*Dwayne Johnson skilled a turbulent childhood, transferring from North Carolina to Connecticut whereas navigating a family outlined by battle.
Per Selection, reflecting on his upbringing, Johnson recalled, “My very own mother and pa had an explosive and volcanic relationship. My dad was a professional wrestler at a time when it was the Wild West… He struggled along with his addictions and centered on his profession and himself, whereas my mother was at dwelling, elevating me. She had to surrender her personal desires and assist the person that she loves. All she wished was to be seen, and he or she was by no means seen. And I grew up watching that sort of decline in a relationship when a person battles his personal demons. I watched their fights. I heard their fights, which is even worse.”
Johnson channeled that ache into tough-guy roles with out confronting it instantly. “For years, I didn’t know that would truly function a touchdown place for me to have the ability to put all this trauma you undergo into my work,” he mentioned. “I used to be most likely scared to go there.”
His strategy shifted in 2017 when he pursued the life rights of MMA fighter Mark Kerr, whose struggles with habit restricted his UFC profession. That effort culminated in A24’s “The Smashing Machine,” the place Johnson immerses himself in a job that required in depth prosthetics, rendering him practically unrecognizable.
Johnson’s efficiency as Kerr premiered on the Venice Movie Competition in September 2025, the place the 53-year-old actor was overcome with emotion throughout a 15-minute standing ovation, one of many longest on the 82nd competition. Directed by Benny Safdie, the movie options Emily Blunt as Kerr’s girlfriend Daybreak Staples, and even Kerr was moved to tears throughout the screening. Johnson famous, “I’m at a degree in my profession the place I wish to push myself in ways in which I’ve not pushed myself up to now… tales which might be uncooked and actual; characters which might be genuine and at instances uncomfortable and arresting.”
“The Smashing Machine” has positioned Johnson as a possible Oscar contender and earned him a Golden Globe nomination. He may even obtain the Leisure Icon Award on the eighth American Black Movie Competition Honors on Feb. 16, the place trade figures akin to Jennifer Hudson, Salli Richardson-Whitfield, and Damson Idris may even be acknowledged.
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