The moment is here: The Rock has arrived on the Lido.
At a 2025 Venice Film Festival packed with cross-generational star power — from George Clooney, Julia Roberts and Jude Law to Jacob Elordi, Emma Stone and Ayo Edebiri — Dwayne Johnson‘s arrival Monday for the world premiere of The Smashing Machine nonetheless made for a show-stopping moment.
“This transformation was something I was really hungry to do,” Johnson said of his uncharacteristic starring turn in Bennie Safdie’s visceral drama. “I had been very fortunate to have the career that I’ve had over the years and to make the films that I’ve made, but there was just a voice inside of me, a little voice that said, ‘Well, what if I could do more — I want to do more and what does that look like?’”
The Smashing Machine represents a daring leap from the top ropes for the actor, one of the biggest movie stars in the world, known for blockbusters and spectacle rather than stripped-down, emotionally driven prestige cinema. Anticipation for The Smashing Machine has been fervid amid Johnson’s legions of action fans and film buffs alike, while awards analysts are poised to assess the action star’s dramatic chops for Oscar potential. The drama was made by indie tastemakers A24 for $40 million, a fraction of the tentpole mega-budgets usually assembled around the action hero.
Written and directed by Benny Safdie, The Smashing Machine stars Johnson as Mark Kerr, the legendary two-time UFC heavyweight champion and MMA icon. The story follows Kerr’s meteoric rise in the no-holds-barred era of 1990s MMA and the personal demons he battled outside the ring – including a harrowing struggle with painkiller addiction. It’s inspired by the real Kerr’s career (chronicled in a 2002 HBO documentary of the same name) and delves into his pain, addiction and struggle for redemption. Emily Blunt stars as Kerr’s wife, Dawn Staples, bringing new emotional layers to the chemistry she established with Johnson in the Disney tentpole, Jungle Cruise. Blunt is close friends with the action actor in real life and reportedly played a pivotal role in bringing The Smashing Machine‘s director and star together after meeting and connecting with Safdie on the set of Oppenheimer, in which they co-starred.
Johnson grew emotional as he discussed Kerr’s personal struggle, which he was entrusted to represent on screen. Kerr was sitting near the front of the crowd at the Venice press conference and became visibly moved during many of Johnson’s statements.
“Mark was the greatest fighter in the world at one point, but this film is not even really about fighting — it’s a love story,” Johnson said, growing teary-eyed. “It’s a love story about Mark and Dawn in this relationship, and it’s a love story about Mark and the love that he had for the thing that he did — his struggle with trying to deliver [in the ring], his challenges and his overcoming. As you know, Mark OD’d twice, and he’s lucky to be alive — and that’s part of why this story is so special.”
Director Benny Safdie, actress Emily Blunt and star Dwayne Johnson arrive by boat at the 82nd Venice International Film Festival.
The Smashing Machine is Benny Safdie’s first feature effort without his brother, Josh Safdie, with whom he’s made a string of cult favorite thrillers, such as Good Time (2017), starring Robert Pattinson, and Uncut Gems (2019), with Adam Sandler. (He also co-created 2023’s auteurist TV series The Curse with Nathan Fielder.)
Johnson regularly referred to Blunt as his “best friend,” and highlighted how instrumental she was in helping him make this dramatic turn in his career.
“From the time we worked on Jungle Cruise together, she really encouraged and believed in me and said, ‘You know, there’s a place that you can put all the stuff that you have gone through as a kid,’ he explained. “I’ve been very close with Emily and shared a lot of everything that I’ve gone through, and she said, ‘That place is what you love to do, which is acting — and you have me — so let’s do this together.’ And then Benny was on the other side of that, saying, ‘Hey, I got you both, and let’s go for it.’ So that transformation could not have happened without my best friend being there to support and encourage me.”
Johnson noted how the box office “can be very loud” and push an actor “into a corner” where the industry says, “this is your lane” and “this is what people want you to do.”
“I understood that,” Johnson went on, “so I made those movies, and I liked them — they were fun. Some were really good and did well, and some not so good…”
He added: “A lot of times it’s harder for us — or at least for me sometimes — to know what you’re capable of when you’ve been pigeon-holed … And sometimes it takes people who you love and you respect, like Emily and Benny, to say you can.”
Heading into Venice, Safdie described his intentions for the film in an official director’s statement, writing, “The Smashing Machine: a perfect onomatopoeia for something visual, conjuring images of domination and destruction with ease. Mark Kerr truly was The Smashing Machine. His strength translated out of the ring as well because he had a unique ability to try and explain his emotions. … Dwayne, Emily and I kept thought “what is it like to really be Mark Kerr, what is it like to really be Dawn Staples?” We wanted to empathise with these characters in a way that felt like our own feelings. I ended up calling this a kind of Radical Empathy. First, because empathy should be cool, and second, because I wanted this movie to exist as a memory for everyone who watches it.”
A24 will release The Smashing Machine in U.S. cinemas on Oct. 3. The studio is throwing a lavish party at a palazzo in Venice on Monday night to celebrate the film’s world premiere, with Safdie, Johnson, Blunt at the real-life Mark Kerr also expected to attend.
