Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson's new role as legendary combat sports fighter Mark Kerr has people talking, thanks to a preview of his unrecognizable appearance in the upcoming biographical sports film, The Smashing Machine.
On Tuesday, A24 released a first-look image of Johnson in full prosthetic makeup. In the still, Johnson is being tended to in the middle of a fight scene, and it's clear the film's makeup designers pulled out all the stops to transform the actor completely.
As the image made its rounds on social media, folks couldn't believe the man in the photo was actually Johnson. Under DiscussingFilm's X post of the photo, many expressed their disbelief, while others applauded the work of the film's makeup team.
"That's really him?! Give that make up team the Oscar now," one person wrote on X. Another said, "Wow, you can't even recognize him. That's insane!"
Some took Johnson's transformation as a sign that we can anticipate a strong performance from the actor. "He looks unrecognizable. this might mean he's going to go all out show his acting chops," one user wrote.
The Smashing Machine is directed by Benny Safdie and stars Emily Blunt, Lyndsey Gavin, Oleksandr Usyk, and Ryan Bader. The film is currently in production across multiple countries and is expected to wrap on August 1, according to Variety.
Physically, the Rock has been putting his all into this lead role. Last week, the 52-year-old shared a post of him training in a mixed martial arts ring.
"Every day. Working hard, learning, respecting and being a student of the game during this training camp," Johnson wrote. "I'm a hard worker, but this is the hardest journey I've ever been on. Thank you for all your amazing support, it means the world to me. Grateful to grow, humbled by this challenge and honored to tell this story. #TheSmashingMachine written & directed by benny safdie A24."
Check out more reactions to Dwayne Johnson's transformation below.
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