli. On Kerr: Henley by Dolce & Gabbana; Jeans by Levi’s; Watch by IWC; Bracelet by John Hardy. | Clay Patrick McBride\/Sports Illustrated<\/p>\n

This, though, is no formulaic sports biopic. It\u2019s less Rocky than Leaving Las Vegas, a journey of addiction, first to the adrenaline rush that comes with sanctioned violence\u2014\u201cWhen you win, nothing else in the world matters,\u201d Kerr says early in the film\u2014then a compulsion for pain pills. This is also a story of relationships: a doomed romantic one; a fraught dynamic with a mentor, Mark Coleman, who is also an early-days MMA fighter; a personality reckoning with a sport that is both so intoxicating and so damaging.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Undergirding it all are two existential through lines: When your reason for being is to do something physical, what happens when your body stops cooperating? When you believe you are indomitable, what happens when you experience defeat?<\/p>\n

The Smashing Machine also doubles as a time machine. Set in the late \u201990s, Kerr\u2019s story exists before MMA and the UFC had penetrated the defenses of the mainstream. This was a pre-Dana White, pre-pay-per-view (much less cable; much less cards set at the White House and broadcast on CBS) era, when a lack of rules and regulations was part of the outlaw appeal, and nothing could be said or written about the UFC without inevitably referencing John McCain\u2019s analogy to \u201chuman cockfighting.\u201d MMA was sanctioned in only a few states, and fighters were better off heading to Japan\u2014as Kerr and Coleman did\u2014to participate in PRIDE Fighting Championships events.<\/p>\n

\"Johnson<\/p>\n

The film is set in the late \u201990s, before MMA and the UFC had become part of mainstream sports. | Eric Zachanowich<\/p>\n

The first film directed solo by Benny Safdie<\/a>\u2014who usually tag- teams with his brother, Josh, in films including the insta-classic Uncut Gems\u2014The Smashing Machine is faithful to the source material, the preceding doc and the legacy of Kerr. In addition to Johnson, Emily Blunt costars as Kerr\u2019s complicated love interest. An assortment of familiar MMA figures are featured as well, including former fighter Ryan Bader, who acquits himself well as Coleman.\u00a0<\/p>\n

One sentence review: The film nails it.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The large but also the small details, such as the foggy walk losing fighters must make from the cage to the dressing room\u2009\u2026\u2009and the genuine affection that passes between fighters who, minutes earlier, were beating the stuffing out of each other\u2009\u2026\u2009and the omnipresence of pain. When the film premiered at the Venice Film Festival in September, where Safdie was named best director, the audience reacted as if seeing a brilliant knockout, all open-mouthed oohs and aahs and cheers during a prolonged standing ovation that left the principals in tears.\u00a0<\/p>\n

For all the fine bits of filmmaking and poignant storytelling, this is ultimately a Dwayne Johnson star vehicle<\/a>. Johnson holds on to Kerr\u2019s character and never lets go. Similar in body type and disposition and born within a few years of each other, it\u2019s clear there was a kinship and connection between subject and portrayer.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Johnson<\/p>\n

Johnson (left) and Kerr have a relationship that stretches back to the 1990s, when they trained at the same California gym. | Clay Patrick McBride\/Sports Illustrated<\/p>\n

SI: Why was this the right film at the right time?<\/p>\n

Dwayne Johnson: I felt like there was some real connective tissue with Mark\u2019s life and my own. Sure, today. But in the \u201990s there were a lot of crossings in our worlds. There were a lot of pro wrestlers who then joined PRIDE. A lot of MMA guys came to wrestling. And I was always in awe of Mark.<\/p>\n

As the years went by, we both suffered a lot of losses. We lost a lot of friends to addiction and to suicide\u2014there was a rash in both of our businesses in those late \u201990s, early 2000s. When I watched the [Smashing Machine] documentary years ago, I had just started acting. I felt then, \u201cGod, I would love to play Mark Kerr.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cut to 2019. I [buy] the project. I lock the rights down. We connect with Mark. I speak to Mark, whom I had known 20 years earlier. And it all started to come together. And I met with Benny. We agreed to do it in 2019. And then COVID hit and shut everything down. Mark went his way. Benny went his way. I went my way, trying to figure life out.<\/p>\n

And years later, I realized how personal it was. I realized that I needed to tell this story, because I have a profound respect for Mark and MMA and all the men and women who give it up and leave it all in the cage or in the ring. But in addition to that, I felt that I needed to break free and make this kind of film where I could dive deep and I could test and challenge myself. And I could get really raw and rip myself open, with a costar, who I\u2019ve known and been best friends with for many, many years in Emily Blunt.<\/p>\n

SI: It was that personal?<\/p>\n

DJ: Yes. It\u2019s turned into more than a movie. It represents me, ready to break out of the infrastructure that has surrounded me for a long time, making these big movies\u2014that I\u2019ve loved and they\u2019re fun\u2014but I always felt there\u2019s a voice behind my rib cage telling me, \u201cThere\u2019s more, right? There\u2019s more to do.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Kerr<\/p>\n

Kerr says seeing Johnson in character was an “out-of-body experience.” | Eric Zachanowich<\/p>\n

SI: Mark, how\u2019d he do? Did you recognize yourself?<\/p>\n

Mark Kerr: So the first time I walked on set, we\u2019re in this arena [in Vancouver] and they\u2019re getting ready to do the introduction for the PRIDE Grand Prix. DJ is the last one to come in the ring. Nobody tells me he\u2019s getting prosthetics. Nobody tells me they\u2019re going to do this cauliflower ear. I\u2019m looking in the ring and DJ\u2019s walking up behind me, and I turn around. All I could do is cuss at him. All I could do is just literally look at him and go, \u201cOh my God, dude. F— you.\u201d It was this out-of-body experience.<\/p>\n

My son saw [the film] in New York. He\u2019s almost like whispering on the phone, \u201cDad, he\u2019s got your hand movements, and he\u2019s got your speech pattern, he even walks like you. It was uncanny.\u201d<\/p>\n

DJ: I felt like I had to do this. And this was the great challenge of my life, of my career\u2009\u2026\u2009this was a very physical transformation. This guy\u2019s body is crazy. In his prime, he was 270-275 pounds, just a unicorn of a [body] with fast-twitch fibers. Benny said, \u201cI don\u2019t know how to actually say this to you, but I think you\u2019re going to have to get bigger.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

That\u2019s when I went into a 12-week training camp with MMA coaches and fighters to help the transformation. And [there was] the vocal transformation. Liz Himmelstein was my vocal coach; she helped Emily on Oppenheimer. So she and I just studied Mark\u2019s speech pattern. Mark is this walking contradiction: a beast of a man, but also very soft-spoken, very caring. It was a lot to transform. But I loved every second.<\/p>\n

SI: How much weight did you end up putting on in total?<\/p>\n

DJ: Roughly 30 to 32 pounds, which is a lot of weight. But also I had to be able to move with that weight.<\/p>\n

SI: Mark, what specifically made you nervous before you fought?<\/p>\n

MK: Towards the end, I couldn\u2019t find that switch. When I first started fighting, I had to find something deep in me to flip a switch to inflict that much physical pain on somebody. In fighting, you have to have the ability to take something somebody doesn\u2019t want to give you: their will to win. I\u2019m in the ring to inflict just enough pain and damage on you.<\/p>\n

I watched film of myself walking down to the ring, and I couldn\u2019t recognize my facial expression and my demeanor. It was like this completely different personality and persona. I had to literally transform into a completely different person to get there, to inflict this much damage on a human being. I was like, I just can\u2019t do this anymore.<\/p>\n

DJ: From my vantage point, you realize that there\u2019s the machine, and then there\u2019s the human being within the machine. And you also realize that it\u2019s not too dissimilar to our world of pro wrestling. And that\u2019s what I wanted to access with Mark.<\/p>\n

I wanted to make sure that my delts and my traps looked like his. I felt moderately confident that we could nail the physicality part. But it\u2019s the emotional part that I wanted access to. Even in performative combat, like in pro wrestling, you\u2019ve got the toughest of guys. But in the end, when it\u2019s done, it\u2019s done. And we have this [custom] where we hug and we say, \u201cThank you.\u201d I asked Mark about this. He would demolish these dudes, wreck them. But he\u2019d also want to make sure that they were O.K.<\/p>\n

\"Kerr<\/p>\n

Kerr says the film nailed the small details of his life, from the rooms in his house to Johnson’s overall costume and character. | Eric Zachanowich<\/p>\n

SI: Mark, what other little details did the film get right?\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

MK: Even in preproduction, they\u2019re putting together all the set pieces and costumes. I\u2019d walk into a room, and it would just be screen grabs, pictures of me, pictures of my house, pictures of the clothes I wore. I could see why DJ completely got lost in the total immersion in that environment. I mean, they built four rooms in my house from 25 years ago.<\/p>\n

SI: DJ, what nuance struck you about MMA as you immersed yourself and really saw how the sausage gets made?<\/p>\n

DJ: The humanity of it. I\u2019ve had the honor and privilege of being in performative combat where I can say to my opponent, \u201cTake care of my arm tonight, take care of my knee. I\u2019ll take care of your back. Let\u2019s get through the night, and let\u2019s not get hurt. Let\u2019s get home to our family. Let\u2019s pay our bills.\u201d With this kind of combat, you don\u2019t have that luxury, and your life is on the line. That really moved me.<\/p>\n

\"Johnson<\/p>\n

Johnson and Kerr have developed a “bromance” after many years of friendship and time spent on the film’s set. | Clay Patrick McBride\/Sports Illustrated<\/p>\n

SI: I feel like there was a sub-theme in the film of fatherhood and lineage. I wonder if you guys bonded at all over your fathers, who I know both spent time on the road. And you guys are of a similar age.<\/p>\n

DJ: We bonded over everything, brother.<\/p>\n

MK: Yeah, there’s a shared story there. He and I have talked about [those] relationships, as difficult as it was at times, and all these other complexities. My dad wasn’t a man of many words, and was on the road and doing construction. [Johnson\u2019s father spent years as a touring professional wrestler], a lot of those same parallels. There\u2019s just been these levels of bonding where it’s like, man, we share so much in our experiences.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a lot of respect between us, man. So, yes, if you want to call it a bromance, yes, it is.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n