The Rock Seen Sporting New Slimmed Down Look (WWE News)

The Rock drops some muscle as he looks to explore new movie roles.

by Andrew Pollard
The Rock Dwayne Johnson
WWE

Promoting his latest movie, The Smashing Machine, at the Venice Film Festival, WWE icon the Rock is looking notably slimmer these days.

Of course, the Great One has spent years sporting a hulking frame that's nicely meshed with his roles in some of the biggest action pictures of the past 20 years. Now, though, Dwayne Johnson has shed some of that muscle - around 60 lbs - as he looks to somewhat reinvent himself when it comes to the Hollywood roles he's chasing.

Speaking at the Venice Film Festival press conference, Johnson said as much, noting how he's been "pigeonholed" over the years, that it's always been about chasing box office numbers, but asking himself, "what if there is more?"

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Basically, the ten-time World Champion wants to explore more challenging roles; roles where you don't need to be the jacked-up guy with the monstrous physique while explosions and guns go off all around you. Rocky also questioned whether he'd gotten to a point where he was living his dream, or was he really living the dream of others.

As for The Smashing Machine, that sees Dwayne Johnson play MMA pioneer and NCAA Division I wrestling champion Mark Kerr. Away from the fight game, Kerr has dealt with various issues over the years, from substance abuse to relationship troubles. The film, written and directed by Benny Safdie and co-starring Emily Blunt, releases through A24 on 3 October, though it had its premiere at the Venice Film Festival over the weekend.

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So far, the early reviews have been incredibly positive for The Smashing Machine, with plenty of talk that Johnson may find himself in the conversation when the Academy Awards roll around in March. On top of that, the movie received a 15-minute standing ovation at Venice, with a clearly emotional Dwayne Johnson overwhelmed by that response.

Up next for Dwayne Johnson, he's been cast alongside Leonardo DiCaprio and Emily Blunt in Martin Scorsese's currently untitled new mob movie, and he'll be playing Maui in Disney's live-action take on Moana, set for a June 2026 release.

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Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks/Saints, Jamie Hayter, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.