Over the weekend, the cult WWE hero stepped out onto the Venice Film Festival’s red carpet looking more chiselled than ever after shedding the pounds for his latest film venture – starring as UFC fighter Mark Kerr in the biopic The Smashing Machine.
While the 53-year-old is being tipped for an Oscar win for his performance in the drama, which is earmarked for release on October 3, many people have raised their concerns regarding his well-being.
One person commented on Instagram: “His eyes… something is not right if the picture is true,” while another urged fans to ‘pray for his health and well being’.
But not everyone read so deeply into the Californian’s weight loss.
“He just lost the weight to play a part in a movie I’ll be glad when it’s over and he put it back on,” typed a second.
While a third penned: “He looks great for an old man who put his body through so much wear and tear. You try being a WWE superstar for years then let’s see what you look like after 50.
“I just want to see him be a good role model. Who cares about his face.”
“He doesn’t look sick, when you loose weight, the skin sacks, common sense, as long as he’s healthy that’s all it matters,” added a fourth.
The Rock’s bold move to shed the pounds for the two-hour production is likely to be justified through his first-ever Oscar nomination of his career.
Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson has worried fans after having shed the pounds for his latest movie ‘The Smashing Machine’ (Stephane Cardinale – Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images)
Speaking to reporters in Italy yesterday (September 1), Johnson said: “I’ve been scared to go deep and intense and raw until now, until I had this opportunity to do this.”
He went on to explain how he has ‘wanted this for a long time’, and how he’s felt ‘pigeon-holed’ into producing blockbuster films, as he explained how it was hard for him to break the mould.
He continued: “But I think what I did realise is I just had this burning desire and this voice that was just saying, ‘what if there’s more, what if I can?’.
“Sometimes it’s hard to know what you’re capable of when you’ve been pigeon-holed into something. It’s harder to know ‘wait, can I do that? I feel like I can’.
“And sometimes it takes people who you love and respect to say ‘you can’.”
Featured Image Credit: Getty Images/Gisela Schober
Between WWE fame, acting roles, chat show appearances, and general social media fame, it’s safe to say The Rock is one of the best-known celebrities on the planet.
The actor has also been known over the years for his impressive physique – I mean, he’s not called The Rock for no reason. But Johnson’s appearance at the Venice Film Festival over the weekend shocked many of his fans with new slimmed-down look.
The 53-year-old appeared alongside his The Smashing Machine star Emily Blunt at the Miu Miu Women’s Tales on Saturday (August 30), where it is evident the amount of muscle he has lost.
“The Rock is currently going viral after losing a lot of muscle,” one person penned on Twitter. A second added: “He’s so lean,” while a third quipped: “Damn, he’s half of what he was!”
Meanwhile, a fourth speculated: “First Batista now him. Is something going on in Hollywood that they aren’t telling us.”
UNILAD has reached out to Johnson’s representatives for comment.
The Rock’s new look is in aide of his leading role as real-life UFC fighter Mark Kerr in the A24 film called The Smashing Machine. The film features Dwayne Johnson starring alongside Emily Blunt who will play Dawn Staples and Bas Rutten, a famous Dutch MMA fighter, playing himself.
Speaking about accepting the role, Johnson previously said in an interview with Variety: “Benny [Safdie] wants to create, and continues to push the envelope when it comes to stories that are raw and real, characters that are authentic and at times uncomfortable and arresting.
Johnson has undergone a massive body transformation for the role (Elisabetta A. Villa/Getty Images)
“I’m at a point in my career where I want to push myself in ways that I’ve not pushed myself in the past. I’m at a point in my career where I want to make films that matter, that explore a humanity and explore struggle [and] pain.”
At a press conference for the new movie on Monday, Johnson expressed his excitement at the role.
“When you’re in Hollywood — as we all know, it had become about box office,” he said. “And you chase the box office, and the box office can be very loud and it can become very resounding and it can push you into a category and into a corner.
“This is your lane and this is what you do and this is what Hollywood wants you to do.”
Featured Image Credit: Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images for Lexus
Some fans are concerned (Victor Boyko/Getty Images for Miu Miu)
This film would have a lot of action in an ordinary cinema screening – but an IMAX screen doubles the drama, making Johnson’s elaborate response to watching it on a 72 foot by 50 foot screen slightly more understandable.
While filming Red One, his new Christmas movie, Johnson had the opportunity to watch the biopic blockbuster on the same IMAX screen where Nolan watches his own films on IMAX.
In a recent video interview with IMAX, The Rock said it inspired him to have Red One show on IMAX too.
Oppenheimer (Universal Pictures)
In the interview, he said: “With Red One, our intention was to make a movie that you can enjoy on the biggest screen possible.
“Legitimately the biggest screens possible are IMAX. I was midway through shooting Red One and I had an opportunity to see Oppenheimer. I watched in the IMAX theater where Christopher Nolan watches and screens his movies.
“Him and Emma [Thomas], his wife. I even asked to let me sit where Chris sits. They said, ‘Chris sits here.'”
Johnson continued: “I watch ‘Oppenheimer.’ It was amazing, but I was thinking: ‘Holy s**t. Red One on this screen and with this technology could be game over.’
“I remember texting [director Jake Kasdan] a picture of my bare chest and a picture of the screen and we realized how cool [IMAX] would be.”
Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson was inspired by Oppenheimer IMAX screening (Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty Images)
Johnson’s reaction has certainly stuck with fans.
Reddit users responding said: “This just invites follow-up questions. Did he take his shirt off in the theatre, mid-movie, or was it during the credits?
“When he says a picture of the screen, again, midmovie or just, blank?…was it two independent pictures of chest and screen, or was it a selfie?”
Another typed: “Did it cross his mind that it might have been easier to share one of the billion extant pics of his bare chest, but then he thought no, that would compromise my artistic integrity?”
Red One is now available to watch in cinemas.
Featured Image Credit: Samir Hussein/Samir Hussein/WireImage/Getty / Universal Pictures
