Dwayne Johnson’s Cinematic Crush Might Surprise You

Who did you have a crush on growing up? Oh, man, my cinematic crush would have been... I don't mean this in a weird way. I was just always so enamored with Gene Wilder. Interestingly enough, first, because I always loved Richard Pryor. Growing up, I loved Richard Pryor. I loved Elvis. I thought I was both when I was a kid. And then I watched Dirk Crazy. And there was something about Gene. And I was like, wow. And then when I saw Willy Wonka, I think Willy Wonka was the thing that really grabbed me about Gene Wilder. I think it was the tenderness in his soul. And I don't know if I was thinking that when I was 10 years old. But there was just something captivating. And especially just at the end. They're on the elevator that just busts through the ceiling. And they're flying through the air. And it's the end of the movie. And the credits are getting ready to roll. And Charlie's looking around with Grandpa Joe. And they can't believe it. They got the chocolate factory. And everything is amazing. And Gene is just staring at this kid with a smile. And he says, hey, Charlie. Do you know what happened to the boy who suddenly had everything he ever wanted? He lived happily ever after. Well, today, my name is Dwayne Johnson. The name of the film we're going to talk about today is The Smashing Machine. The Smashing Machine came into my life almost 20 years ago. I watched a documentary by the same title. And it was of the same person, Mark Kerr. I even thought back then. And I think this would make a great movie. I felt a deep connection even back then of his roots with professional fighting and his struggles with addiction. And eventually, this ideology of winning became the enemy to him. And I have had experiences with that. But I also knew back then, 20 years ago, I didn't know if I was ready as an actor for this kind of role. Because back then, I was in my early 30s. And in my early 30s, I and a lot of us men, we're still trying to figure our own ---- out. I'm in my fifth level and still trying to figure my own ---- out. In 2019, I watched a movie called Uncut Gems. And I was so rocked by that movie, by the tension of that movie, by the quality and the texture of that movie. And it felt like the central figure of that film was just doing his best to keep his ---- together, man. And it's the same thing in The Smashing Machine. And I went to Benny Safdie. And he really responded to The Smashing Machine. And in 2019, we agreed to make the film. And in 2020, life stopped for everybody with COVID. I was very sad when the movie went away. Because, well, it was a confluence of things. I was sad that this movie I felt such a personal connection to was going away. But it felt like our lives were slipping away. And there was such uncertainty in the air around the world. And I didn't know, like everyone out there, what does tomorrow look like? What does tonight look like? The entire process of The Smashing Machine for me as an actor, as an artist, was transformative. What it allowed me to do was to completely jump off a cliff and just go for it and get lost and transform and disappear. And for a guy like me, I didn't know if I could do that. I didn't know in how I look, how God made me, if I was able to really, truly disappear behind a voice transformation, a physical transformation. I knew going in that I had to commit to the role. In this case, it was I had to put on over 30 pounds of muscle. And on top of that, 23 prosthetics in total from my eyes, forehead, nose, cauliflower ear, scars, removing of my tattoos, applying Mark's tattoos. To remove tattoos, it's a lot easier said than done, especially the amount of tattoos that I have on my body. And he had different ones, so he had to cover up mine and then apply his tattoos on top of mine. He had to remove my eyebrows and parts of my face and then apply his eyebrows and parts of his face onto my face. And here's a man who not only lived, but he's still alive. And you could see him everywhere on YouTube. Going to the Venice Film Festival was the first time I saw the film with a real audience. And I will never forget that moment. I have never had a film invited to Venice before. So I was like biting my nails. I was nervous. The funny story is our movie premiered on Monday at the Venice Film Festival. We all arrive on Saturday. I'm scrolling on the internet and I see all these big movies that are debuting in Venice while we're there. They're getting standing ovations. And now I'm really feeling the ceremony of the Venice Film Festival. George Clooney, this amount of time standing ovation and Julia Roberts. And now I'm thinking, holy ----, are we going to get an ovation? What if we don't? Do I start a clap for ourselves? I didn't know. You make a movie and it's so insular and intimate and you're getting ready to deliver it to the world. And I didn't have to start the clap. They clapped for 15 and a half minutes. I was so emotional. I was floating and I didn't know who I was or what was happening at that time. And then at about the 15 and a half minute mark, what kind of broke the surreal nature of what was happening as the applause was just strong. Because you could kind of feel it dip off. People who worked for the festival came in and kind of gave me the look like, hey, you got to cut this ---- off. You guys got to tell them to stop clapping. We got movies to show. I was like, OK, hey, you can't stop what people wanted. But Benny did finally step forward and said, thank you guys so much for this. This meant the world. You know, and it really did. Do you get starstruck? I've gotten starstruck a few times. I got starstruck when I saw and met Clint Eastwood for the first time. I got starstruck when I just happened to run up to Steven Spielberg and shake his hand at a telethon. Do you think there's any parallel between playing sports and making movies? I do. The first thing that comes to mind is teamwork and discipline. When you step back and you look and you look at this crew of 100 to 300 people and everyone is working in support of each other and whatever you need, I got it. And it's just this amoeba that moves. And it's so supportive. And I feel like you don't find that too often, where the alchemy of such a big group comes together. You find it on movie sets. And you find it in sports. Do you have a go-to karaoke song? Kissing a Fool from George Michael. Let me see. Take a little bit of coffee. You are far when I could have been your star. You listen to people. Strange that you were strong enough to even make a star. But you'll never find peace of mind while you listen to your heart. People, they can never change the way they feel. And then he goes into this beautiful bridge, where it's like, and you'll never find peace of mind. When you really can't surrender with, I will wait for you like I always do. It's just beautiful. I love that. That's so great. I sound better when I drink more. Do you think you are more like a cat or a dog? I would say I'm like a dog, for sure. Let's see. Lost my virginity when I was way too young. Like dogs. Being a dog. I'm kidding. I know. I had to go there. There's the line. I step right over. I would say protection. I would say loyalty. And you like a party? Dogs like parties. You know, it's funny. Actually, not a party cat. See, that's why I think you're a little bit cat-like. I'm a little kitty cat. Maybe, you're right, because I don't like big crowds. I don't like parties. I'd rather just be either with my family or be alone. So maybe I am like a cat. Maybe like a little Cheshire cat. What's your pet peeve? When people aren't kind and when they're assholes. That's the thing that bugs me. And when they start ---- because it's the thing to do is to be loud and to be noisy. As in a cat. That's when I turn into a lion. Okay, so now pick up that little box that's next to you with the stick in it. And that is your fortune for today. All right, here we go. Okay, seventh hole. Here we go. That's your lucky number? Seven? It is. Okay. Yeah, okay. It's a tiny scroll. And here we go. And it says... I love this. Black is always a good idea. That is amazing.