Christopher Nolan hails Dwayne Johnson’s performance in ‘The Smashing Machine’: “I don’t think you’ll see a better performance this year or most other years”

Christopher Nolan has added his voice to the growing critical acclaim for Dwayne Johnson’s performance in Benny Safdie’s The Smashing Machine, calling it one of the finest performances in years. Appearing on The Director’s Cut podcast alongside Safdie, the Oppenheimer filmmaker praised Johnson’s portrayal of real-life mixed martial arts fighter Mark Kerr as “heartbreaking.”

“I think it’s an incredible performance,” Nolan said. “I don’t think you’ll see a better performance this year or most other years.”

The two directors share a creative connection — Nolan cast Safdie in Oppenheimer, where the latter worked alongside Emily Blunt, who also co-stars in The Smashing Machine as Kerr’s wife, Dawn Staples. Nolan joked during the conversation, “I heard a rumor that when you were supposed to be learning your lines on my set, you were actually canvassing people to be in your movie.”

Nolan continued on a more serious note, calling Safdie’s film “a really remarkable and radical piece of work that will be understood more and more over time.”

In The Smashing Machine, Johnson undergoes a dramatic transformation to play Kerr, a two-time UFC heavyweight champion whose promising career was marred by addiction and emotional turmoil. The film earned Safdie the Best Director prize at the Venice Film Festival but has struggled commercially, grossing just $10 million on a $50 million budget.

Responding to the film’s modest box office, Johnson said, “You can’t control box office results — but what I realised you can control is your performance, and your commitment to completely disappear and go elsewhere. It was my honour to transform in this role for my director, Benny Safdie.”