Dwayne Johnson got a real taste of what it’s like to be a professional fighter in “The Smashing Machine.” Johnson, who portrays UFC and Pride Fighting Championships veteran Mark Kerr in the movie, revealed that he took a legitimate punch from an MMA fighter while filming.
Johnson executed his own stunt choreography in the film. During one scene, a recreation of Kerr’s 2000 Pride Grand Prix finals fight with Kazuyuki Fujita, The Rock took a legitimate punch that had him seeing stars.
“It felt like when you get rocked by a real fighter multiple times,” Johnson told CBS Sports during a combat sports media roundtable for the film. “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.”
Before production, Safdie told Johnson that he’d “love to never cut away” from the lead actor. From that moment, Johnson knew he’d be getting physical despite having two capable stuntmen on reserve. Most of the film’s fight scenes are filmed from the crowd’s perspective. However, one pivotal scene brings the audience closer to the action. The close-up required Johnson to employ some method acting. Johnson was game, but getting his scene partner, a pro mixed artist, to play ball proved challenging.
“I said, ‘Hey brother, you’re pulling the punches. You need to lay it in and hit me,'” Johnson recalled. “He said, ‘What do you mean?’ I said, ‘Benny isn’t cutting away. This is the end of the movie. You know this really happened to Mark. You have to lay it in.’ I said, ‘Look, just don’t hit me here, you’ll break my jaw. Don’t hit me in the temple, you’ll kill me. But if you can hit me in my cheekbone.’
“He goes, ‘No, no, no. I’m not going to do that.’ I said, ‘I need you to hit me.’ He goes, ‘I respect you. I’m not doing that.’ I asked Benny to come over. Benny said, ‘You have to hit him because I’m not cutting away.’ I grabbed him and said, ‘Please, brother. It’s you and me here. It’s OK.'”
Safdie, who joined Johnson and Kerr at the roundtable, chimed in with an amusing amendment to the story.
“Bas Rutten was listening to this whole thing, and said, ‘Just hit him! He’s just The Rock! Hit him!'”
“He hit me so hard!” Johnson replied. “That’s what you see in the movie. Not only is he hitting me, but I realized watching back that he’s coming down. That was a punch! Dude!”
The film, based on the 2002 documentary “The Smashing Machine: The Life and Times of Extreme Fighter Mark Kerr,” stars Johnson and Emily Blunt, and features several notable MMA personalities. UFC alum and two-division Bellator champion Ryan Bader portrays UFC Hall of Famer Mark Coleman. Undisputed boxing heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk is in the film, and Rutten portrays himself.
“The Smashing Machine” premieres Oct. 3 in the U.S.
