At the 82nd Venice Film Festival, actor Dwayne Johnson appeared unrecognizable. The actor, known for his impressive build, displays a much slimmer figure. According to the media CNEWS, he lost more than 27 kilos to play fighter Mark Kerr in the biographical film The Smashing Machine, going from approximately 136 to 109 kilos.
At 53, the man everyone knows under the nickname “The Rock” is turning his back a little more on the image of the bodybuilder hero who made his success. “The giant from Fast and Furious now displays a much more… slimmer silhouette”summarizes the Première site. A metamorphosis which does not respond to a simple desire to change appearance, but to a real choice of actor.
Why did Dwayne Johnson lose so much weight?
In Venice, her new silhouette is almost as talked about as the film. On social networks, some joke about a “stone version of The Rock”. In the room, emotion quickly takes over: after a long ovation, Dwayne Johnson cannot hold back his tears.
However, this weight loss is not a simple physical challenge. To play Mark Kerr, former UFC heavyweight champion and mixed martial arts figure, the actor wanted to get as close as possible to his character. According to the media CNEWS, he lost more than 27 kilos, breaking with the ultra-muscular physique that he had maintained for years for his action films.
A turning point in his career
This transformation also accompanies a more profound evolution. To the American media The Hollywood Reporter, Dwayne Johnson tells that“a little voice” had long been telling him that he could do more than the blockbusters that fill theaters. He adds that “this transformation was something he really wanted to do.”
The Première site sees this role as a real turning point for an actor who has long been confined to invincible characters.
According to the Indian media The Economic Times, this weight loss of a little more than 27 kilos would have been spread over a dozen weeks, thanks to a calorie deficit, more cardiovascular exercises, but also to the work of the makeup and prosthetics teams. Dwayne Johnson also emphasizes the collective dimension of this metamorphosis: “I gave a lot of myself; it’s a real team effort to achieve something like this”he explains to the American media The Hollywood Reporter.
A transformation that marks a new beginning
By agreeing to lose part of the muscle mass that was his signature, Dwayne Johnson is not only changing his silhouette. It also broadens the range of roles that he can now play. More fragile, more complex characters, far from the image of the invincible hero that has stuck to him for more than twenty years.
This transformation is impressive, but it also reminds us that such significant weight loss must be achieved within a very supervised framework.