The Rock on Gaining Muscle & Breaking Doors for 'The Smashing Machine'

DJ, if I can call you DJ. You can. You're fantastic in the film, it really worked. Thank you very much. But I was wondering if you were ever hesitant to pitch yourself as a dude in his 20s. Wow, you know, I never really thought of it like that. Yeah, it never entered my brain. Didn't think about his age. Until now. Until this moment. Which made you feel very old. I'm 108. But you pulled it off. Thank you, man. Thank you, man. Do you hate each other when you fight? Absolutely not. I just felt like I knew Mark so intimately. I met Mark in the late 90s and I was, you know, we were all so impressed with Mark. That time I was wrestling, I had just started my career in wrestling. So I just felt like I knew Mark's DNA and was so excited to live in his skin. So I felt like I knew him so well, didn't really think about it. I just felt like the most important thing that I could do was to put on the weight that was required And also, I understood very quickly that it was, it's not just putting on muscle or size, it's putting on a certain quality of muscle. That kind of muscle is very fast twitch, and there's separation, it's just a lot happening because Mark's body was insane. And so, I talked to Benny early and he said, I don't know if you've ever been asked this before, but I think you need to gain more weight. And that's hard. The amount that like of new muscle in different areas, that's like, it's a really difficult thing to do. And to still be able to move. Yes, yeah. And be fluid too as well as an athlete. So that was the only thing for me that I really wanted to make sure, that I looked the part that I was able to transform physically, vocally to as well. And I felt confident that I could move around in a ring because I felt like I had that generalship already of it. So, but didn't think about his age. Come on, are you ready? Yes. Ah, Mark Eaton's back! I think Dawn could be looked at out of context as being like a negative presence in Mark's life, but this film does such a good job at exploring the nuance in a way where you see that a lot of that as a response to like being straight up gaslit actually. So was it important to you to do the Dawns of the World justice? For sure. I mean, I think there's huge complexities to being with someone whose life is on the line constantly, like whether it's their own addiction or in the ring. And I think that yes, they had a hazardous, sort of eruptive relationship, but also there was huge love, profound devotion and love and need for each other. But I think that, I don't know if it's an easy thing to be living with such a dedicated athlete like that. So I think it was important to see that. And we talked about that very thing, like we wanted an equality to that relationship, you know, that like both people can be at fault here. And like no one's more responsible for the domestic drama than anyone else. I don't feel like we see that a lot. You know, it was really refreshing. That's great. Thank you. I'm so glad. Thank you. It was important to us because in the documentary, it's framed a different way, and perhaps a little unfairly towards Dawn. And because, yes, Mark put his life on the line every time he stepped in the ring or the cage, but he wasn't the only one sacrificing things. So Dawn was sacrificing things too. So I give a lot of credit to Emily and Benny. They really wanted to make sure that that equality was there. It's 40,000 people and they're cheering you on. There's no other high like it in the world. I gotta ask, you know, you and your brother both have films coming out this year independently of one another. Yeah, isn't that amazing? I'm wondering if you think the audiences are gonna start to discern tonal differences between your styles, the way that we have been with the Coens. Yeah, I, you know, I think what is, it's a unique point of view, you know, that like, yeah, you get to see us make separate movies, you know, and I think that that's exciting. You know, it's cool that we both are doing that at the same time. You know, I was telling a story that, like, I was just, like, walking on the street, and I was taking pictures, and somebody was like, oh, you see that? Like, you should go see what they did downtown. And I was like, oh, I wonder what that is. And I knew exactly what he was talking about. Wow. You know, but I was just like, oh, isn't that funny? It was your brother's film? It was my brother's film, exactly. So it was just, like, it was just funny. They had no idea that I was, like, in any of them. So I was like, oh, that's pretty cool, you know. I got to ask, before they were at me, did you really break that door? Yes. Oh, yeah. What was the door made of? that was just a regular-ass door that you just went in on? Well, the door, I went in on the door, both doors. Two door breaks. Yes, bathroom as well as the kitchen. Oh, that's right. Yes, and that, no, it's okay, but that house, just so you know, and I think your viewers will find this really interesting, is that house was built from scratch on a soundstage. Benny wanted to build it from scratch, no movable walls so he could hide the cameras. And everything, running water, so everything was real, including the door. Yeah. This is why my elbow is still swollen. You see this is where my elbow is? Like, this has not gone down, by the way, in months. Look at this. That's crazy. This is crazy. When I did that. Look at this ----. By the way, this is the one that got injured. Remember up there where it was all black and blue? And that's actually in the... You block a kick. Yes. You block a kick. You block the kick, and then it came back. Yes. From the door. This one from the door, and then I blocked the kick, and then it came back. Oh, man.