Dwayne Johnson Was ‘Inspired’ By Mark Kerr

The Smashing Machine’s Dwayne Johnson revealed that he was deeply inspired by a specific moment in the career of former MMA fighter Mark Kerr.

Johnson portrays Kerr in The Smashing Machine, as his role has been tipped to secure an Oscar nomination following the premiere at the Venice Film Festival. Johnson recalled Kerr’s fight with Kazuyuki Fujita in the Pride 2000 open-weight grand prix as a moment that left a lasting impact. In the bout, Kerr grew fatigued after landing a series of heavy blows. Fujita, however, showed incredible durability, absorbing the punishment and ultimately winning the fight. According to Johnson, seeing Kerr display such “grit and resolve” in the face of his first official MMA loss was a powerful lesson. 

Johnson Reacts

“And Mark [Kerr] is the one who experienced this loss where he couldn’t move in the ring and he was getting rocked. And what’s so moving about that when you see it in the documentary and then you obviously watch it and you pull it up, his fights on YouTube, is that as Mark is getting rocked in that moment, his eyes are open. He’s with it. And he’s not knocked out. He’s getting his bell rung. He’s getting kneed in the guts and in the rib cage. And then also, but he’s not quitting and he’s not tapping and he’s just there.

“I said to Mark just you and I here. Why couldn’t you move? Why were you… you know I said there’s 30-40,000 people there in Japan. And he goes that’s exactly it DJ. There’s 30-40,000 people there in Japan. They all came to see me. I’m not going to quit. I just could not move my arm. So, the best thing for me to do was just to take it. And I was going to take it until I couldn’t take it anymore or take it until the ref stops it. Obviously, the ref stops. I have chills now thinking as he was telling me that. The man who lived his life so we could all feel it,” Kerr said 

Johnson’s commitment to his role was so intense that the actor almost suffered a real-life knockout. Johnson, 53, revealed that one particular scene left him “weak in the knees” after his scene partner was told to hit him with full force. The incident is a testament to Johnson’s dedication to the role. 

“It felt like when you get rocked by a real fighter multiple times. There’s a moment in the trailer where I’m on my knees in the ring and I look up dazed. That’s real. I got my bell rung. Benny said, ‘Hold on! Stay right there!’ I was seeing three heads of Benny Safdie and 15 heads of Mark Kerr,” Johnson stated