UFC veteran Mark Kerr’s biopic, “The Smashing Machine,” was clearly a passion project for Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. Unfortunately for Johnson, the film failed to recoup its budget and flopped at the box office, despite having favorable reviews and Golden Globe Award nominations for both Johnson and his costar, Emily Blunt.
However, while the biopic fell short of the mark, there was a special accolade he aimed for with “The Smashing Machine” that personally disappointed him.
“It would have been incredible to get nominated for an Oscar,” Johnson told Esquire. “I realized very quickly that it’s a rare thing to reach this pinnacle where you’re even having these conversations,” he expressed.
“I wish it happened. But it didn’t,” he continued. “But in no uncertain terms did I ever think, ‘Oh, that doesn’t matter.’ I always thought it mattered. And it has lit a fire in my spine, which is, ‘Let’s go back to work.'”
Unlike Johnson’s other films to date, “The Smashing Machine” was a test of his dramatic abilities. While speaking to IMDb, he admitted that he had originally hesitated to get involved with the project, but it ultimately became dear to him as production went on. The film ended up receiving an Academy Award nomination for its makeup team.
Based on the comments from both interviews, Johnson will likely aim to get another Oscar-worthy project off the ground at some stage. The TKO board member is in early production of a Hawaiian crime drama helmed by Academy Award winner Martin Scorsese.
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