Dwayne Johnson: Weight Loss is for New Acting Role; He’s Playing a Man, Age 70, Whose Best Friend Is a Chicken
Having earned raves for bulking up to play the wrestler Mark Kerr in his MMA fighting prime for The Smashing Machine, Dwayne Johnson is undertaking another radical transformation.
He’s shedding many pounds to portray a “whimsical, eccentric 70-something year-old” called Chicken Man in Lizard Music.
The film, which will reunite Johnson with “The Smashing Machine” director Benny Safdie, is an acting challenge that he jumped at the chance to pull off.
“I still have a long way to go,” he acknowledged.
“I’m so excited to get a chance to hopefully transform again like I was able to do in ‘Smashing Machine,’” Johnson added. “[It means] eating less chicken.”
After starring in blockbusters like “Jumanji” and “Fast Five,” Johnson said he was ready to shake things up.
“I felt for a few years, I was pigeonholed because I allowed it to happen,” Johnson admitted. He added, “‘Smashing Machine’ is for me.”
The sports drama is showing the darker sides of Kerr’s story, including his toxic relationship with his girlfriend (Emily Blunt) and substance abuse struggles. It’s about as far removed from “Moana” as one can get.
Johnson is not abandoning big-budget crowdpleasers entirely. He revealed he’ll be re-teaming with Kevin Hart on “Jumanji 3,” which will start shooting in November.
