SUMMARY
- Dwayne Johnson is currently on a break from WWE to focus on his upcoming movie "The Smashing Machine."
- The movie is based on UFC legend Mark Kerr's life.
Dwayne Johnson was recently spotted inside the pro wrestling ring. He was involved in The Bloodline storyline and headlined the Night 1 of WrestleMania 40. However, as of now, he has shifted his focus back to Hollywood. Johnson is currently busy working on his upcoming movie, ‘The Smashing Machine’.
In the movie, Dwayne Johnson, aka The Rock, will be playing the role of MMA and UFC Champion Mark Kerr. While preparing for the movie, The Great One recently took to his Instagram handle to share a post. In this post, Johnson talked about the movie and also talked about losing friends to suicide.
The Rock wrote, “From the wrestling ring to the MMA cage. With WrestleMania behind me – my second training camp of 2024 begins tomorrow for my next role, in a film titled – The Smashing Machine. My body’s banged up from Mania, but no injuries and feeling great – ready to go. Starting my MMA workouts tomorrow.”
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He further stated that he became a part of ‘The Smashing Machine’ out of respect and love for MMA fighters and the culture. He added, “Especially those who have struggled with addiction”. Johnson further added, “I’ve lost so many friends (wrestlers) over the years from addiction and mental health struggle, from suicide to, it was just their time to go.”
Also, it is worth mentioning that, as per reports, Mark Kerr also had his fair share of struggles with addiction to painkillers. Thus, it seems The People’s Champion shared a heartfelt message before going ahead with his upcoming movie.
Dwayne Johnson previously opened up about losing his friends to suicide
The Rock previously opened up about losing two friends. Earlier, the Hollywood star took to his ‘X’ handle to share a post. He wrote, “I’ve worked hard over the years to gain the emotional tools to work thru any mental pain that may come to test me.”
He then stated that years ago, he didn’t know about mental health struggles. The Great One then addressed his beloved fans and stated that if anyone is going through mental health issues, the most important thing they can do is talk to someone.
Appreciate chopping up depression with my guys on @thepivot. I’ve worked hard over the years to gain the emotional tools to work thru any mental pain that may come to test me. But years ago I didn’t know what mental health struggle was. As men, we didn’t talk about it. We just… pic.twitter.com/pq9fuUDsUI
— Dwayne Johnson (@TheRock) May 12, 2023
He mentioned, “It can’t be fixed if you keep that pain inside…I lost two friends to suicide.” Thus, it seems losing his friends to suicide has affected the WWE legend a lot. No wonder he keeps educating his near and dear ones about mental health struggles and addiction issues.
The Rock shared his thoughts about Mark Kerr while preparing for ‘The Smashing Machine’
Dwayne Johnson recently shared a heart-touching message on his Instagram handle. However, apart from the message, the Hollywood superstar also shared a video. In the video, The Rock talked about his preparation for his next movie.
He then said that, as is known to many, his next movie, ‘The Smashing Machine’, is based on the life of Mark Kerr. The Brahma Bull then went on to talk about Kerr. He said, “Mark Kerr was the godfather, the heavyweight godfather of MMA, of UFC, who at one time was the greatest fighter on the planet. He was an absolute animal and a beast”.
Johnson then talked about Kerr’s struggles with addiction, success, loss, and love. He mentioned that though the former UFC champion faced a lot of troubles in his life, he is still living a “dreams come true” kind of life. The WWE legend added that it’s an honor for him to play the role of Kerr.
Thus, it seems The Rock has nothing but praise for Mark Kerr. With that, it now remains to be seen if The People’s Champion will share more updates from the movie set going forward. Also, his beloved fans will look forward to his return to the largest wrestling promotion in the world.