The Rock says Hollywood pigeonholed him as a blockbuster star
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson wants to be more than just a blockbuster Hollywood star.
At the screening of his Mark Kerr biopic The Smashing Machine on Monday evening, Johnson was moved to tears by a 15-minute standing ovation. Earlier in the day, he arrived at the festival looking noticeably slimmer, with some outlets speculating he may have lost up to 60 pounds.
Johnson told the BBC that he feels Hollywood had him pigeonholed as a blockbuster star, but now he’s looking to take on a more diverse range of roles.
“When you’re in Hollywood, as we all know, it had become about box office and you chase the box office. And the box office in our business is very loud, it can be very [overwhelming].
“It can 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’.
“And I understood that, and I made those movies and I liked them and they were fun, and some were really good and did well, and some not so good!”
“But I think what I did realize is I just had this burning desire and this voice that was just saying, ‘what if there’s more, what if I can?’
“Sometimes it’s hard to know what you’re capable of when you’ve been pigeon-holed into something. It’s harder to know ‘wait, can I do that? I feel like I can’. And sometimes it takes people who you love and respect to say ‘you can’.”
Steven McIntosh of the BBC suggested that Rock’s performance in Smashing Machine may land him in contention for Best Actor.
“Awards pundits will be watching closely to see how Johnson’s film is received, but the star joins a best actor race that is stacked with A-listers this year,” McIntosh wrote.
Many are speculating that Johnson’s recent change in body size is due to him hoping to land a wider variety of roles. He is set to play a self-help guru in early 2000s Southern California in his next film, the Darren Aronofsky-directed Breakthrough.
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s Performance in The Smashing Machine receiving positive reviews
Johnson is receiving positive reviews for his portrayal of Kerr in The Smashing Machine, with Variety calling his performance a “revelation.” The critic reviews on Rotten Tomatoes currently show an 84 percent approval rating based on 19 entries.
Jack King of GQ Magazine wrote of Johnson’s performance, “It’s difficult to recall another time when the actor has been so outwardly vulnerable on screen. You often forget it’s Johnson at all, in part due to the prosthetics behind which he is subtly masked, but also because he is so emotionally transformed.”
Johnson’s co-star Emily Blunt also commented on his performance as Kerr, saying, “One of the most extraordinary things was seeing him completely disappear, it was spooky.”
