'The Smashing Machine' A24 Share on Facebook Share on X Google Preferred Share to Flipboard Show additional share options Share on LinkedIn Share on Pinterest Share on Reddit Share on Tumblr Share on Whats App Send an Email Print the Article Post a Comment It's hard to believe that Dwayne Johnson received his first Golden Globes nomination on Monday after starring in over 60 movies during his decades-spanning career. But his dramatic role of Mark Kerr in Benny Safdie's The Smashing Machine finally got the actor some awards recognition. To Johnson, however, the nomination means more than just recognition. "I think the nomination represents the fight in everybody, especially with addictions and those demons that you battle," Johnson tells The Hollywood Reporter on Monday in the interview below. "Mark Kerr had it all and lost everything, and has since become sober. He did overdose twice. Life is good because he's sober and because he made it. And not everyone is that lucky. That's the movie that we wanted to make: a nod to those who fight." Related Stories Movies Michael B. Jordan on Being a First-Time Golden Globe Nominee, Why He Isn't Sure He Wants to Play Two Characters in a Film Again Movies Golden Globe Nominations Snubs: Sydney Sweeney's 'Christy' Shut Out as 'Wicked: For Good' Misses Best Picture Nod The Smashing Machine, written and directed by Safdie, follows former amateur wrestler and MMA fighter Kerr (Johnson), alongside his girlfriend Dawn Staples, played by Emily Blunt. Johnson was nominated in the best performance by a male actor in a drama category, alongside Joel Edgerton (Train Dreams), Oscar Isaac (Frankenstein), Michael B. Jordan (Sinners), Wagner Moura (The Secret Agent) and Jeremy Allen White (Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere). Blunt also received a nod for her performance in the best performance by a female actor in a supporting role category. What does this recognition mean to you? A few things. One of them is the importance of listening to the little voice that sits behind your rib cage, that at times whispers to you, and at times pounds on your chest to say that you can do more, and there is more, and it can be scary. And it might be scary because it will require you to step out of a comfort zone. And when things are good, you don't want to step out of that zone, because it's going good. But there was

MORE: I wanted to really push and challenge myself and chase that challenge. I had something very special to me, which was the story. It's been a long go with The Smashing Machine: seven years ago is when I first met Benny [Safdie] about this. So it's been over half a decade to get this going and so, it represents believing in and listening to that little voice, and also doing the work, even when it's scary, and surrounding yourself with like-minded people who are chasing the challenge as well. That would be Benny, Emily and Kazu [Hiro], who helped with this transformation every day. On top of that, I think the nomination represents the fight in everybody, especially with addictions and those demons that you battle. Mark Kerr had it all and lost everything, and then has since become sober. He did overdose twice. Life is good because he's sober and because he made it. Not everyone is that lucky. That's the movie that we wanted to make: a nod to those who fight. But last week, I thought, "Let me take a tally here." Over the last years, I've lost 15 friends who are all wrestlers and fighters to addiction. Some OD'd, some decided to check out. Life was too hard. It shook me, and then it restabilized me in a way like, "Okay, I'm so happy we made this film." It is a love letter to those that I just talked to you about. That's why this nomination means so much. For this role, you went back to your roots of wrestling. What did that mean for your emotionally and physically? Being a pro wrestler enabled me with a few things. I had a good sense of when I got into a ring or a cage for the film. I had a good sense of what we call Ring Generalship, so I have a pretty good knowledge of my presence in the ring. But what I also realized, and this was very sobering, is that there is nothing like pro wrestling and there is nothing like MMA, and how wildly different they actually are. So being a pro wrestler helped me in terms of, I think Ring Generalship and body on body composition. But the transformation physically, I wound up gaining 32 pounds. It was wild amount of weight that was very hard to carry for three and a half months. Not only that, but there was a certain quality of muscle that I had to gain that allowed me still to move in the ring. Mark Kerr had this very uniquely athletically gifted body. He was massive, muscles everywhere, but he could move like a cheetah, and he was just a very rare human being of a physical specimen, but he was very specific, like his traps and his back and his neck and quads. I'd gained a few pounds and lost a few pounds for some roles, but this was a whole other