It looks like Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson may finally be headed where few would have predicted back in his WWE days: the Oscars. Yep. You read that right. Overnight at the Venice Film Festival, Johnson brought the house down with his role as former UFC fighter Mark Kerr in The Smashing Machine – a film directed by Benny Safdie and produced by A24.
And for Johnson, who has spent years proving himself at the box office, this might be the role that finally proves he’s more than a global superstar — he’s an actor capable of taking home Hollywood’s top prize.
What's the buzz about?
Videos from the film's premiere at Venice this week show him earning a thunderous 15-minute standing ovation — one of the longest of the festival. Johnson, apparently overwhelmed by the response, broke down in tears, hugging co-star Emily Blunt and Safdie as the audience refused to stop cheering. For an actor best known for franchise blockbusters and one-liners, this feels like a career-defining moment.
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The night wasn’t without its lighter moments. Before the screening, a fan in the crowd shouted Johnson’s old WWE catchphrase, “Can you smell what The Rock is cooking?” Johnson laughed, but by the end of the night, the joke had transformed into something symbolic: audiences were smelling Oscar buzz.
The comparison to Brendan Fraser’s emotional comeback in The Whale is already being made, and not without reason. Both performances strip away the larger-than-life personas of beloved actors, revealing something fragile and deeply human underneath. Kerr himself was in attendance and reportedly wept during the screening – a pretty powerful endorsement.
What makes this performance different?
For starters, Johnson is almost unrecognisable. With heavy prosthetics and a weighty transformation, he vanishes into Kerr – a 90s MMA legend whose success inside the ring was shadowed by addiction and personal demons. It’s the kind of role that demands vulnerability, and Johnson delivers with surprising depth.
Who else is in the film?
Emily Blunt, playing Kerr’s girlfriend Dawn Staples, matches him beat for beat, grounding the story. The two already proved their chemistry in Disney’s Jungle Cruise, but here the stakes — and emotions — are (obviously) much higher. Safdie, taking on his first solo directing project after Uncut Gems and Good Time, clearly knew how to push both actors into raw, uncomfortable territory. The result? A sports biopic that feels as bruising as it is humane.
When is the film being released?
The Smashing Machine will be released in cinemas across Australia on Thursday 2 October 2025.
