Dwayne Johnson on being pressured to do roles, and how 'The Smashing Machine' challenged him in every way

Dwayne Johnson recently opened up about his desire to take on different roles, his latest projects, the challenges he has faced, and how everything has been so far in his career. The actor delves deep into how he's often categorized in a certain way and how his latest film, 'Smashing Machine,' brought forth a transforming change for him.

Dwayne Johnson opens up about being 'pigeonholed'

'The Rock' has been through a lot, and his career has spanned across a lot of successful projects. While in conversation with the BBC at the Venice Film Festival, the famed actor broke down his role in his latest film and even shared how he wishes to do more challenging roles now.


He shared that oftentimes people in the industry label him as a 'blockbuster star,' which has proven to be a limitation for him in terms of venturing into unknown and more challenging genres. 'The Smashing Machine' presented this very opportunity to the actor, which he took wholeheartedly. He shared, "I've been scared to go deep and intense and raw until now, until I had this opportunity to do this."

While delving into what made him say yes to such a role, Johnson shared how Hollywood is mainly about "chasing the box office," which can often times be limiting and "push you into a corner and category—'This is your lane, this is what you do, and this is what people want you to be, and this is what Hollywood wants you to be.'"

While he agrees that he openly did such roles and even enjoyed doing them, there was always a "burning desire" in him to try more and do more with his career and with his talent.

He shared, "Sometimes it's hard to know what you're capable of when you've been pigeonholed into something. It's harder to know, 'Wait, can I do that? I feel like I can't. And sometimes it takes people who you love and respect to say, "You can."

About Dwayne Johnson's 'The Smashing Machine'

The film revolves around the story of Mark Kerr, a reigning legendary UFC legend. It explores the fighter's life and career in the championship in the early 1990s when the sport was not even prominent enough.

Dwayne Johnson transforms completely into Kerr's goal, while Emily Blunt, his co-star from the hit film 'The Jungle Cruise,' plays the role of his girlfriend, Dawn Staples.

The film, rather than focusing on Kerr's career as a fighter, takes viewers on the journey into who he was outside of UFC. It explores his softer, more caring nature and what went into prepping for his fights, as well as his struggle with substance abuse.