The Rock transforms for new serious roles

Dwayne Johnson, known to everyone arsenic The Rock, has been wowing audiences for years with blockbusters similar Jumanji, Moana, and the Fast & Furious franchise. But present he's entering a full caller signifier of his career, moving distant from roles that often resembled him. For his latest projects, he's undergone a carnal translation to afloat embody the characters helium plays.

In The Smashing Machine, which hits theaters October 3, Johnson plays erstwhile wrestler and MMA seasoned Mark Kerr. For the role, helium had to deterioration prosthetics that made him hard to recognize, and astatine the petition of manager Benny Safdie, helium had to summation 30 pounds to execute Kerr's physique.

Safdie admits that it wasn't casual asking an histrion known for his impeccable signifier to summation weight. 

"I thought, however bash I inquire Dwayne to enactment connected weight? There's a prime to Mark's muscles that's just, like, much pumped up. It was a agelong process due to the fact that it's not casual to enactment connected that benignant of musculus mass," the manager said, calling Johnson's translation "crazy."

Transformations and caller roles

But that's not the lone alteration successful Johnson's life. After The Smashing Machine, helium and Safdie are besides moving unneurotic connected the task Lizard Music, based connected the publication by Daniel Pinkwater, successful which helium plays a 70-year-old. For the role, Johnson has already mislaid a important magnitude of weight, which has disquieted immoderate of his fans.

The histrion says the crushed for these drastic changes is simply a tendency to afloat "immerse" himself successful his characters. 

"I gained 13 kilograms to play Mark Kerr, and aft that I went backmost to my mean value of astir 113 kilograms. I'm presently losing value due to the fact that I'm playing a 70-year-old," Johnson said. 

"We person clip for it, which is truly nice. There's thing extreme. I can't hold due to the fact that it's a accidental to wholly immerse myself and disappear."

These roles let him to measurement retired of his "comfort zone." 

"I felt acceptable to conscionable interruption retired and interruption everything successful presumption of immoderate expectations oregon infrastructure. It's a caller broadside to explore, but it's been determination each along. The small dependable successful my thorax keeps saying, 'Hey, you tin bash more. There's more,'" Johnson added.