Key points
Dwayne Johnson shared his reaction to not being Oscar-nominated for The Smashing Machine: “I wish it happened.”
The Jumanji star understands the gravity of an Oscar nom: “I always thought it mattered.”
Johnson said that awards season “lit a fire in my spine.”
Dwayne Johnson is reflecting on missing an Oscar nomination.
The Moana star, who received awards buzz last year for his dramatic turn in Benny Safdie‘s The Smashing Machine, discussed his reaction to missing the Best Actor nominations lineup in a recent interview with Esquire.
“It would have been incredible to get nominated for an Oscar,” he said. “I realized very quickly that it’s a rare thing to reach this pinnacle where you’re even having these conversations. And it’s exciting! It would have been amazing. I wish it happened. But it didn’t.”
Johnson recognizes the weight of an Academy Award nomination, and said that his experience during this past awards season has given him new motivation. “In no uncertain terms did I ever think, Oh, that doesn’t matter,” he said. “I always thought it mattered. And it has lit a fire in my spine…which is: Let’s go back to work.”
Dwayne Johnson in ‘The Smashing Machine’
Credit: A24
The Oscar for Best Actor ultimately went to Michael B. Jordan for Sinners. His fellow nominees were Timothée Chalamet for Marty Supreme, Leonardo DiCaprio for One Battle After Another, Ethan Hawke for Blue Moon, and Wagner Moura for The Secret Agent.
Though he didn’t make the Oscar five, Johnson’s turn as MMA fighter Mark Kerr did receive a nomination for Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama at the Golden Globes. That award went to Moura.
Johnson has a few more dramatic projects in the works, including a crime movie set in Hawaii that Martin Scorsese will direct. The Goodfellas filmmaker told Esquire that he greatly admired Johnson’s most recent film.
“Dwayne is remarkable in The Smashing Machine,” Scorsese said. “He and Benny, along with Emily Blunt and Ryan Bader, went deep together. They got into some challenging and uncomfortable territory that really stunned and enlightened me. Dwayne is one of a kind.”
Safdie, who is reteaming with Johnson on his next film Lizard Music, also had high praise for the actor.
“His film knowledge is incredible,” the Uncut Gems director told Esquire. “I can talk about Jimmy Stewart‘s performance in It’s a Wonderful Life and relate it to Mark Kerr, and Dwayne knows exactly what I’m talking about. In the subtle breaths he was taking and the pauses he made — I realized I could ask Dwayne to do anything.”
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In a broader reflection on his career evolution, Johnson explained what motivates him now. “By the time I hit my fifth level — I’m 53 — I was working hard just to find what peace meant,” he said. “Things in my world have become less presentational, less broadcast-y, more ‘I’m going to put in the work, and I’ll keep it as quiet as I can.'”
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