Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson has said he felt 'pigeon-holed' into blockbuster action movies and was 'scared to go deep and intense and raw' until his role in the wrestling biopic The Smashing Machine.
The 53-year-old actor, one of Hollywood's highest-paid stars, plays UFC champion Mark Kerr in Benny Safdie's film, which premiered at the Venice Film Festival on Monday. Johnson said he had long wanted to break out of the blockbuster formula, which he said had become 'about box office'.
'You chase the box office, and the box office can be very loud and it can become very resounding and it can push you into a category and into a corner,' Johnson said at a press conference. He acknowledged his roles in films like Jumanji, Red One and the Fast and Furious series were 'fun', but added that 'some were really good and did well, and some not so good'.
Johnson said he had a 'burning desire' to explore more, and that it took people he loved and respected, like co-star Emily Blunt and director Safdie, to show him he could. Blunt, who previously worked with Johnson on Jungle Cruise, described watching him become Kerr as 'spooky' and 'one of the most extraordinary things'.
Johnson reportedly became emotional after the film received a 15-minute standing ovation. His performance has drawn rave reviews, with The Independent's Geoffrey Macnab calling it 'a performance of immense pathos, intensity and depth' that looks bound to win awards recognition.
