Christopher Nolan has hailed Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson for delivering what he believes is the best movie performance in years.
The Inception and Oppenheimer director was blown away by Johnson’s rare serious turn in The Smashing Machine, in which he played MMA fighter and UFC pioneer Mark Kerr.
Johnson is strongly expected to receive an Oscar nomination for the performance – and his campaign has been given a boost with praise from Nolan.
The 55-year-old described Johnson’s performance as “heartbreaking” while speaking to director Benny Safdie on the Directors Guild of America’s podcast The Director’s Cut.
“I think it’s an incredible performance,” he continued. “I don’t think you’ll see a better performance this year or most other years.”
In the film, Johnson wears facial prosthetics to make him closely resemble Kerr, and he reportedly lost around 60 pounds to bring his weight closer to 240 lbs than his usual 300 lbs.
Speaking about The Smashing Machine last year, Johnson said: “I’m at a point in my career where I want to push myself in ways that I’ve not pushed myself in the past. I’m at a point in my career where I want to make films that matter, that explore a humanity and explore struggle [and] pain.”
However, the Fast & Furious star said he will not be leaving blockbuster productions behind for good, stating: “I want to be clear not to say that this is an abandonment of big, four-quadrant movies. I love making them, and there is tremendous value and importance in [them]… but there’s a time and a place for them.”
Director Safdie had a supporting role in Nolan’s Best Picture-winning drama Oppenheimer, which also featured Johnson’s Smashing Machine co-star Emily Blunt.
“I heard a rumour that when you were supposed to be learning your lines on my set, you were actually canvassing people to be in your movie,” Nolan joked.
“I wasn’t aware of that at the time, but it seems to have worked out great for you.”
He called the film “a really remarkable and radical piece of work that will be understood more and more over time”.
Safdie’s brother Josh Safdie, with whom he directed Good Time and Uncut Gems, also has a new film out that’s being tipped for awards success: Marty Supreme.
The sports comedy-drama follows Timothée Chalamet as professional table tennis player Marty Mauser, who won the US men’s singles championships in 1958 and 1960
Noln’s next film will be The Odyssey – an adaptation of Homer’s epic Greek poem – will be released on 17 July 2026.
The film will feature an all-star cast, including Matt Damon, Tom Holland, Zendaya, Robert Pattinson, Lupita Nyong’o, Anne Hathaway and Charlize Theron.
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