It’s proving to be an emotional year at the 2025 Venice Film Festival, and for the first time in his professional acting career, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has arrived on the Lido.
Johnson’s upcoming film “The Smashing Machine” will have its world premiere Monday night in Venice.
The wrestler-turned-actor and his costars arrived in the floating city earlier in the day. They held a panel discussion ahead of the film’s big screening, and Johnson opened up about his significant transformation for his role as UFC fighter Mark Kerr, who struggled with addiction.
“When you’re in Hollywood, as we all know, and it has become about box office, and you chase the box office and the box office in our business that we know is very loud, and it can be very resounding, and it can push you into a category and into a corner. And this is your lane and this is what you do, and this is what people want you to be. And this is what Hollywood wants you to be. And I understood that. And I made those movies and I liked them. And they were fun and some made – some were really good and did well and some not so good,” he explained. “But I think what I did realize is that, the most important thing, I just had this burning desire and this, this voice that was saying, well, again, what if? But what if there is more, what if I can? And a lot of times it’s harder for us to, or at least for me, sometimes to know what you’re capable of when you’ve been pigeonholed into something.”
Director Benny Safdie, from left, Emily Blunt and Dwayne Johnson arrive at the 82nd edition of the Venice Film Festival in Venice, Italy, on Sept. 1, 2025. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP)
Johnson then explained how his co-star Emily Blunt, who plays Kerr’s former wife Dawn Staples.
“From the beginning, from the time we worked on ‘Jungle Cruise’ together she really encouraged and believed in me and said, ‘You know, there’s a place that you can put all this stuff that you have gone through as a kid.’ And I’m very close with Emily and shared a lot of everything that I’ve gone through. And she goes, ‘And that place is what you love to do, which is acting, and you have me, let’s do this together.’ And then Benny [Safdie] was on the other side of that saying, ‘Hey, I got you both and let’s go for it.’ That transformation could not have happened without my best friend being there to support and encourage me, just saying, ‘You can do it.’ And also, ‘I got you.’”
Johnson is already sparking Oscar buzz for his transformation in Safdie’s film. Venice has launched several recent best actor Oscar winners, including Brendan Fraser and Adrien Brody.
“The Smashing Machine” hits theaters Oct. 3.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
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