Ryan Bader makes his acting debut in The Smashing Machine, but he says working with stars like The Rock took away a lot of the pressure he felt on set.
Bader spoke with WrestleZone Managing Editor Bill Pritchard ahead of the film’s nationwide opening on October 3. Bader, a mixed martial arts star who has competed for UFC and Bellator, plays UFC legend Mark Coleman in the film. His role as Coleman sees him spend much of the film alongside The Rock’s Mark Kerr, and Bader praised the relationship they built on the set.
“It was great. This was my first acting gig ever, right? And then I get thrown in with two of the biggest movie stars in the world, with Emily Blunt and The Rock—DJ. One thing I noticed was when he came on set, he was Mark Kerr, with the prosthetics, the clothes, everything. That helped alleviate some of the pressure for me being on set for the first time.
“I was observing a lot—watching him and Emily and their process, how they prepare, what they do before scenes. That helped me a lot,” Bader said. “He was great to me. There were a few times where we’d play off each other. If I slipped up, he’d pick it up, and vice versa. We had a good working relationship.”
Ryan Bader on re-learning to fight on film
The Smashing Machine is based on the 2022 documentary that profiled a turbulent period in Mark Kerr’s life. Just like the documentary, the new movie portrays the good and the bad. As Bader pointed out, the documentary isn’t a typical happy-ending sports story, and the movie is a raw and gritty version of that.
The Rock told Variety that director Benny Safdie didn’t want to use his stunt double for the fight scenes, opting to shoot it without cuts in a cinéma vérité style. Bader says in contrast, he actually had to learn how to lighten up on some fight sequences. Bader started two weeks early just to practice with the stunt coordinator, but said he and some of the fighters who played Coleman’s opponents in the movie had an “agreement” to make it look as real as possible.
“Obviously, I have the MMA background, but I had to relearn from the ground up. You can’t really hit these guys. We did two straight weeks before filming anything,” Bader said. “The stunt coordinator was awesome. They told us some MMA fighters are really good at this, and some aren’t. The ones who are good can put their ego aside and listen. That was me—I wanted to make it look real, but I understood the process.
“I also worked with a few fighters who played Coleman’s opponents. We made a pact: ‘Hey, you can give me a little bit to make it look real.’ Some of those punches on the ground? I was really giving it to them a bit.”
Ryan Bader highlights what he hopes viewers take away from The Smashing Machine
Mark Kerr is also featured in the film and has participated in a lot of the marketing of the project. Bader says Kerr deserves the spotlight now and hopes he is enjoying it.
The Smashing Machine is Mark Kerr’s story, but it’s also a way to show how much the sport of mixed martial arts has evolved. Bader hopes that the MMA community is proud of the movie, but also hopes it serves as a message of inspiration for those who need it.
“I hope it helps people going through addiction or tough relationships. There is light at the end of the tunnel. If you take the steps, you can get out,” he noted. “Look at Kerr—he’s sober seven years now. He never would’ve thought The Rock would play him in a movie 20-plus years later. You never know what’s going to happen.
“It’s raw and gritty, not just another sports movie. People need to remember it’s a true story, based very closely on the documentary.”
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