When The Rock first came to Hollywood from WWE — back when he was really still only known as The Rock, he didn’t start going by Dwayne Johnson until a couple year slater — he shrunk down his massive wrestling physique so he could play slightly more plausible real people in films.
As time went on, Johnson got bigger again — bigger than he ever was back in his pro wrestling days, in fact. And now, to play UFC fighter Mark Kerr, Johnson is maybe the biggest he’s ever been in a movie. He’s huge. His skin looks like it’s fighting a battle with his muscles just to keep them inside his body — and the muscles are winning.
You can see Johnson as Kerr in the first trailer for The Smashing Machine below. Johnson stars as Kerr in a film about his life and the early years of UFC and mixed martial arts. The movie was written and directed by Benny Safdie, one-half of the Safdie brothers duo who made Good Time and Uncut Gems. (The pair previously made all their movies together, but they are each currently working on separate projects; Josh Safdie has his own film coming out this fall as well. In fact, he also has a A24 sports movie — his is about ping pong.)
Watch The Smashing Machine trailer below:
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There}s a new poster for The Smashing Machine as well:
Here is the film’s official synopsis:
The story of legendary mixed martial arts & UFC fighter Mark Kerr.
‘Nuff said, I guess. The Smashing Machine is set to premiere in theaters on October 3.
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