First Look at Biopic “The Smashing Machine” Shows Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson Unrecognizable as MMA Fighter Mark Kerr

Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson looked unrecognizable in the first still from his upcoming film The Smashing Machine, which is A24’s 2025 biopic on retired mixed martial artist Mark Kerr.

At 52, the half-Samoan, quarter-black actor will have a tougher time portraying the half-Irish, half-Puerto Rican wrestler – who was in his 20s and 30s in the late nineties and early aughts when he became a two-time UFC Heavyweight Tournament Champion.

Dwayne was de-aged and transformed by two-time Oscar winner Kazu Hiro, the same prosthetic make-up designer who transformed Bradley Cooper in Maestro (2023), Charlize Theron in Bombshell (2019), and Gary Oldman in Darkest Hour (2017).

Watch Live Sports Streaming!

‘Give the make up team the award now,’ Instagram user @brandondavisbd commented on the image.

Instagram user @blizzchaiii agreed: ‘Yo the makeup team went crazy.’

Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson looked unrecognizable in the first still from his upcoming film The Smashing Machine, which is A24’s 2025 biopic on retired mixed martial artist Mark Kerr 

At 52, the half-Samoan, quarter-black actor will have a tougher time portraying the half-Irish, half-Puerto Rican wrestler (pictured in 1997) – who was in his 20s and 30s in the late nineties and early aughts when he became a two-time UFC Heavyweight Tournament Champion

‘Is that you, Rock? Nice work by the prosthetics and make up team,’ Instagram user @steve_cusumano commented.

Instagram user @caesarpf_ exclaimed: ‘WTFFFF The Rock with haiirrr!’

Mark, now 55, has been helping Johnson – a third-generation WWE wrestler – prepare to portray him more authentically by joining him at his MMA training camp where he’s been ‘a total student of the game, absorbing and learning as much as I can, day by day.’

‘[Kerr] is still a f***ing machine, that can close the distance with scary speed and power,’ the Fast X action star – who boasts 559.8M social media followers – wrote on Tuesday.

‘I’ll forever be grateful to the core for our his invaluable knowledge he’s been gracious enough to pass onto me and especially for the brotherhood we share. Locking up with Mark, and feeling his press and power – it’s no surprise he was an NCAA, UFC & VALE TUDO Heavyweight Champion.

‘That’s the A side to success. The B side tells a whole other story. Thank you everyone for all your incredible support thru this intense process and journey. Production begins filming this week.’

Principal photography officially began Tuesday and the movie will shoot in Vancouver, Los Angeles, New Mexico, and Tokyo.

Dwayne has had five months of training since he signed on to produce and star in The Smashing Machine, which marks the solo feature directorial debut of three-time Independent Spirit Award-winning filmmaker Benny Safdie.

Dwayne was de-aged and transformed by two-time Oscar winner Kazu Hiro (L, pictured in 2022), the same prosthetic make-up designer who transformed Bradley Cooper in Maestro (2023), Charlize Theron in Bombshell (2019), and Gary Oldman in Darkest Hour (2017)

People marveled at his transformation in the Instagram comments, giving high praise to the make-up team

Mark (R), now 55, has been helping Johnson – a third-generation WWE wrestler – prepare to portray him more authentically by joining him at his MMA training camp where he’s been ‘a total student of the game, absorbing and learning as much as I can, day by day’

The Fast X action star – who boasts 559.8M social media followers – wrote on Tuesday: ‘[Kerr] is still a f***ing machine, that can close the distance with scary speed and power’

Dwayne continued: ‘I’ll forever be grateful to the core for our his invaluable knowledge he’s been gracious enough to pass onto me and especially for the brotherhood we share. Locking up with Mark, and feeling his press and power – it’s no surprise he was an NCAA, UFC & VALE TUDO Heavyweight Champion’

Johnson added: ‘That’s the A side to success. The B side tells a whole other story. Thank you everyone for all your incredible support thru this intense process and journey. Production begins filming this week’

Principal photography officially began Tuesday and the movie will shoot in Vancouver, Los Angeles, New Mexico, and Tokyo

Dwayne has had five months of training since he signed on to produce and star in The Smashing Machine, which marks the solo feature directorial debut of three-time Independent Spirit Award-winning filmmaker Benny Safdie

The new still also included a first look at Oscar nominee Emily Blunt (L) – who co-starred with Johnson in Jungle Cruise – as Dawn Staples (R), an Arizona-based recovering alcoholic who wed Mark in Las Vegas during their sometimes violent romance

The Smashing Machine – also starring Lyndsey Gavin, Oleksandr Usyk, and Ryan Bader – is based on John Hyams’s 2002 HBO documentary of the same name, which also captured Kerr’s substance abuse, 1999 hospitalization, and rehab stint on top of his overall career

The new still also included a first look at Oscar nominee Emily Blunt – who co-starred with Johnson in Jungle Cruise – as Dawn Staples, an Arizona-based recovering alcoholic who wed Mark in Las Vegas during their sometimes violent romance.

The Smashing Machine – also starring Lyndsey Gavin, Oleksandr Usyk, and Ryan Bader – is based on John Hyams’s 2002 HBO documentary of the same name, which also captured Kerr’s substance abuse, 1999 hospitalization, and rehab stint on top of his overall career.

But first, the Young Rock co-creator produces and stars as Callum Drift in Jake Kasdan’s $250M-budget Christmas action flick Red One – hitting US/UK theaters November 15 – alongside Chris Evans, JK Simmons, Kiernan Shipka, Lucy Liu, Nick Kroll, and Bonnie Hunt.

Dwayne will then reprise his voiceover role as Maui in David G. Derrick Jr.’s Disney sequel Moana 2, which hits US theaters November 27.