As an actor, Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson (Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbes & Shaw) has been known for his numerous turns at comedy, action thrillers and family friendly films, but he is about to take his first dramatic role as UFC and MMA champ Mark Kerr in a biopic about one of the world’s best fighters. Johnson made the announcement as the special guest for UFC 244 at New York’s Madison Square Garden.
Kerr, who has gone by the nicknames The Smashing Machine, The Titan and The Specimen, is a two-time UFC heavyweight champion. Throughout his MMA career he was known for his ability to end fights very quickly, forcing some tournaments to give him handicaps so he wouldn’t be able to use his usual moves and make the fights last longer. In his personal life, he also struggled with an addiction to painkillers, a fact that was further explored in HBO’s 2002 documentary The Smashing Machine.
“Mark Kerr’s story is such an incredible story,” Johnson told fans at UFC 244. “Like all of us, and like a lot of these fighters, he battled these demons — these demons of addiction, these demons of mental health, these demons of getting out and the pressure of fighting in front of 50,000 people and what that does to somebody. Here’s a guy who has gone through it all, hit rock bottom, but the best part about Mark Kerr is that, like all of us in this room and all these fighters, these warriors, is that everyday, we get up and we want to do a little bit better tomorrow than we did today. He’s overwhelmed that this is happening, and I love that he trusts me with his life and with his story.”
Johnson will produce the film through his and Dany Garcia’s Seven Bucks Productions alongside Hiram Garcia and Beau Flynn.
Originally published November 2, 2019. Updated November 4, 2019.
