Dwayne Johnson transforms for The Smashing Machine premiere at Venice

Dwayne Johnson said he was so frightened by the role that he wondered whether he could do it, as he unveiled a near-unrecognizable transformation to play MMA pioneer Mark Kerr in The Smashing Machine, which premiered at the Venice Film Festival on Sept. 1 and opens widely on Oct. 3. Johnson, who attended Venice and spoke at a press conference with director Benny Safdie and costar Emily Blunt, described the film as a raw, intimate drama that traces Kerrs rise in early mixed martial arts and his battle with painkiller addiction and domestic turmoil.

Johnson told interviewers that preparing for the part forced him to confront fears he had long avoided. He said the anxiety was "very real" and that he had not felt that level of doubt in years. The actor described a prolonged physical transformation that included hours in makeup each day, with more than a dozen prosthetic appliances applied to alter his face and silhouette. Photographs from festival events showed a markedly leaner Johnson, prompting widespread online reaction. Some reports said he shed as much as 60 pounds for the role, while industry commentators cautioned that actors commonly change weight for parts and that no...