As a former WWE athlete-turned-actor, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has always been known for his massive frame. However his latest transformation for the upcoming drama The Smashing Machine is next level. As part of a fresh look at Johnson in character and nearly unrecognizable as MMA legend Mark Kerr, behind-the-scenes photos for the 2025 movie release show off Johnson's tree trunk legs. And, if this doesn't spice up your day, I don't know what will.
The pics, shared exclusively by Vanity Fair’s official Instagram, highlight just how physically intense the Jumanji actor’s prep has been for his upcoming movie. One shot, which you can see for yourself below, shows him sitting on a gym mat, drenched in sweat, his legs looking as if they’re carved from granite:
Let’s be honest—those legs deserve a moment of their own. It's clear Johnson never skips leg day, even fitting in midnight workouts. However, these stills make it obvious the man has taken lower-body training to a near-mythical level.
This isn’t the first time Johnson’s legs have made headlines. We’ve covered stories before where we had to stop and marvel at his “tree trunks," and it’s no secret that the actor takes pride in building roles from the ground up, quite literally. Whether it’s bulking up for Black Adam or cutting down for Hobbs & Shaw, the actor’s level of physical commitment remains unmatched, and it’s part of why audiences buy into him as an action star.
Of course, The Smashing Machine isn’t just about looking the part. The film tells the story of Mark Kerr, a decorated MMA fighter whose career was defined as much by his struggles outside the ring as by his triumphs inside it.
According to Vanity Fair, The Rock admitted that taking on Kerr’s story came with an unfamiliar emotion: fear. It’s not a feeling the Moana star is accustomed to, and he acknowledged that part of the reason he hasn’t been offered more complex roles in the past is on him. Initially unsure if he was ready to embody the real-life fighter in Benny Safdie's film, the Walking Tall star told the outlet:
It was very real. I had not experienced that in a very, very, very long time, where I was really scared and thinking, ‘I don’t know if I can do this. Can I do this?’
It wasn’t until Safdie’s Uncut Gems caught the California-born performer’s eye that he apparently changed his tune about taking on the role. With that, he's seemingly brought his signature intensity to the project, and he's aiming for a grounded and visceral take on Kerr’s story.
The Rock credits co-star Emily Blunt for helping him access the emotional vulnerability required for the role. He continued with Vanity Fair:
If Emily and I weren’t best friends, I don’t know that we could’ve gone to the places we went to. That closeness created the trust, which then allowed for the vulnerability, which then allowed for [us to] go anywhere.
The upcoming A24 release is set to premiere over Labor Day weekend at the Venice Film Festival before being released to broader audiences later this year. With Safdie behind the camera, Johnson in what may be his most transformative role yet and Blunt bringing emotional weight to the story, this could be one of the fall’s most talked-about films.
For the Black Adam actor, the role marks a sharp departure from the blockbuster charisma and action movie bravado that have defined his career. Here, he’s portraying a man battling inner demons as fiercely as his opponents in the cage.
The first-look images suggest an unflinching performance and, while early buzz for The Smashing Machine has been strong, audiences who need a little reminder of why Dwayne Johnson’s legs have their own gravitational pull will have to do with the BTS pics. That is until the movie releases on October 3rd, of course.
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