After pouring his heart into his latest onscreen performance, Dwayne Johnson was admittedly let down to be snubbed at the Oscars.
The Smashing Machine star recently noted that having the Academy Awards overlook his role as UFC fighter Mark Kerr in last year’s Benny Safdie-helmed A24 movie “lit a fire in my spine” to deliver another Oscar-worthy performance.
“It would have been incredible to get nominated for an Oscar,” he told Esquire, adding: “I realized very quickly that it’s a rare thing to reach this pinnacle where you’re even having these conversations. And it’s exciting!”
Johnson continued, “It would have been amazing. I wish it happened. But it didn’t. But in no uncertain terms did I ever think, Oh, that doesn’t matter. I always thought it mattered. And it has lit a fire in my spine, which is: Let’s go back to work.”
In The Smashing Machine, Johnson plays Mark Kerr amid his rise to UFC greatness in the ’90s, which nearly cost him his life as he developed an addiction to painkillers. Also starring Emily Blunt and UFC’s Ryan Bader, the film premiered at last year’s Venice International Film Festival, where it received a 15.5-minute ovation and won the Silver Lion.
Dwayne Johnson as Mark Kerr in ‘The Smashing Machine’ (2025) (Eric Zachanowich/A24/Courtesy Everett Collection)
Although Johnson and Blunt were snubbed at the Oscars, they earned Golden Globe nominations for Best Actor and Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture — Drama.
Meanwhile, Johnson is re-teaming with Safdie on the upcoming movie Lizard Music.
