The Smashing Machine' Cast Share the Hardest Part of Their Character Transformations

Winning is the best feeling there is. It's 40,000 people and they're cheering you on. There's no other high like it in the world. Hello and welcome to the Fandango Big Ticket Interview. I am Jacqueline. I'm here with the cast and filmmakers of A24's The Smashing Machine. Hello everyone. I'm so excited for folks to see this movie. We are now tickets are on sale. They can head over to Fandango to get them. But Benny, I want to start with you because this trio is such an incredible trio right here. I know. I feel like I'm just blessed to be here. But I'd be curious to talk to you about the fact that as you wrote, edited, directed, and produced this film, what was that moment for you on set when you looked at this trio and said, wow. We were just talking about this. I was actually always like sitting on the floor. You know, I was always in the scene. I wanted to be as close to them as possible just because I felt really connected. You know, we really were just getting along. We shared everything. We were just trying to explore it. So I was like as close as I could possibly be without being, you know, blocking the shot. You were pretty sleuthy. I was very. I mean, you were there. I was sneaky. It was very communal. You'd be on the floor in the corner. Yeah. You'd just see Benny on the floor. And then at some point, everybody else just like kind of sat on the floor. I think that was maybe the first, our camera test. We did a camera test and it really just, we tried to do a lot there. And just to try and get into character and just be them. You know, no stakes, no nothing. And that was kind of the thing I really, once that happened, I thought, this is just going to be an awesome experience together. We had done a lot of work before, talking, airing out our own kind of brains just to. Therapy. Yeah, basically like group therapy sessions where it was like, okay, now we'll be comfortable doing this again, you know? Yeah. Speaking of doing this again, this is not the first collaboration between you two. You were my favorite peanut butter and jelly like combination. I'm so happy whenever I get to see it. I thought you were going to say peanut butter vanillas. No, I'm a PB&J girl. Shout out to the Uncrustables. Anyway, no, but for you two, I think it's more than that. I think when I see y'all on screen, I can just tell that not only were you the two perfect people to play these characters on screen together, but y'all are having so much fun, even in the darkest moments of this. I'd love for you to talk about your collaboration and doing like a very different flavor than what y'all have done before. And Emily, I'll start with you. I mean, I think we we'd always been wanting to find something else to do together. I think I never imagined it would be truly something like this, which is like the antithesis of what we had been through before as an onscreen couple. And I think, though, working with him in this way with such a complex volcanic relationship and one that really defied doing a movie version of a relationship, I think all of that was fueled by innate sort of friendship. And there's a lot of nuance when you know someone that well. And I think all of that was able to kind of funnel into it because Benny shoots so this reality, spontaneity. And so I think anything, any rapport we naturally had, any trust we naturally had just kind of made its way onto the screen. And it was such a joy, really. And a joy to watch. Thank you. I'd say, too, as well, I feel like I feel like there was two things we really needed, Emily and I, because we went, as you know, you've seen the film. We go intense and deep and raw. You need to have love and trust. And in that love and trust, it allows for vulnerability. It allows like we can go anywhere now. So that's the first thing I think we needed, her and I. And then the other thing we needed is Benny, who created this place and space for us on set. Every day that is safe. I got you guys. I know where you guys are going to go. And I got you. And I'm here. On the floor. Yes, on the floor. And I think it's a combination we're going to see again pretty soon. Like we've already talked about it. I love it. Anyway, we should. Lizard music. We'll be back for that big ticket when it comes out. We'll talk a little about it. But I'm curious for the two of you, do you have a favorite thing that y'all got to do either together or like just what you're going to hold precious about this experience for the two of you together? I mean, honestly, seeing all that night at Venice and the emotions like that's when I'll hold precious. I felt like I was in the middle of a moment that was too intimate, you know, to be with y'all in that moment of like that rapturous reception. And I think I think that was a wild night. It was amazing. Yeah. So it rocked all of us because I think, you know, we were talking about it on the flight over that there's some movies that you love and that you're proud to be in. And there's some that kind of hold your beating heart. And this is really we were such a family and it's precious to you. And then it's very scary when you put it out there. It's nerve wracking. And for it to have received that reception was just mind blowing. What really shook me with a few things like, you know, we really don't know how people are going to respond to it because you just never know. And then that reaction rocked us. And his reaction. Yes. Floored us. Oh, my God. Too much. I couldn't handle it. Yeah. I'll never forget your hands going up to your face. And I was like, oh, my God, it was so sweet. So then I was the whole thing just overwhelmed me. And then I covered my face and then I'm like, oh, my God. And then I just kind of like bent over because I didn't know what else to do. I'm like, I got to just take a moment to some. I went somewhere, you know, and it really was. It was just kind of because it's like we put a lot of ourselves into the movie. You know, we really tried to tell our story through the characters and really because we were trying to do justice to them. And the best way that I thought to do that is to be truthful about yourself. And then through that, you can kind of really understand the care we had for Mark and Dawn. I think being there with Mark as well. Yeah. Oh, my God. Because for him, you know, one of the greatest moments for me was at the end of the movie. It's it talks about how really UFC was built on the back of these people like Marker. And it says at the end of the movie and his name is Marker. And the whole audience erupted and I was gone. That was and I think for Mark, it was like this reclamation of like what he did and his journey and the brutal path to peace that he went on was being applauded. And he's someone who's so humble and he's so self-flagellating in many ways, you know, about what he went through, his addiction. And that becomes his front foot is to own that in a very vulnerable way. But I think it was beautiful to see him own the full spectrum of his life and the humanity and for the audience to be behind him and his story. It was wild. Venice was like a dream. Dream. And he kept saying it's a miracle. He was saying it's a miracle. Mark was saying it's a miracle. Venice was a dream for us. Then we leave Venice. As we leave Venice, we're floating. It's just like you don't come down. Like what do we just experience? And then he gets a call two days later to go back to win Best Director. That was crazy. Yeah, he's already an award winner. I know. It's like it was just like, oh, this is insane, you know, because never. No, no. When you sent us that point, you're going, I have to go back. Literally, I was just like that. That morning, I was literally like scooping the cat litter, getting my son to school. And I'm like, hello. Yeah, okay. You were like busy compost. Yes, exactly. And he loves to compost, guys. I love this. Yes. Doing it for the environment. I want to make sure we talk, though, about the transformation that you do, because folks have seen it a little bit in the trailer. Mr. Dwayne Rock Johnson, sir. But you are so delicate with this performance. I just don't think people appreciate the alchemy that you're doing with this. And it's a real collaboration. So I'd love you to talk about you carry yourself differently in this film. Your voice is different. And then, of course, we've all seen you look completely different. So talk about the transformation. Thank you for saying that. It was a physical transformation. I gained a little over 30 pounds. And Benny had come to me and said, this is something you've probably never heard, but you're going to have to gain weight. And we had watched. You're not big enough. How did you say? You want to get bigger. Yes. And so I was like, puffier? You know, because there's a certain quality to his. Marker had this rare body that was just his silhouette was just big. And he's massive and fast and fast, which fibers those muscles. So it wasn't just packing on 30 pounds of muscle and some fat. It was packing on as best I could muscles. But that also had fast twitch quality to it, if that makes sense, because I had to train at the same time like I was a fighter. There was also a vocal transformation, too. Emily was amazing. She had connected me with her vocal coach. I'll get it out. And Liz Emil Stein, because I always get her name wrong, who was really amazing, too, as well. And then the prosthetics from Kazu as well, which really changed the game for me. So for me to sit in the chair for three, four hours and just watch it all wash over me and change me, help me get into Mark's skin. Yeah, and he's an award winning makeup and prosthetics person. And he's worked on Maestro and something. You've seen his work in Smashing Machine. You will see it up close in very physical moments as well, because you've already kind of previewed it. This is the story of love and ambition. But what Don and Mark, that is something. And it's a different character for you. I will go ahead and say, talking about transformation, I think you've even admitted maybe Don stuck with you. But talk a little about that, because these are very real people. But it was also of a certain time, like it's very of the 90s. I mean, the soundtrack and everything. And you really had to embody that because women's clothes back then were very different. Yeah, I mean, Don also loved to dress up and she shared a lot with me. I got to know her and she was so extraordinary and very generous in revealing, you know, that relationship and the ups and downs and the extremities of what that was. To live with a very dedicated athlete and the impossible environment that that was. And I think, you know, her whole look was very overt. Like it was very much to draw his attention to her, you know. And I think she loved to look good. He also always said how well she dressed and like adored it. No matter what. She was always immaculate and the hair was blown out, the makeup was on and like she had a whole system. And I don't know, I asked her questions like, did you ever go to sleep with your makeup on? She went, never, like never. It was like she really took care of herself and the clothes and what Heidi did. You know, it was very Posh Spice, Cindy Crawford inspired. It was really awesome. Yeah, I can't wait for folks to see it. And you play her in such, I think, an empathetic and just real way. Again, both of you do with these characters. You give them such care. But for you, Benny, the one thing I think I want folks to see is, yes, you were such a big part of this. But because you were so close to them, you got to watch them do this incredible tennis match of empathy. I'd be curious as someone that wrote the screenplay and then got to see them act it, what was one moment where you're like, I did not think that that would go there and they just took it to a totally different place. But that's why you hired them to do that. Yeah, well, I think it was almost like it was every day. That was kind of what it was. It's because, you know, you write it down and then I felt so bad because I would get there every day and then I would rewrite everything. We loved that. And so it would just change. No, it was great. Yeah, and so then we would talk about it again. We would get together and be like, all right, let's try it. Because all we wanted to do was make it feel like it happened once. You know, we really were struggling to figure out what was that essence that makes something feel real. And so when it happened, it was just like, you pulled it straight out of the air and then you felt it. And so each time it really was like exciting because we would perform these scenes and I would watch it happen and it was just like, OK, there it was. And sometimes you would really work on it, you know, try and get it. And then there were times where we just did it one time and it was like, OK, that was insanely emotional. I'm like, we don't need to do that again. You know, you guys nailed it, you know. So it really was just kind of because I wanted it to almost to be like a kind of a virtual reality for what it felt like. To be there. So really put you in a room and observe these people. But that puts a lot on their shoulders because there's really micro little things that you have to do that just are happening. And it was like you have to be on all the time, you know, because I was filming it in a way that we were watching them when the other person left the room and stuff like that. So I love that. Yeah, there's a very like verite aspect to the way that you film this. And I think folks are going to feel like they're getting inside of it. And one reason that it keeps that is because you are so dedicated to the realism of the action or the sort of like the MMA of it all. Obviously, Mark Kerr was one of the sort of founding superstars of what ended up being, you know, MMA. And for you, obviously, as a former wrestler, I feel like, again, this was just so perfect for you, but maybe not. Like, did you have to turn off wrestler brain a bit? Is it like what was that like? Well, I think the advantage I feel that I was able to tap into just as a wrestler is just having a like a what we call a ring generalship of knowing space of between rope to rope to turnbuckles and bodies. And but, you know, that pro wrestling is combat, performative combat. This MMA is why few people do it and why very few people make it to the UFC. And it was a it was something that I had never experienced before. I went into an MMA training camp with real fighters and real coaches. Again, you know, as Benny was saying, this idea, if you think about that, like this idea of I'd like to create a moment here with you guys in the ring or outside or her and I in our big fights that we had and have it feel like it was only done once. And a lot of times it was only done once. And especially because Benny early said to me, hey, I'd love to not use a stunt double. I'd love to not cut away from you. And you know what that means? That means I'm getting rocked. Yeah, I heard you got hit, too. Like Fujita, like you asked him, like, you got to clock me one. Well, yes, that's great. Yes. In real life, Mark had his fight. Yeah. And he was on the ground. He was on all fours in the middle of that Tokyo Dome, I think. And he was getting rocked, but he was still with his wits. But he wasn't getting knocked out and he wouldn't move. He couldn't move in real life. And you see it unfold in the real match. And that's something that was important to Benny. He said, I don't want to cut away. I'd love to stay right here and on my face. And if that's the case, then we're going to have to tell our MMA fighter, you have to hit me. And so I went to him and I said, you know, I know it sounds crazy, but you really have to rock me. And he's like, no, no, I can't do that. I'm sorry. He's like a three level black belt. Yeah, he was like, you don't want that. I said, I know I really don't, but you have to. I said, Benny's not going to cut away. I said, don't hit me here. You'll break my jaw. Don't hit me here. You'll kill me. But if you can hit me here and he still wouldn't do it. And finally, I had to say, Benny, could you please come over and talk to him? And you did. Yeah, because we at that point, these were physical fights, you know, and I wanted to be very true to what the fights actually were. And I wanted to depict them in a way that felt real. I never went inside the ring. I stayed outside, kept that point of view, which meant all the stuff that happened in the ring had to be really well choreographed. And but like specifically that scene, we did it like three times. And these are even though there's like, for the most part, they weren't getting hit. This was one where Dwayne had to get hit, but it's still very physical. There's grappling. You're getting thrown down. And so it's hard. And that one, I remember it was a long, long fight. There were a lot of sections to it. And we did it over and over and over again. And Dwayne's like, look, this time you've got to just do it because he kept pulling and you kept failing and pulling back. We got one more shot at this. Let's just go. And then. And when you see it in the movie, you see me getting rocked. There's no way around getting rocked. You're going to watch part of this movie through your fingernails. If you're like me, I don't know if you're that type of person. I'm going to bring it to you, man, because in my head canon, I owe a box of chocolate to Christopher Nolan because I just feel at some point on Oppenheimer, when you were given this man, no quarter. He like leaned over and be like, you know, I got this script. Because I know, like, I just feel like there's some connective tissue there. Is that right? There was connective tissue, even though Benny and I had one incredibly disdainful exchange. Where is the worst handshake of Benny's life? It was so mean. And I remember one time Chris went, can you do one? Like as if you're kind of cleaning something off your teeth. I was like, OK, so and that's the one. It was so awful. But Benny and I did talk about this movie in the trailer, and he knew that Dwayne and I were friends. And he's and I called Dwayne. I said, you're going to work with Benny Zafdi. And he goes, I still want to. Does he want to do it still? And Benny said, I won't be free for a year and a half, two years. And then they reconnect. And it just it's just was the right time. I was literally like I pulled out my phone. I had a screen grab from the documentary of Mark from like five years ago or that when it was three, four years ago. And I'm like, I have not stopped thinking about this thing. You know, just that character burrowed itself into my head. And then, of course, after getting covered in dirt like that, I'm like, she can do anything. So this is going to be it's going to be she really felt that one. I love it. And I love that we're going to be getting to see more of you. Lizard music. Yeah, I can't wait. I don't think that you're going to tell me anything about it. But before we leave this, I want to give you the last word, sir. I think this has already been very special. But like I saw you, it's it's different. Like because you I think yourself didn't know if this was a moment for you. How satisfying is it in this moment? So because it was scary because you are a brand. You are Dwayne The Rock Johnson. You know what I mean? So it's brave that you did it. I'm so glad that you did it. What does it mean for you? Thank you for saying that. I feel like it just felt right. And it was OK to be scared to do it. And I also wanted to, you know, I felt like I'd like to say I was I was kind of working from my back was in a corner, pigeonholed. I did it. I pigeonholed myself over the years. But I wanted more. And I had this little voice behind my ribcage. Like, I want to do more and really challenge myself and really just do that and rip it open and have someone who am I love and trust and now someone whom I love and trust to do it with. And I wanted to I just wanted that and unattached to a box office number and unattached to a wall. Is it a four quadrant? I just know chills. I just wanted just to do it for me. And I'm so grateful to Emily. I'm so grateful to them because. They changed my life and Smashing Machine changed my life and Mark Kerr, as Benny says, always says so beautifully, Mark Kerr lived his life so we could feel it. And so that's how I feel. I can't wait for folks to see it is absolutely incredible. Thank you so much. I want to remind everyone that you can purchase tickets right now for the Smashing Machine on Fandango.