Dwayne Johnson is leaving his action-hero persona behind for something far more demanding — a raw dramatic turn in Benny Safdie’s The Smashing Machine. The film premiered at the Venice Film Festival on Monday, immediately igniting speculation that Johnson could be headed for his first serious run at Oscar glory.
A Career Transformation
As we explored in our earlier coverage of Johnson’s pivot away from blockbusters, the actor has spoken about his “burning desire” to move beyond box office categories. The Smashing Machine delivers on that promise, casting Johnson as two-time UFC heavyweight tournament champion Mark Kerr.
Kerr’s career dominance was shadowed by harrowing personal struggles, including addiction to opioids and painkillers and multiple overdoses. The role is a sharp departure from Johnson’s work in franchises like Jumanji, Moana, and Fast & Furious. Emily Blunt co-stars as Kerr’s wife Dawn Staples, marking her second collaboration with Johnson after Jungle Cruise.
Early Praise and Oscar Speculation
Venice artistic director Alberto Barbera praised Johnson as “absolutely amazing” in the role and suggested both Johnson and Blunt could be strong Oscar contenders next year. The Venice festival has often been a launchpad for awards-season frontrunners, with recent examples including Brendan Fraser’s The Whale and Adrien Brody’s The Brutalist — both also backed by A24, the distributor of The Smashing Machine.
Safdie, best known for co-directing Uncut Gems with his brother Josh, described the project as a study of identity and fragility hidden beneath a violent persona. “We wanted this movie to exist as a memory for everyone who watches it,” he said, calling the title “a perfect onomatopoeia for something visual, conjuring images of domination and destruction with ease.”
The Festival Context
The Smashing Machine is competing alongside Frankenstein, Bugonia, The Voice of Hind Rajab, La Grazia, and No Other Choice in this year’s Venice lineup. Winners will be announced on 6 September.
For Johnson, the film could mark the most important career reinvention since his shift from WWE to Hollywood. Whether it translates into Academy recognition remains to be seen, but the early buzz suggests that “The Rock” is finally being discussed in the same breath as Oscar contenders.
The Smashing Machine opens in North American cinemas on 3 October 2025.