Dwayne Johnson‘s best actor Oscar campaign for “The Smashing Machine” is getting a surprise boost from none other than Christopher Nolan, who recently appeared on “The Director’s Cut” podcast for an interview with “Smashing Machine” director Benny Safdie. The “Oppenheimer” Oscar winner showered Johnson with praise for his performance as MMA fighter Mark Kerr, which Nolan called “heartbreaking.”
“I think it’s an incredible performance,” Nolan added. “I don’t think you’ll see a better performance this year or most other years.”
Nolan and Safdie have a history together as Nolan directed the actor-filmmaker in “Oppenheimer,” which also featured “The Smashing Machine” star Emily Blunt in an Oscar-nominated supporting role. Safdie met Blunt on the “Oppenheimer” set.
“I heard a rumor that when you were supposed to be learning your lines on my set, you were actually canvassing people to be in your movie,” Nolan quipped to Safdie. “I wasn’t aware of that at the time, but it seems to have worked out great for you.”
Nolan added on a more serious note: “Congratulations on the movie. It’s a really remarkable and radical piece of work that will be understood more and more over time. I’m very proud to know you.”
Johnson plays two-time UFC heavyweight champ Kerr in “The Smashing Machine” opposite Blunt as Kerr’s wife, Dawn Staples. The film tracks their volatile relationship amid Kerr’s professional high and lows in MMA, including his substance abuse struggles. Safdie won the best director prize at the Venice Film Festival for the movie, but it has since gone on to struggle at the box office. Its $5.9 million opening marked a career low for Johnson, below his 2010 thriller ‘Faster’ ($8.5 million, not adjusted for inflation). “The Smashing Machine” has so far $10 million domestically on a $50 million production budget.
“In our storytelling world, you can’t control box office results — but what I realized you can control is your performance, and your commitment to completely disappear and go elsewhere. And I will always run to that opportunity,” Johnson said in a statement after the film’s soft opening. “It was my honor to transform in this role for my director, Benny Safdie. Thank you brother for believing in me. Truth is this film has changed my life. With deep gratitude, respect and radical empathy, DJ.”
Listen to Nolan and Safdie’s full conversation on “The Director’s Cut” podcast here.
