Star of the sports drama The Smashing Machine, Dwayne Johnson, spoke about his noticeable weight loss that attracted attention at the Venice Film Festival. The actor and former wrestler explained that the change in his physique is tied to preparing for a new role – the Chicken Man, a “whimsical, eccentric 70-something year-old” character from Daniel Pinkwater’s novel Lizard Music.
The new film continues Johnson’s collaboration with director Benny Safdie, who won the Silver Lion for The Smashing Machine. Johnson said the project was a real challenge for him: “Benny pitched me this after we wrapped The Smashing Machine, and after about 45 minutes, his pitch ended, and I said, ‘I am your Chicken Man.’”
So far Johnson has already lost a significant portion of the muscle mass he gained to play MMA fighter Mark Kerr in The Smashing Machine, but he admitted the transformation hasn’t been finished yet.
