THE ROCK has earned praise for his role as UFC champion Mark Kerr in new biopic The Smashing Machine. But when he showed up to the film’s premiere at the Venice Film Festival, he turned heads by simply being slightly less massive than usual. We know that Johnson has been on a more cardio-heavy program to prepare for his role as a UFC fighter, but in early photos from the film, he still looks as big as ever. So what gives?
In a new interview, The Rock has confirmed he’s been losing muscle mass for a future role (and that he’s already lost almost 15kg). He’s tired of being typecast as the biggest character in the script and is ready to do more serious films.
The Rock’s next film is titled Lizard Music and will be directed by Benny Safdie, who also directed The Smashing Machine. He needs to lose weight because his character, who is known as ‘The Chicken Man’, is a “whimsical, eccentric 70-something year-old”.
“Benny [Safdie] pitched me this after,” Johnson said at the Toronto Film Festival. “And after about 45 minutes, this pitch ended and I said, ‘I am your Chicken Man.’”
Lizard Music is an adaptation of Daniel Pinkwater’s novel of the same name and tells the story of a boy who discovers a mysterious lizard band on TV and goes on an adventure with a septuagenarian whose best friend is a 70-year-old chicken to find their floating island.
“I’m so excited to get a chance to hopefully transform again like I was able to do in Smashing Machine,” Johnson said. “[It means] eating less chicken.”
In response to a question about to his recent weight loss, Johnson was clear. “I still have a long way to go,” he said.
Like The Smashing Machine, which has earned Johnson some Oscar buzz, Lizard Music offers the actor a chance to subvert his own image. After building an acting career out of playing the largest guy on the big screen, Johnson says he’s ready to shake things up.
“I felt for a few years, I was pigeonholed because I allowed it to happen,” The Rock said. “You hope it’s like, ‘Hey, we made this thing, we love it, we hope you do too, and if you don’t, it’s ok. Maybe you’ll like the next thing.’”
Although, The Rock insists he isn’t done with his usual big-budget blockbusters. Later this year, he’ll begin shooting Jumanji 3 with Kevin Hart. “The films that I made in the past, I love them,” Johnson said. “I’ll go back to making them again.”
