Italy’s Venice— Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has been one of Hollywood’s most dependable box-office stars for more than 20 years. He’s a larger-than-life action star who could carry a blockbuster franchise on his own. But at the Venice Film Festival, Johnson showed a different side of himself, both in terms of his looks and his work. He told reporters that he has a “burning desire” to move on from the action genre and that Hollywood has “pigeonholed” him into a specific, blockbuster-driven lane.
Johnson’s comments come as he gets great reviews and Oscar buzz for his role as mixed martial arts (MMA) pioneer Mark Kerr in the new A24 biopic The Smashing Machine. The actor is almost unrecognizable in the role because he lost 60 pounds for the part. Benny Safdie directed the movie.
“Box office was everything in Hollywood, and you chased the box office,” Johnson said at a press conference. “And the box office in our business is very loud. It can put you in a corner and say, ‘This is your lane, this is what you do, and this is what people want you to be and this is what Hollywood wants you to be.'”
The actor said he “understood that” and has built a career on starring in hit movies that people love, like the Fast & Furious and Jumanji series. He said that some of these movies were “really good and did well,” but others were “not so good.”
He said that this realization made him think about himself for a while. “I looked around a few years ago and started to wonder, ‘Am I living my dream or someone else’s?'” He said that his most recent project, The Smashing Machine, let him explore a part of himself that he had been “scared to go” to before. He called this part “raw, deep, and intense.” His very emotional reaction to the film’s 15-minute standing ovation in Venice made it clear how important the role was to him.
Most of the movies Johnson has made are action, adventure, and family comedies. He has gotten great reviews for his roles in movies like Moana and Fighting with My Family, but his new dramatic role is being called a career-defining performance. The change is not just creative; it’s also physical. Johnson’s leaner body for the movie has become a topic of conversation, with fans online jokingly calling him “The Pebble.”
Johnson made it clear that he won’t stop making big-budget blockbusters, but his comments show that he is entering a new phase of his career that is more focused on art. Many people have been waiting for this move, and if early reviews are any indication, Dwayne Johnson is proving that he can do more than just play a muscle-bound hero. He’s ready to take on the hardest role of all: a serious dramatic actor.