University of Miami alumnus Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, once a defensive tackle for the Hurricanes football team from 1991 to 1994, returns to the spotlight in a role unlike anything he’s done before.
Known more for blockbuster action and charismatic charm than for serious drama, Johnson surprises audiences with a raw, transformative performance in “The Smashing Machine,” directed and written by Benny Safdie.
The film is a gripping biopic centered on MMA pioneer Mark Kerr, chronicling his rise and struggles between 1997 and 2000, years that defined the brutal and unregulated early days of mixed martial arts.
Safdie’s direction gives the film an almost documentary-like authenticity, immersing viewers in the sweat, pain and chaos of the sport’s infancy. The camerawork feels intimate, as if the audience is a fly on the wall, witnessing both the triumphs and the unraveling of a man driven by obsession and fear.
Johnson is visually unrecognizable. Having gained more than 30 pounds of muscle for the role, he reportedly trained with real MMA coaches and fighters to accurately capture Kerr’s fighting style and physical toll.
The result is staggering. Each fight scene lands with a realism rarely seen in sports films. More impressive, however, is Johnson’s emotional depth.
He portrays Kerr not as a superhero but as a man grappling with addiction, fame, and identity, offering a vulnerability we’ve never seen from him before.
“The Smashing Machine” doesn’t just revisit the dawn of MMA, it peels back the facade of masculinity and fame to reveal the cost of both.
For Johnson, a former professional wrestler who built his career on strength and spectacle, this performance marks a new chapter: one of restraint, risk, and remarkable growth as an actor.
Johnson doesn’t just play Mark Kerr, he becomes him.