The Rock Comments On Receiving His First Golden Globe Nomination

On Monday, it was announced that Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson had been nominated for Best Performance by a Male Actor (Drama) at the Golden Globes for his portrayal of Mark Kerr in “The Smashing Machine.”

It is The Rock’s first career Golden Globe nomination.

Speaking to Beatrice Verhoeven of The Hollywood Reporter, Rock was asked what the nomination meant to him.

He replied, “A few things. One of them is the importance of listening to the little voice that sits behind your rib cage, that at times whispers to you, and at times pounds on your chest to say that you can do more, and there is more, and it can be scary, and it might be scary because it will require you to step out of a comfort zone, and when things are good, you don’t want to step out of that zone, because it’s going good.

“But there was more: I wanted to really push and challenge myself and chase that challenge. I had something very special to me, which was the story. It’s been a long go with The Smashing Machine: seven years ago is when I first met Benny [Safdie] about this. So it’s been over half a decade to get this going and so, it represents believing in and listening to that little voice, and also doing the work, even when it’s scary, and surrounding yourself with like-minded people who are chasing the challenge as well. That would be Benny, Emily and Kazu [Hiro], who helped with this transformation every day.

“On top of that, I think the nomination represents the fight in everybody, especially with addictions and those demons that you battle. Mark Kerr had it all and lost everything, and then has since become sober. He did overdose twice. Life is good because he’s sober and because he made it. Not everyone is that lucky. That’s the movie that we wanted to make: a nod to those who fight.

“But last week, I thought, “Let me take a tally here.” Over the last years, I’ve lost 15 friends who are all wrestlers and fighters to addiction. Some OD’d, some decided to check out. Life was too hard. It shook me, and then it restabilized me in a way like, “Okay, I’m so happy we made this film.” It is a love letter to those that I just talked to you about. That’s why this nomination means so much.”

The Rock is nominated alongside Joel Edgerton (Train Dreams), Oscar Isaac (Frankenstein), Michael B. Jordan (Sinners), Wagner Moura (The Secret Agent) and Jeremy Allen White (Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere).

The Golden Globes take place on Sunday, January 11.