The Smashing Machine: Dwayne Johnson’s Performance Beyond The Rock Persona | popgeeks.com
The Smashing Machine: Dwayne Johnson’s Most Unrecognizable Role Yet A24’s MMA biopic explores the rise and collapse of Mark Kerr — and may be Johnson’s most daring turn to date. A24’s The Smashing Machine tells the story of Mark Kerr, a two-time UFC Heavyweight Tournament Champion and one of the most intimidating fighters of MMA’s early years. Nicknamed “The Smashing Machine” for his relentless ground-and-pound style, Kerr dominated opponents in the cage — but privately, he was battling an addiction to painkillers, deep anxiety, and emotional isolation. The film explores this tension between public glory and private pain, casting Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson in the title role.
This is not the version of Johnson audiences are used to. Over the years, he’s become synonymous with bombastic heroes — musclebound, bulletproof, and morally unshakable. In nearly every film, whether he plays a cop, a demigod, or a thief with a heart of gold, he still feels like “The Rock.” But in The Smashing Machine, that persona is stripped away. Johnson is physically transformed using prosthetics and heavy makeup, designed to mimic Kerr’s pale complexion, wider facial structure, and distinct look. On a visual level alone, he’s nearly unrecognizable.
But the real shift comes not from the makeup — it’s from what Johnson does beneath it. For the first time in his acting career, Johnson fully inhabits another person’s energy. Kerr was known for his soft-spoken, almost shy personality — a sharp contrast to his brutal in-ring persona. Johnson captures this with surprising nuance: his voice is lower, more hesitant, his physicality slower and more withdrawn. He carries the weight of addiction and emotional fragility in his posture. It’s not a perfect imitation, but it’s a deeply committed one — and it marks a rare moment where Johnson disappears into a character rather than playing a variation of himself.
The trailer for The Smashing Machine further emphasizes the film’s tragic undertones. It opens with scenes of Kerr’s early days, training in wrestling and breaking into the then-uncharted world of MMA. All of it plays under Frank Sinatra’s “My Way,” a song often associated with endings, funerals, and men reflecting on lives lived in pain or solitude. The choice isn’t just artistic — it’s thematic. The trailer doesn’t build toward triumph; it hints at a fall. The tone is elegiac, not heroic.
Still, the casting and presentation could prove polarizing. Johnson, whose background is African Canadian and Samoan, is portraying a real-life man of Irish and Puerto Rican descent. Through prosthetics, makeup, and styling, the production has altered Johnson’s appearance significantly to resemble Kerr — a white-presenting man. While this isn’t likely to spark the same level of debate as racially insensitive casting from Hollywood’s past, it does enter a complicated visual space. The degree of transformation may alienate some viewers, especially those sensitive to how race, ethnicity, and appearance intersect on screen. It’s not a question of representation — white men are not a marginalized group — but of how far a film should go in reshaping a performer’s identity to match a real one.
Emily Blunt plays a key role as Dawn Staples, Kerr’s then-wife and longtime supporter. This marks her first reunion with Johnson since Jungle Cruise, and her performance appears grounded and human, portraying a woman watching the man she loves unravel in slow motion. Blunt adds emotional texture to the story, showing what addiction and self-destruction look like from the outside — from the perspective of someone who can’t fight back.
The Smashing Machine isn’t just another biopic about sports glory. It’s a study in contradiction: power and fragility, violence and gentleness, fame and loneliness. It avoids the usual “rise and redemption” arc, opting instead for something more honest and haunting — a look at how greatness can be both a blessing and a slow form of ruin. For Johnson, the film may mark a turning point in his career, not just because he’s unrecognizable on the outside, but because he’s finally let go of the brand that made him famous.
The Smashing Machine releases on April 29, and it may just be the first time audiences walk away talking about Dwayne Johnson the actor — not The Rock.
