Dwayne Johnson to Play UFC Alum Mark Kerr A24’s The Smashing Machine

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is set to play former UFC fighter Mark Kerr in a new drama from A24. THR reports that Johnson will star in The Smashing Machine from writer-director Benny Safdie. Safdie and his brother Josh are the team behind the 2019 Adam Sandler film Uncut Gems.

The report notes that Safdie has been developing the film with Johnson since 2019. A24 will finance and produce alongside Seven Bucks Production, Safdie’s Out for the Count shingle, Eli Bush and David Koplan.

Kerr is a former competitor for the UFC and PRIDE FC, winning the UFC 14 and 15 tournaments in 1997. He went on to PRIDE from 1998 to 2004 and continued to compete until retiring in 2009. HBO produced a documentary, also called The Smashing Machine, in 2002 that chronicled Kerr’s rise and his battle with painkiller addiction.

This marks Johnson’s first full-on dramatic role since 2006’s Gridion Gang.