The Rock Got Legitimately Concussed During A Fight Scene In 'The Smashing Machine'
The Rock's long awaited biopic about the life and career of MMA pioneer Mark Kerr is finally out this weekend, and he revealed on Jimmy Fallon last night that one of the concussions he suffers in the film WASN'T actually movie magic!
(Scroll to 9:01 if if doesn't take you there automatically)
According to Dwayne Johnson, when they were filming the final fight scene in the movie, he and director Benny Safdie asked Yoko Hamamura (who was playing Kazuyuki Fujita) to really lay in his punches for the sake of authenticity. It's a pivotal point in the story and documentary, where Mark Kerr is just taking abuse in the ring, and they wanted to show the moment respect by doing it for real - which is kinda insane considering how much The Rock should know about concussions given his time spent in professional wrestling - but hell, he wants that Oscar baby!! And he might get it!!
I was lucky enough to go to an early screening of 'The Smashing Machine' and could pretty much guarantee that The Rock will get a nomination at the very least, because he was absolutely tremendous. He put on 30lbs of muscle for the role, it's the biggest he's ever looked - and also the most unrecognizable he's ever been. It doesn't feel anything like the prototypical 'Dwayne Johnson' character that he plays in 'Jumanji' or 'Jungle Cruise' or 'San Andreas' or the 'Fast & Furious' movies. It just feels like Mark Kerr. And I always thought it was interesting that Johnson had such a passion for this story, considering it's not the flashiest or craziest the sport has to offer, but they absolutely made the best movie they could have given the source material, and it gave me a whole new respect for him as an actor.
It could actually be a year where Best Actor is between Leonardo DiCaprio, Timothee Chalamet, Daniel Day Lewis, Michael B Jordan, and The Rock. That would've been insane to hear a couple years ago, but I could see it!
P.S. If you've never seen the original 'Smashing Machine' documentary, it's tricky but not impossible to find online - and I'd recommend it for any MMA fan out there. It's a super gritty and real look at the life of a fighter in the early days of the sport and it'll only give you a greater appreciation for the movie. Oh, and I've got an interview with MMA legend Ryan Bader who co-starred in the movie coming out this week, so definitely look out for that on all of my channels!