The Rock On ‘The Smashing Machine: I Was So Hungry For An Opportunity To Do Something Raw And Gritty

The Rock opens up about ‘The Smashing Machine’.

Fans are excited to see Rock in the Benny Safdie-led Mark Kerr biopic, which is set to hit theaters in October. The excitement stems from Rock’s reliance on franchise-fare in recent years, as he’s starred in a plethora of ‘Fast And The Furious’ and ‘Jumanji’ movies over the past decade and a half.

Speaking with Vanity Fair for a new interview, The Rock admitted that he was scared of the role.

“It was very real. I had not experienced that in a very, very, very long time, where I was really scared and thinking, I don’t know if I can do this. Can I do this? I realized that maybe these opportunities weren’t coming my way because I was too scared to explore this stuff.”

Rock continued on and said that was “so hungry” for an opportunity that was “raw and gritty”.

“I was so hungry for an opportunity to do something raw and gritty and rip myself open. And all of a sudden, Smashing Machine comes along.”

Later on in the piece, ‘The Final Boss’ was honest about his fears and how these roles can give him the space to explore the stuff he’s experienced in his life.

“After all these years I’ve been making movies, it became so glaring to me. It’s almost like a…” He trails off, trying to find the right words. “There’s a song from George Strait called ‘Where Have I Been All My Life?’ This reminded me of that. Where have I been?” Johnson says. “The thing I was fearing is the thing that actually gives me the greatest peace—a safe place to explore all this stuff that I’ve experienced over the years. I have a place to put it.”

Before hitting theaters, ‘The Smashing Machine’ will premiere at the Venice Film Festival on Monday, September 1.

The Rock recently stated that ‘The Final Boss’ is the greatest heel that wrestling has ever seen. Check out his full comments here.

Special thanks to Vanity Fair for the quote(s) in this article.