December 09, 2025
Dwayne Johnson has finally opened about living his dream in a recent chat with Brendan Fraser.
During a chat on Variety’s Actors on Actors series, The Rock spoke about the importance The Smashing Machine holds in his life.
Even though, the film was not a commercial hit, but it turned out as one of the most praised performances of Johnson.
It received a 15-minute standing ovation at the Venice Film Festival by the jury. The moment left the Fast and Furious actor sobbing.
When Brendan asked about the viral moment, Dwayne admitted that he felt “surreal.”
He said, “I felt like what Smashing Machine represented for me was ‘I’m living my dream, this is my dream and not others’ dreams.”
“You know to take these other projects, which I love doing, but there’s a lot of other entities and things connected to them. But Smashing Machine; it was just me, mine.”
While the moment was taking place, Johnson thought that it was not for him, but it’s for the directors and others. But it made him feel like “Holy S***. This ceremony is real. And it means something.”
People looking at you and just applauding your performance; that moment for Johnson was his “exhale.”
“I felt like I never exhaled like that in my career”, the Moana actor confessed.
Directed by Benny Safdie, The Smashing Machine featured Dwayne along with Emily Blunt and Ryan Bader.