Warning: spoilers in front for The Smashing Machine
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson takes on one of his most personal and suitable roles in The Smashing Machine.
The film, shot by Benny Safdi, follows the innovative mixed martial arts and UFC fighter Mark Kerr during the four -year period in his life, when he rises to fame, while MMA was relatively on the rise and up. The biographical film also sheds light on Kerra among his own struggle with dependence and toxic relationships.
The Smashing Machine is based on the 2002 HBO documentary of the same name. The film, which is now in the cinemas, the prime minister, took place at the Venice Film Festival on September 1, 2025, and people applauded Johnson's roles and physical transformation to become Kerr. Emily Blunt the star as the first wife of Kerr, Don Steaples.
“Mark was the greatest fighter in the world at some point, but this film is not even actually about the struggle is a love story,” Johnson He said at the festival. “This is a love story about Mark and dawn in these relations, and this is a love story of the brand and the love that he had for what he did – his struggle with attempts to deliver (in the ring), his problems and his overcoming.”
He adds: “As you know, mark twice, and he was lucky that he is alive – and this is part of why this story is so special.”
Read on to learn more about the true story that inspired The Smashing Machine.
The true story standing behind The Smashing Machine
“The Smashing Machine” takes place from 1997 to 2000, leading the chronicle of the largest battles Mark Kerra when he is at the Ultimate Fighting (UFC) championship and at international tournaments in Brazil and Japan.
One of Kerra’s first fights was in 1997 in Brazil, which was recreated for the film. In the film, Johnson Kerr leaves a bright pyramid with smoke, like it It happened in real life. The real Kerr received a blow from this reconstruction.
“I was in Vancouver for filming, and I laughed with Benny about this:“ Well, who came up with a pyramid? “, – recalls Kerr during the appearance of September 25th. On the podcast “Joe Rogan”Field “Opening door with foggy cars?” … But they are reproduced by her T.. ”
The soft athlete received his nickname The Smashing Machine for his hard abilities in the ring and after his success at the World Vale Tudo 3 championship in Brazil, according to UFC.
Kerr will continue to debut in the UFC during the UFC 14 tournament: ShowDown, which took place on July 27, 1997 in Birmingham, Alabama.
Having defeated both of his opponents, Moti Khorenstein and Dan Bobaysh, he won the heavyweight tournament, UFC notesField
In October of the same year, Kerr won his second title of UFC in a consecutive heavyweight tournament during the Collision Course event, which took place on October 17, 1997.
According to the film, after his wins UFC, Kerr went to Japan to participate in the MMA Pride Pride Fighting championship. According to the UFC, Kerr won six of his first eight battles in pride as heavyweight.
He had his losses, which were seen in the film, which also caused his struggle with health. In particular, one battle, against Igor Vovchanchin, ended in lawlessness, which forced him on the verge.
“It was a straw that literally emphasized me in the first place,” Kerr said in Joint interview for Sports IllustratedField
Among his success in the ring, his life behind the closed doors turned out to be completely opposite.
Its struggle against dependence and overdose
As depicted in the film, Kerr fought dependent and took the painkillers that the doctor prescribed to him. He began to use opioids regularly to continue to fight and make it possible to strike the ring.
In an interview with 2024 On the podcast HjrKerr explained when he believes that his dependence began.
“Two components that have gathered together is the expectation that I should act at this level, regardless of that,” he said. “And then training to execute at this level. And when these two got together, it just created a storm where I look, I don’t have time. ”
He called the opiates a “label”, which helped “mask the pain.”
“This will allow me to get into the gym, allow me to train, let me save this expectation that I have from myself and.
The Smashing Machine showed the consequences of its drug use when Dawn discovered that he did not answer in their house in Arizona after an overdose.
In real life, Kerr overdose twice, including in 1999. His recovery was also shown in the film after he checked himself in rehabilitation.
In October 2025, interviews with Show Ariel HelvaniKerr confirmed that he was sober for seven yearsField
Stormy relations
The relationship of Kerra and the girlfriend who became his wife also included many maximums and falls.
From the very beginning of the film, the couple who lived in Arizona at that time often annoyed the conversations before they ultimately fought and entered the hot, and sometimes destructive arguments.
Whether it is a dawn, creating an incorrect smoothie, Mark does not invite her to go to Japan at his tournaments or both to cope with his recovery, they pressed each other's buttons.
The film also depicts the present moment when Don tried to kill himself with a gun after Mark told her to leave his house. Kerr confirmed the moment in his HBO documentary, as well as in an interview with Time.comSharing this main product, she also tried to damage her razors before grabbing a gun.
“What I did at that time was incredibly selfish. The dawn just wanted my love. She wanted to feel important. The only thing that is important at that time was I fought, and then the second that came into force is the use of drugs and alcohol, ”Kerr said about his and basic battles. “Most of this volatility was from my actions. I look back at it now, she is a little girl asking for love, and I'm just a little boy who does not know how to accept or give it. ”
They will continue to get married, you have a son Bryce, before a divorce in 2006.
Being on Joe Rogan Experience, Kerr said that watching the film was therapeutic for him.
“It was therapy for me … For the first time I could see my role in this,” – He said. “As if I could see my role as F ——- I was hard for me with the people around me, I just traveled that I was reached at all costs. And the person who paid the most was dawn. She paid a high price. ”
In another interview with IndiewireKerr reflected on the relationship of his and ex -wife.
“This allowed me to see how much I was at dawn, and really recognize it for myself,” Kerr said. “The struggle is incredibly selfish; This does not leave much space for other people when it comes to emotions and proximity. Breaking it to essence, the dawn was just a little girl who wanted to be loved, and I was just a boy who could not understand how to love her. ”
He expressed that they are both different people now, and their priority in life is their “beautiful 20-year-old son” and “to be the best parents that we can for him.”
“When the film showed in Venice, I could not believe how emotionally it was,” he added. “It was like a therapy with a thousand people in the room. It was an excellent experience. ”
Kerr is now married to a fitness consultant Francia Alberding, and they founded a health company called Absolute Wellness.
