The Rock Says He Became More Empathetic After Playing Mark Kerr In The Smashing Machine

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson says that playing the lead role of Mark Kerr in The Smashing Machine helped make him a more empathetic person. The Final Boss stars as the former UFC fighter in the A24 film, and he spoke with CBS Sunday Morning promoting the film. During the conversation, he talked about how connecting to Kerr in his performance helped him understand what people are going through better.

“I really realized that I think you’ll find interesting, and people watching, I think, will find this interesting,” Johnson said (per Fightful. “Becoming Mark Kerr really allowed me to become even more empathetic to the world. because I try to be empathetic. I try to not be too judgy. Wait and see. There might be context I’m missing out of something and or I don’t know what that person is going through.”

He continued, “That was a big thing that I realized is that I was talking to Benny Safdie about that, like, ‘Hey, you never know what people are going through,’ right? They could seem like they have it together, especially a guy like Mark Kerr, he’s on top of the world. He’s a world champion. He’s the greatest fighter on the planet, and he looks like he’s capable, but he’s just dying on the inside. So, becoming Mark just allowed me to become even more empathetic, too. You just never know what people are going through.”

The Smashing Machine is directed by Safdie and stars Johnson and Emily Blunt. It will release in theaters on October 3rd.